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Madrid is the capital and largest city
in Spain, as well as in the province and the
autonomous community of the same name. It is
located on the Manzanares river in the
center of the country. Due to its
geographical location and history, Madrid
has been considered the financial and
political center of the Iberian Peninsula
for more than five centuries.
As the former capital of the old Spanish
Empire, Madrid has been bestowed with a
degree of cultural predominance. Renowned
museums such as Museo del Prado, the Museo
Reina Sofia, and the Museo
Thyssen-Bornemisza are major attractions.
The 2003 estimated population of the city
was 3 million, while the estimation of the
population of the urban area is 4.791
million.
Contemporary Madrid came into its own in the
early 1980s. During that decade, Madrid, and
Spain as a whole, began to reassert itself
on the international stage, including a
drive to eliminate centralism, and turn
towards a more modern movement of increased
autonomy for the regions of Spain,
considered as autonomous regions, under the
umbrella of Spain.
Modern Madrid ranks as one of the most
important cities in Europe. Madrid is a
leading southern European city and the most
important link between the European Union
and Latin America. |
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© 2005 City of Miami
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