3 Interesting Facts About Madrid That You Surely Didn't Know

Many people know the most common facts and legends about Madrid: it's the capital city of Spain since the mid-16th century, the third-largest city in the European Union after London and Berlin. And, as any traveller is told in a typical tour Madrid's art galleries and museums are considered the some of the world's finest collections of art.



However, every city has its secrets, and Madrid isn't an exception to the rule. In this article you will learn 3 amazing facts about Madrid that even many spaniards and tourist guides ignore. Are you taking notes? These will be nice spots to visit in your next trip to Madrid.

1) Under the Cibeles Fountain lies most of the Spanish gold reserves

You surely have heard about La Cibeles or seen it on the TV. It's quite famous because that's where local soccer team Real Madrid celebrates its victories so once or twice a year, many sports fans gather there singing and celebrating.

But, 124 feet under those rallying and happy fans, in the ground, there's a vault called Chamber of Gold. It contains gold lingots and antique coins from Banco de España, the Spanish National Bank, as if it were a true Gringotts. But, unlike in Harry Potter's books, there isn't any dragon guarding the treasure. Instead of it, there's a 16-tons door and -here's the surprise- the Cibeles fountain itself, as Esther Almena, a local tourist guide, told us once:

    In the event that the alarm goes off, the steel doors would close automatically, the corridors would be sealed and the whole area would be flooded by the water contained in the Cibeles basins and by the underground water pipes that supply the fountain

The vault has never been attacked and the water is there, waiting...

2) Madrileños call themselves "gatos" (cats)

There are many theories about the origins of this nickname. The most accepted one is the story about King Alfonso VI and a soldier. It is said that in the 11h century, when Madrid was under Arabic domain, King Alfonso's told his soldiers to climb the outer walls of the city to surprise their enemy.

One of them managed to do so by inserting his dagger between gaps in the tones, showing the agility of a cat. The other soldiers beginned to call him "gato" (cat) so he and his succesors took this name, and with them all madrileños.

Spanish Arabic 'muralla' remains can still be seen in certain points of the city.

3) 'The fallen angel', a statue... of the Devil!

At Madrid, hidden in the gardens of the Retiro Park, we can find the first sculpture in the world who had the audacity to portray the Devil. It's name is "El ángel caído" (The fallen angel) and it depicts Lucifer falling from Heavens after being cursed by God as punishment for his pride.

It was the artist Ricardo Bellver who, during his stay at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, first imagined the angel of Madrid. Then made a mold in plaster that earned him first-class medal at the National Exhibition of 1878. This award, together with the recognition of his own colleagues in Italy, encouraged him to present it in bronze at the Paris Universal Exhibition of that year -yes, the same for which the Eiffel Tower was built.

After the show, he decided to place it in the Retiro Park in Madrid. And since then, Lucifer looks to Heaven in his eternal fall, thinking perhaps in what he lost forever. Don't forget to visit this rare and unique statue in your trip to Madrid.

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