Project Comenius - EPEITE

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Project Comenius - EPEITE

The project is executed by students of the 2nd ‘D’ class at the Second High School in Jelenia Góra, Poland (Zespół Szkół Ogólnokształcących 2, Jelenia Góra)Reference professor Mr. Robert ZalewskiJelenia Góra, December 30th, 2011.

SpainMadrid and Community of Madrid

Spain

Kingdom of Spain is a sovereign state located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.Capital: Madrid National motto: Plus Ultra "Further Beyond"Official language : SpanishPopulation: 47 190 500 Currency: euro (EUR, €)

It’s mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, to which Spain lays claim; to the north and north east with France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and it is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal in the .

Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla.

Branches of governmentSpain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament, the Cortes Generales. The executive branch consists of a Council of Ministers of Spain presided over by the Prime Minister, nominated and appointed by the monarch andconfirmed by the Congress of Deputies following legislative elections. The legislative branch is made up of the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados) and a Senate (Senado).

Head of State - King Juan Carlos IHead of Government - Mariano Rajoy Brey

Juan Carlos

DemographicsThe population of Spain officially reached 46 million people.

Population density: 91,4/km² Largest cities of Spain:Madrid: capital of Community of Madrid. Barcelona: 1 615 908 – capital of Catalonia. Valencia: 810 064 – capital of Valencian Community. Seville: 699 759 – capital of Andalusia.

Madrid

Barcelona

Valencia

MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.5 million.The city is located on the Manzanares river in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid.As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic and cultural centre of Spain.

Coat of arms

How to get to MadridMadrid is served by highly developed communication infrastructures.Air - Madrid-Barajas Airport is Spain's busiest airport, and is the main hub of Iberia Airlines. It consequently serves as the main gateway to the Iberian peninsula from Europe, America and the rest of the world.

National rail - Spain's railway system, the Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Españoles (RENFE) operates the vast majority of Spain's railways. Cercanías Madrid is the commuter rail service that serves Madrid and its metropolitan area.

How to get to Madrid

Madrid is the most important hub of Spain's motorway network and is surrounded by four orbital motorways: M30, M40, M45 and M50. M30 circles the central districts and is the inner ring motorway of Madrid.

AccomadationThe choice of accomadation is varied with hotels, hostels, apartment hotels and self catering accommodation options.For a mid range 3 star hotel you'll pay around €75.00 and upwards per night for the room. Youth Hostels are one of the cheapest forms of accommodation, and on average a bed will cost you about €15.00 a night. They're a great place to meet other travellers and students.

Spanish cuisineSpanish cuisine consists of a variety of dishes, which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate. It is heavily influenced by seafood available from the waters that surround the country, and reflects the country's deep maritime roots. Spain's extensive history with many cultural influences has led to an array of unique cuisines with literally thousands of recipes and flavours. It is also renowned for its health benefits and fresh ingredients, as a Mediterranean diet.

Spanish cuisineTraditionnal dishes:arroz con leche – rice with milk, sugar; sometimes with cinnamon and lemon too;paella – typical  paella consists of white rice, green vegetables, meat (rabbit, chicken, duck), land snails, beans and seasoning;gazpacho – chilled tomato soup from Andalusia (light and refreshing);tortilla de patatas – potato omelette;tapas : are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks.

gazpacho

paella

arroz con leche

Spanish cuisineThe best spanish drink are:wine;sangria;tinto de verano: a wine-based cold drink similar to sangriacider;beer;cognac and gin.

sangriacider

cognac beer

Spanish winesSpain has a lot to offer to visitors in the way of wines:red wine – the best wines in Spain come from the Rioja region and are popular locally but also exported outside the country.white wine: Malaga Pajarete (medium sweet), Malaga Moscatel (sweet), Esencia Valdemar Blanco;cava –  a Catalan sparkling wine;sherry -  a fortified wine made from white grapes in Andalusia;sangria –  a wine punch

Rioja Aurus

Malaga Pajarete

sangria Sherry: Fino

Spanish cheesesA wide variety of cheeses are made throughout the country of Spain.Cabrales – this artisan cheese can be made from pure, unpasteurised cow’s milk or blended in the traditional manner with goat and/or sheep milk, which lends the cheese a stronger, more spicy flavor;

Majorero – a goat milk cheese;

Manchego –  a cheese made in the La Mancha from the milk of sheep of the Manchega breed;

Zamorano –  is a hard sheep’s milk cheese made in the province of Zamora;

Cabrales

Manchego

MajoreroSan Simon

Madrid’s cuisineThe cuisine of the Community of Madrid is an amalgamation of the cuisines of various regions of Spain developed, in part, by mass migration to the capital city.Some of the most-typical local dishes include: - callos ( a popular dish consisting of fried sheep entrails); - cocido madrileño (a popular beef-and-vegetable stew that is frequently offered as a Tuesday special);

- patatas bravas. A very common dish consisting of irregularly-cut fried potatoes covered in a spicy tomato sauce.

calloscocido madrileño

Patatas bravasbacalao

DessertsSpaniards will often eat fruit as a dessert and eat traditional Spanish pastries and cakes for breakfast or "merienda" (tea) rather than as a dessert. Must popular desserts in Madrid are:- marzipan, - Turrón (nougat) and - bunuelos (a fried dough ball).

turrón

bunuelosmarzipan

MonumentsThe Puerta del Sol (Spanish for "Gate of the Sun") is one of the best known and busiest places in Madrid. This is the centre (Km 0) of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year. The New Year's celebration has been broadcast live on La 1 since December 31, 1962..

On the east side lies a statue of a bear and a madrone tree (madroño), the heraldic symbol of Madrid.

Puerta del Sol

Puerta del Sol

MonumentsThe Palacio Real de Madrid (The Royal Palace of Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family in the city of Madrid, but is only used for state ceremonies. King Juan Carlos and the Royal Family does not reside in the palace, choosing instead the more modest Palacio de la Zarzuela on the outskirts of Madrid. The palace has 135,000 square metres of floorspace and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the second largest palace in Europe by floor area after Louvre Palace. The Sabatini Gardens adjoin the north side of the Palacio real and extend to the calle de Bailén and the cuesta de San Vicente. The garden follows the symmetrical French design and work began in 1933, under the Republican government.

MonumentsThe Museo del Prado is the main Spanish national art museum. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and unquestionably the best single collection of Spanish art. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture, it also contains important collections of other types of works. A new, recently opened wing enlarged the display area by about 400 paintings, and it is currently used mainly for temporary expositions. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered to be among the greatest museums of art. The large numbers of works by Francisco de Goya, the artist most extensively represented in the collection, and by Velázquez, Titian, Rubens and Bosch are among the highlights of the collection.

MonumentsThe Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas is a famous bullring in Madrid.It was inaugurated on June 17, 1931. It has a seating capacity of 25,000 and is regarded as the home of bullfighting in Spain. "Las Ventas" is divided in a ring or arena, and a group of zones called "patios". Its architecture is Neo-Mudéjar, with ceramic representations of the heraldic crests of the different Spanish provinces. The arena has a diameter of 60 meters.

MonumentsCatholic cathedral Santa María la Real de La Almudena.When the capital of Spain was transferred to Madrid in 1561, the seat of the Church in Spain remained in Toledo; so the new capital – unusually for a Catholic country – had no cathedral. Plans were discussed as early as the 16th century to build a cathedral in Madrid dedicated to the Virgin of Almudena, but construction did not begin until 1879. The Neo-Gothic interior is uniquely modern, with chapels and statues of contemporary artists, in heretogeneous styles, from historical revivals to "pop-art" decor.

Plaza de España ("Spain Square") is a large square, and popular tourist destination, located at the western end of the Gran Vía. It features a monument to Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, and is bordered by two of Madrid's most prominent skyscrapers. Also, the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) is a short walk south from the plaza.Adjacent to the plaza are two of the tallest buildings in Madrid, the 142 m Torre de Madrid and the 117 m tall Edificio España.

Plaza de Colón is located in the Alonso Martínez district. This plaza and it’s fountain commemorate the explorer Christopher Columbus. The gardens in the plaza are known as the "Jardines del Descubrimiento" (Gardens of Discovery), where the Royal Mint was located until 1970.At the other side of the Plaza are the twin Torres de Colón.

Gran Vía ("Great Way") is one of the city's most important shopping areas, with a large number of hotels and large movie theaters; it is also noted for the grand architecture prevalent among many of its buildings. Now, most of the theaters are being replaced by shopping malls. It is considered a showcase of early 20th century architecture, with patterns ranging from Vienna Secession style, Plateresque, Neo-Mudéjar, Art Deco and others.

Gran Via

Gran Via

Free time

Madrid is one of the world's liveliest cities, a city that never sleeps. You always can find some interesting things to do or see. The town is always full of life and it is possible to find everything from international concerts to operas, street parades, small markets. In summer, you just move from terraza to terraza. Key nightlife areas include Plaza Santa Ana, La Latina, and Malasaña.

EnviromnentMadrid is the European city with the highest number of trees and green surface.Real Jardín Botanico is an 8-hectare botanical garden located in the Plaza de Murillo, next to the Prado Museum. It was an 18th century creation by Carlos III and it was used as a base for the plant species being collected across the globe.Casa de Campo is an enormous urban parkland to the west of the city.  It is home to a fairground, the Madrid Zoo, an amusement park, the Parque de Atracciones de Madrid, and an outdoor municipal pool.

Real Jardín Botanico

Casa de Campo

ShoppingLike any modern metropolis, Madrid has several shopping centres or malls to choose from, dotted about the city. The ABC Serrano Centre, the Moda Shopping mall, Plaza Norte 2 are just a few of the large shopping malls, joined by such new additions as Islazul, Madrid Xanadu.The central area around Gran Via, Plaza Mayor and the Puerta de Sol is home to many large department stores such as El Corte Ingles, FNAC and international clothes stores such as Zara, H&M and Mango.This major shopping district extends towards Plaza de España and Princesa street.The more upmarket Salamanca neighbourhood, based around the streets of Serrano, Velazquez and Goya, is the place to go for the top designer boutiques and more expensive stores.

FiestasMadrileños need little prompting to enjoy themselves. The most important popular celebrations take place between April and October. In general, we could say that the major Madrileño fiestas are Dos de Mayo (2nd of May), San Isidro - his feast day is celebrated on the 15th May with bullfights;La Paloma - the fiesta of the Virgin converting the old centre of Madrid in a constant stream of street parties, dances and popular celebrations during the first half of August.La Almudena - the 9th of November.

Real MadrytReal Madrid Club  is a professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, has traditionally worn a white home kit since.

  The word Real is Spanish for royal and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the royal crown in the emblem. The team has played its home matches in the 85,454-capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European football clubs, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club since its inception.

Santiago Bernabeu StadiumIt was inaugurated on 14 December 1947 and is owned by Real Madrid Club de Fútbol. It has a current capacity of 85,454 spectators.El Bernabéu, renamed in honour of their former chairman Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, is one of the world's most famous and prestigious football venues. It has hosted the European Cup final on four occasions: in 1957, 1969, 1980, and the UEFA Champions League Final in 2010. The finals for the 1964 European Nations' Cup and the 1982 World Cup have also been held at the Bernabéu.

InformationsPolish Embassyc/Guisando 23 bis28035 MadridTel.: (+34) 913 736 605E-mail: [email protected] Tourist Information OfficeAdres: Plaza Mayor, 3 Telephone: 91 588 16 36 / 91 366 54 77 Fax: 91 366 54 77 Emercency telephone number:emergency call number 112Police - 091Local Police - 092Guardia Civil - 062Fire - 080/085Medical - 061