Parque del Oeste, Madrid

The Parque del Oeste, on the edge of the Ciudad Universitaria (City University of Madrid), marks the western border of Madrid. It's connected to the Casa de Campo Park by the Teléferico cable car and although it’s not as large as Casa de Campo, it holds its own in terms of interesting sights and landmarks. The park was the initiative of the mayor of Madrid in the early 20^th century, Alberto Aguilera. Since then, the park has been reconstructed several times.

The first major reconstruction took place in the 1940s after the park was devastated by the Spanish Civil War in the late-1930s. Today, there is still evidence that the park was once the sight of a major battlefield – three Spanish Civil War bunkers still remain in the northern section of the park. The latest additions to the park took place in the 1950s and 1960s when the authentic Egyptian monument – the Templo de Debod – was relocated to Madrid and an English-style rose garden – La Rosaleda – was planted. Every year in May La Rosaleda hosts the popular rose picking and flower arrangement contest, which known as the International Rose Villa New Madrid.

Parque del Oeste

Paseo de Moret, 2, 28008 Madrid

Images

1. Entrance to the Rose Garden by Javier Martin, CC BY-SA 3.0

2. View of the Rose Garden by Benjamín Núñez González, CC BY-SA 4.0