Tetuán (Madrid)


Tetuán is a district of Madrid, Spain.

Geography

Subdivision

Featuring a total area of around, the district is divided into 6 administrative neighborhoods : Almenara, Bellas Vistas, Berruguete, Castillejos, Cuatro Caminos and Valdeacederas.

History

When Leopoldo O'Donnell returned with his forces to Spain after the 1859–60 African War, the latter camped at a spot north of Madrid known as the Campos de Amaniel while a triumphal entry into the capital was being arranged. The camp, which acquired permanent structures as well as shops over time, became the Madrid neighborhood known as "Tetuán de las Victorias", after Tetouan, the North-African city where the victorious soldiers had come from.
The current district also comprises part of the territory of the former municipality of Chamartín de la Rosa, annexed by the municipality of Madrid in 1948.
The community is culturally diverse, with significant populations of African and South American immigrants.

Architecture

Some areas of Tetuán have old and modest housing, characterised by one or two storeys and a rural appearance. Those areas are contrasted by the business area of AZCA, located in the southeastern corner of the district, and that features skycrapers such as the Torre Picasso. Many neighbors frame the contrast in terms of a dichotomy lined up along the calle de Bravo Murillo: East of the street–rich; West of the street–poor.
Tetuán hosts the Madrid Central Mosque, the oldest and one of the two most important mosques in Madrid along the M-30 mosque.