Móstoles

Móstoles
Municipality
Church of the Assumption, Móstoles' oldest building

Flag
Coat of arms
Móstoles
Location in Spain
Móstoles
Móstoles (Spain)
Coordinates: 40°20′0″N 3°52′0″W / 40.33333°N 3.86667°W / 40.33333; -3.86667Coordinates: 40°20′0″N 3°52′0″W / 40.33333°N 3.86667°W / 40.33333; -3.86667
Country Spain Spain
Region Community of Madrid Community of Madrid
Comarca Madrid metropolitan area
Government
 • Mayor David Lucas (PSOE)
Area
 • Total 45.36 km2 (17.51 sq mi)
Elevation 620 m (2,030 ft)
Population (2009)
 • Total 206,478
 • Density 4,600/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Mostoleños, Mostolenses, Mostoleros
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 28930 - 28939
Website www.mostoles.es

Móstoles (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmos.to.les]) is the second-largest city in population belonging to the autonomous community of Madrid. It is located 18 kilometres southwest from central Madrid. Móstoles was for a long time only a small village, but expanded rapidly in the twentieth century.

To some extent it is a dormitory suburb of Madrid, but it is also home to several polígonos (industrial estates). The city also hosts the main campus of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos.

Area and population

Móstoles has about 206,015 residents, Móstoles is located in the Community of Madrid, near the city of Madrid. After Madrid itself, it is the municipality with most residents of the Community of Madrid.

History

Móstoles became famous on May 2, 1808, when, although it was only a small village, one of its two mayors, Andrés Torrejón, declared war on France. This followed the Dos de Mayo Uprising the same day in Madrid which started the Peninsular War. The Monument to the Mayor (1908), located in Pradillo Square, was erected to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the historic events.

A resident of Móstoles, Manuela Malasaña, became a popular heroine of the uprising; a subway station and secondary school in Móstoles and a neighbourhood in Madrid are named after her.

Main sights

Historic buildings

Hermitage

Two of the most important monuments in Móstoles are churches; the medieval church of La Asunción has mudejar features. Its tower provides a home for storks. The Baroque hermitage of La Virgen de los Santos dates from the 17th century.

There is a monument which was erected to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the uprising.

Museums and galleries

Móstoles is the home of the Community of Madrid's modern art gallery, the Centro de Arte 2 de mayo. It was opened in 2008 to mark the two hundredth anniversary of the uprising after which it is named.

There is also a local history museum.

Transportation

Móstoles is connected to other suburbs and to central Madrid by:

  • several major freeways (A-5 (Madrid-Badajoz-Lisbon), M-50) and toll highways (R-5).
  • local and regional bus lines
  • the Metrosur line (line 12, Madrid Metro)
  • a commuter train line (line C-5, Cercanías Madrid) which has a terminus in Móstoles.

Walking and cycling

There is cycling infrastructure (Spanish: aceras bici, "bike-sidewalks") within central Móstoles. Funds were made available in 2017 to upgrade these cycleways.[1]

It is also possible to cycle into the nearby countryside. The railway line originally continued to Almorox, but the section beyond Móstoles was closed in the 1960s. Between Móstoles-El Soto railway station and Navalcarnero the track has been converted into a greenway (via verde) for cyclists and walkers. The route crosses the river Guadarrama on an iron bridge.[2][3] The via verde connects to a waymarked long distance walk to Guadalupe in Extremadura. The waymarking is recent, but it marks a traditional route from Madrid to the Our Lady of Guadalupe pilgrimage site.[4]

In popular culture, the city of Móstoles was made popular by the Spanish comedians Martes y Trece, who performed a comedy sketch on their Christmas Special programme in 1986. In the sketch, the comedians kept talking about the famous Móstoles mini pasties (las empanadillas de Móstoles). Although, the city of Móstoles was not particularly known for their mini pasties, the sketch popularized the city of Móstoles for them, and today, the Móstoles mini pasties are still jokingly remembered for the sketch.

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ EFE (26 September 2017). "Móstoles pone en marcha proyecto de Rehabilitación de todas las Aceras Bici". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Móstoles. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "Vía Verde del Guadarrama" (PDF). Comunidad de Madrid (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "Guadarrama River Greenway". Vías Verdes. Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "Camino Real a Guadalupe. Etapa 2. Móstoles – Casarrubios del Monte". Wikiloc (in Spanish). 19 July 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "Iker Casillas". Hola! (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  6. ↑ Calderón, J. L. (4 April 2016). "De la Red regresa al lugar donde volvió a nacer". Marca (in Spanish). Unidad Editorial Información Deportiva, S.L.U. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Rodríguez, Pelayo (23 March 2018). "Alberto Lora, uno di noi". Vavel (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  8. ↑ ""La mitad de mi sangre me tira hacia La Línea"". Europa Sur (in Spanish). Joly Digital. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  9. ↑ Álvaro, Carlos (18 May 2017). "Raúl Arévalo presume de raíces segovianas en un vídeo para agradecer el Premio Diputación". El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). Vocento. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  10. ↑ Banderas, Miguel Ángel (22 November 2013). "La Fábrica: Rubén Belima". Vavel (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 September 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.