Valdemoro

Valdemoro is a municipality and a Spanish town in the south of the Community of Madrid. The municipal area, with a population of 79,100 inhabitants (INE 2022), is located in the Castilian region of La Sagra, although it is generally also included in the area Madrid metropolitan. In recent decades it has suffered strong demographic growth, currently reaching 79,100 inhabitants (INE 2022). The proximity to the capital has fostered the demographic and economic development of the town. The population increase has made it necessary to build new transport infrastructures, as well as educational, health and leisure infrastructures. At the end of the XIV century, it was granted the title of town. The recent history of the municipality is linked to the Civil Guard, since Valdemoro houses the "Duque de Ahumada" Youth Guards College, a training center for future members of the corps.

Toponymy

Popular etymology tells us (always according to legend) that the resistance put up by the ancient inhabitants to the Muslim invasion gave rise to the saying In vain, Moor, you get tired, from which it would take its name this town. However, if we are to stick to history, and taking into account the short time it took Muslim armies to seize practically the entire Iberian Peninsula, it is logical to think that Valdemoro comes from Val (valley) de Moro, a name that would be given to it after the Christian reconquest. An original Arabic name has also been proposed, Wadi al-murr ("Bitter River"), which would later be confused, by homophony, with: Val de moro.

Geography

Arroyo de La Cañada

Aerial view of the urban hull

Valdemoro is located in the Tagus river basin, south of the Central system. Its population is located to the west of its municipal term, "on the road that leads from Madrid to Aranjuez", between two valleys; one to the south and one to the west. The first is more extensive, joining both to end in the Jarama plain.

Neighboring municipalities

Northwest: Pinto	North: Pinto	Northeast: San Martín de la Vega
West: Torrejón de Velasco		This: Ciempozuelos
Southwest Squivia	South: Seseña	Sureste: Ciempozuelos

Orography

The relief of Valdemoro is fundamentally flat, except in the Cerros de Espartinas area to the south of the municipal area and in the El Espartal farm, to the east.

The highest elevation of this topographic profile is 712 meters (Cerro de la Mira) and its lowest elevation is 543 meters (Arroyo de la Cañada). The inclination is towards the east, with an average slope of 3%, and the average altitude is 615 meters above sea level in Alicante.

Hydrography

In its municipal area, the La Cañada stream is born, currently without a channel for most of the year, which flows into the Jarama river. Said river runs parallel to the municipal term, although without actually entering it.

Climate

It can be included within the bioclimatic zone called mesomediterranean, which is characterized by: average annual temperature between 17 °C and 13 °C; average temperatures of the minimum of the coldest month between 5 °C and -1 °C; temperatures of the maximum of the coldest month between 18 °C and 8 °C. The rainiest months are November and April. There are a few days of frost from December to February, being able to occur in March in occasional waves of cold. Summers are very hot and dry, with maximum averages of 34 °C and minimum averages of 19 °C in July. According to the Köppen climate classification, it is a typical Mediterranean climate in the interior of the Mediterranean basin with irregular rainfall, hot summers and transitional winters between cool and mild. The city of Valdemoro has a climate very similar to that of Getafe.

Neighborhoods

Flora and fauna

Outside of Valdemoro

Although both its fauna and flora are not excessively rich, they present remarkable aspects, mainly in the 794 hectares of the municipality included in the Southeast regional park.

Regarding the flora, there are some characteristic species, especially the paradise tree, Valdemoro being one of the few areas in all of Europe where this species occurs naturally.

The urban growth of recent years has left less and less space for wild flora. The following table shows some of the most common plants that are still easy to find.

Regarding the vertebrate fauna, it is represented by 3 species of amphibians, 7 of reptiles, 127 of birds (67 of them with safe reproduction, 21 are wintering, 27 are passing through and the rest are habitually present all year, or part from it, but do not breed or breed in close proximity) and 12 from mammals.

History

Origins

The first signs of human presence in Valdemoro date back to the Iron Age, found on the El Espartal farm, to the east of the municipality. Cabin funds abound from the Bronze Age, as well as some towns that show the strategic nature of the area. Numerous material elements have been found from the Chalcolithic period: arrowheads, knives, flakes and blades in flint, quartzite and even fibrolite.

Vaso campaniforme de Ciempozuelos (MAN)

But without a doubt, the most important site in the town is the so-called Ciempozuelos Beaker, found in the extreme northwest of Ciempozuelos, and closer to the town of Ciempozuelos. From Roman times, there are remains of a late Roman villa, which continued until the Visigothic period. There is another way of saying it, which is that the archaeologists stayed in Ciempozuelos since the hostels in Valdemoro were full.

The El Espartal farm has been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest, in the Archaeological Zone category.

Foundation

Vestiges of ancient oriental methods for water supply have been found in the subsoil, confirming the probable Muslim foundation of the current town of Valdemoro. However, it seems that upon the arrival of the Muslims, the population already existed, whose inhabitants put up a strong resistance to the invasion, faithful to the fallen Gothic dynasty.

After the Reconquest, disputes between the bishops of Segovia and Palencia resulted in the annexation of Valdemoro to the Segovian council in 1190, through a privilege of King Alfonso VIII and the mediation of Pope Clemente III. At this time, Valdemoro became the head of sexmo, one of the most important municipalities in Madrid's Transierra, covering the municipalities of Chinchón, Bayona, Villaconejos, Valdelaguna, Seseña, San Martín de la Vega and Ciempozuelos.

Modern Age

Valdemoro in the century XVII. The hermitage of the Christ of Health is first appreciated and behind the right, the parish church

In the middle of the XIV century the population became part of the eldest adelantado of Castilla, Hernán Pérez de Portocarrero, becoming at the end of the same century in an ecclesiastical manor belonging to the archbishopric of Toledo. At that time, King Enrique III granted it the privilege of being a town, facilitating its economic and social development.

In 1577, King Felipe II alienated it from the archbishopric of Toledo, becoming a royal town. A little later it passed into the hands of Melchor de Herrera, Marquis of Auñón. Around this time the religious community of the Convento del Carmen was founded. In 1602, the heirs of the marquis sold the town to Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, Duke of Lerma and favorite of Felipe III, who promoted the development of the town, with measures such as the creation of a trade fair. Precisely due to the needs of this fair, the Fuente de la Villa was built in 1605, one of the most emblematic monuments of the municipality, which serves as a trough for the merchants' cattle. In 1616 the convent of Santa Clara belonging to the rule of Santa Clara was inaugurated. During the second half of the XVII century, the most important works of the parish church were carried out.

House of Inquisition

Already in the XVIII century, and thanks to José Aguado Correa, courtier nobleman, native of the town, Valdemoro managed to out of a few years of decline and hardship. The arrival of the Bourbons and their air of industrial renewal gave Aguado the opportunity to bring a fine cloth factory to his hometown that would reactivate the local economy. At the end of the century, another Valdemoreño, Pedro López de Lerena, State Councilor and Minister of Finance in the Court of Carlos III and Carlos IV, tries to get all kinds of favors for his people. He founded the public schools in 1792 and remodeled the parish, deteriorated after the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, decisively influencing the arrival of notable artists such as Francisco de Goya or the Bayeu brothers, Francisco and Ramón, to work on the main altarpiece. He also puts the old Aguado Correa factory into operation, which does not achieve the expected results in a town that, like most of his time, is still stuck in the Middle Ages.

Pedro López de Lerena

In the 19th century, along with an eminently agrarian economy, an incipient gypsum industry appeared. At this time, the Valdemoro wines achieved a certain renown in the region. This timid development is interrupted with the War of Independence. The passage of the French army through the town causes human losses and a deterioration of the artistic and documentary heritage.

In 1822, already in the reign of Fernando VII, Valdemoro became part of the province of Madrid. The year 1851 brings a great event: the inauguration of the railway line between Madrid and Aranjuez with a stop in the town. A few years later, in 1855, another notable event changed the characteristics of the municipality, the construction of the "Duque de Ahumada" on the old sites of the cloth factory, where the Duque de Ahumada park is currently located. The school was transferred to the outskirts of the municipality in 1972.

Towards the middle of the XIX century, the place had a population of 2,552 inhabitants. fifteenth volume of the Geographical-statistical-historical dictionary of Spain and its overseas possessions by Pascual Madoz as follows:

VALDEMORO: v. con ayunt. de la prov. y aud. terr. de Madrid (4 leg.), part. jud. de Getafe (2), c. g. de Castilla la Nueva, dióc. de Toledo (8). sit. on the road that runs from Madrid to Aranjuez, combats all the winds, in particular the N., and its climate It's healthy. It's 302 houses of medium construction, for the most part, of fast.; prison; 12 paradors and inns; 2 hospitals, one for the poor, with the title of San José, in which there are 2 sick, one for men and one for women, with 4 beds each, and the other called San Andrés and San Sebastian; in which a small room is given separately to 6 or 8 poor widows of the people; 3 ad that of salts of Spartains, of tobacco and of mails; school of first letters for children, equipped with 5,500 rs., 2 of girls, one with 2,750, and the other without more dotacion than what it stipulates with the parents of the 40 girls who attend to it; a school of latinity; a conv. of Franciscan nuns, with the advocation of St. Clara, and a igl. parr. (the Asuncion), with curate of second ascent and of patronage of the State; on the outskirts is a hermitage, the Smo. Christ of Health; the graveyard that does not offend public health, and 2 sources of good waters of which, and of the other 2 that are in the people, are used the vec. Confine the Term. N. Pinto; E. San Martín de la Vega; S. Cienpozuelos y Seseña, y O. Torrejon de Velasco y Parla: estiende 3/4 leg. from N. to S. and 1 from E. to O, and includes a vineyard, several olive trees and different meadows with good pastures. The field is quite arid and of medium quality. roads: from horseshoe that lead to the neighboring villages, and the aforementioned road from Madrid to Aranjuez where there is a portazgo: the mail is received, in his stafeta, from the adm. of Madrid, by the general conductor; two or more diligences pass daily. prod.: wheat, barley, rye, oil and wine: it keeps the lanars between fine, and the calf and mular indispensable for labor, and breeds smaller hunting. ind. and trade: 4 oil mills; a fable. of soap with 3 boilers; another of stool and half silk, entirely closed; 3 small lingerie shops, and 3 other abaceria. pobl.: 428 vec., 2,552 alm. cap. prod.: 13.369,127 rs. imp.: 479,253. contr.: 9'65 per 100.
It is the homeland of Juan de Castro, famous architect of the time of Felipe II; of the Franciscan Fr. Alonso de la Cruz, author of several mystical works, and of Juan Manuel Sotomayor, hearer of Mégico.

(Madoz, 1849, pp. 280-281)

20th and 21st centuries

In the XX century and on the occasion of the Civil War, Valdemoro once again suffered human losses and historical-artistic heritage of importance. It was not until well into the 1950s that it regained its economic stability.

The return of democracy in 1975 marks the beginning of a new era in the municipality, with great urban and industrial growth. The creation of new industrial estates and, above all, new neighborhoods (El Restón, UDE Oeste-Norte, Las Comunidades) gives Valdemoro a new image, undergoing a rapid transition from a rural municipality to a commuter town. This growth continues to occur today, and it is expected that in the coming years the town will continue to increase its population, creating new infrastructures, such as the hospital or the future Light Rail that will connect all the neighborhoods.

Human Geography

Demographics

Population growth in Valdemoro between 1985 and 2006

The first demographic data for Valdemoro date back to 1530, with a population of 2,216 inhabitants. Throughout the following centuries and up to the middle of the XX century the number remains stable, oscillating between 2,000 and 4,000 inhabitants depending on the living conditions of the moment.

It was not until the 1970s when Valdemoro began to experience strong growth, largely due to the incipient industries in the municipality and its proximity to the capital. However, the most notable growth occurred at the beginning of the XXI century, when the municipality passed the 30,986 inhabitants of 2001 to 62,750 in 2009. This means that in recent years the relative growth of the municipality has been around 9%, one of the highest figures in the Community of Madrid. Between 2006 and 2007, Valdemoro has been one of the five municipalities with the highest absolute growth in Spain, only surpassed by Palma de Mallorca, Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Murcia and Zaragoza.

In 2006, the population is divided into 24,351 men and 24,166 women. The high degree of youth in the municipality stands out, with 20.51% of Valdemoreños under 15 years of age, compared to 14.83% in the Community of Madrid. The degree of aging (population over 65 years) stands at 6.40%, much lower than the 14.45% of the rest of the Community. The crude birth rate stands at 18.95%, seven points above the Community average, while the mortality rate reaches 3.63%, compared to 6.82% in the Community of Madrid.

The immigrant population of the town has grown considerably in recent years, from 20.61 registered foreigners per 1,000 inhabitants in 1998 to 110.87 per 1,000 in 2006. Immigrants arriving in the city come mainly from South America and non-EU Europe.

Currently, Valdemoro is ranked 17th among the most populous cities in the Community of Madrid, behind Majadahonda (68,110 inhabitants) and ahead of Collado Villalba (55,027 inhabitants). In the list of the most populated cities in Spain, Valdemoro ranks 118th, between El Prat de Llobregat (63,418 inhabitants) and Castelldefels (62,080 inhabitants). Therefore, in population it exceeds six Spanish provincial capitals, Segovia, Ávila, Cuenca, Huesca, Soria and Teruel.

Valdemoro demographic evolution figure between 1877 and 2018

Population in fact according to population censuses.Population of law (2001-2018) or resident population (2001) according to population censuses of the INE. Population according to the municipal standards of 2018, of the INE.

Transportation

Roads

Transport Scheme in Valdemoro

National highways

• A-4: (Madrid-Córdoba-Sevilla-Cádiz)

Toll roads

• R-4: (M-50-Ocaña)

Top-level regional roads

• M-506 (Villaviciosa de Odón-Fuenlabrada-San Martín de la Vega-Arganda del Rey)
• M-410 (Arroyomolinos-Parla-Valdemoro) (In construction)
• M-423 (West of Valdemoro)

Autonomous second level roads

• M-404 (Navalcarnero-Griñón-Chinchón-Villarejo de Salvanés) (In works of dedoblamiento de calzada)

Autonomous third level roads

• M-942 (M-404-Valdemoro)

Railway

Valdemoro Train Station

Valdemoro has a train station in the east of the municipality, belonging to line C-3 (El Escorial-Madrid-Aranjuez) of Cercanías Madrid. In recent years there has been speculation about the creation of a second station in the West, but there is no concrete project.

In June 2006, with the approval of the El Espartal urban project, the creation of a new halt on the C-3 line between the current Valdemoro station and the Ciempozuelos station was announced, a project that is currently paralyzed.

A section of the Madrid-Levante high-speed line runs through the south of the town's municipal area, also having a 2,240-meter-long overtaking and parking lot for trains (PAET).

There is a claim that seeks, based on the expansion of the town to the west, to connect the Valdemoreño neighborhood of "El Hospital" with neighboring Parla, considering various options proposing the union and extension of the commuter lines C-3 and C-4, which would considerably improve both lines. The first option is the extension of line C4 that would communicate with the two Torrejones, and Valdemoro, which would have a new station and at the same time would also connect with line C3, thus unifying the two lines. As a second option to connect both lines, it is proposed, due to its proximity, to link lines C3 and C4 from Pinto to Parla.

This demand also included voices about a broader projection, which also included the installation of a campus associated with the Complutense University of Madrid in the town, near the possible future railway installation.

Buses

With 7 lines and 572 shipments per day in 2006, Valdemoro is the second municipality in the Community of Madrid with the most offer of urban buses, only surpassed in number of daily services by Alcalá de Henares.

Light Rail

In 2007, studies began for the construction of a Light Metro line between the Cercanías station and the neighborhoods of El Restón and the North-West UDE, where the Infanta Elena Hospital is located. The project included a 10-kilometre circular line with 18 stations, and although it was scheduled to come into operation in 2011, it did not come to fruition. The project was part of the 2007-2011 Madrid Metro Network Expansion Plan, but the works did not get to start after the previous studies and the project was suspended without a specific date of resumption.

Economy

In the 1960s, Valdemoro was still primarily agricultural. Its territory was divided into nineteen payments or agricultural districts: Tenerías, Horcavieja, Espinillo, Cerro del Boticario, Alvarado, Valle de las Monjas, Valle del Infierno, Cuevecillas, Cabeza del Gato, Valdajos, Pocillos, Marguilla, Santiago, Tranzones, Valdereja, Cárcava, Portillo, Mira and Arboledas. Its industry was limited almost exclusively to gypsum quarries which, due to lack of modernization, had to be closed down. Of all of them, the most important was the so-called Integrity.

Sectoral share of the economic activity of Valdemoro in 2002

In the 1980s, an important industrial and infrastructure development of the municipality would begin, which would cause a significant increase in the population.

In 2002, the sector distribution was as follows:

• Agriculture: 0.16%
• Industry: 39,50%
• Services: 60.34%

Agriculture

In agriculture, the dry lands (mainly cereals) stand out, and in livestock, the poultry sector. As in the rest of the more developed areas of the Community of Madrid, its importance is less and less.

Industry

Centro Comercial El Restón

The industrial sector in Valdemoro is of great importance, mainly due to its location in one of the radial entrance axes to Madrid. Large national and international companies have their logistics headquarters in Valdemoro, including the distribution center of the El Corte Inglés department store, the automobile spare parts company Lear, the German manufacturer of building envelopes Schuco, and the petrochemical company Total S.A.

Services

In Valdemoro there is an industrial estate called Valdesanchuela. It is the most developed sector of the town, mainly the commercial sector, with 147 employed persons for every 1,000 inhabitants. The two main nerve centers of commerce in Valdemoro are Estrella de Elola street, in the heart of the historic center, and the El Restón shopping center, located in one of the newly built residential neighborhoods of the municipality. It was planned that by the end of 2010 a new shopping center would open its doors that would bear the name of Airón and that it would be located near the Infanta Elena Hospital, whose main store was going to be 'El Corte Inglés', but which canceled its opening, although the chain of shops continues to own the land.

Symbols

The current coat of arms of the town of Valdemoro dates from 1969 and was approved by decree 1.055/1969 of May 9 with the following heraldic description:

The field of azur, a castle, of gold, maimed of sable and cleared of gules; sinister of a moro king, with mantle and silver, crowned of gold and with a sceptre in the sinister and subject by the wrist of the right arm, with a chain of silver to the battlements of the tower of the homage, all stubborn of siple. The Escudo de Armas of the City of Valdemoro, in the Province of Madrid, with a real crown of Spain, which is a circle of gold, engraved in precious stones, composed of eight vases (five seen), also of gold, of interpolated acanto leaves, added of pearls that converge in a gum world, of sugar, with the semi-meridian and Ecuador, of gold,

Administration and politics

After the 2015 municipal elections, the mayor was Guillermo Gross (Ciudadanos), after leading the most voted list and the rest of the parties did not agree to invest another candidate by absolute majority. On July 14, 2017, as a result of the agreement between the PSOE, Ganemos-GAV, Proyecto TUD and IUCM groups, the motion of censure led by the socialist Serafín Faraldos prospered, leaving him as mayor.

In the previous legislature (2011-2015), the Punic operation was particularly relevant, an operation against corruption whose epicenter was the town, which caused the former mayor of the town between 1999 and 2003 for the PP, Francisco Granados, was put in prison without bail, and the subsequent entry into prison of the mayor of the PP José Carlos Boza was also triggered. As of June 2015, another former mayor, José Miguel Moreno Torres, was also being investigated for his possible involvement in said Punic operation.

The Valdemoro corporation is composed as follows (2019):

• Cs:7 councillors (24.18 % of the vows).
• PP: 3 councillors (11.57 % of votes).
• PSOE: 9 councillors (28.57 % of votes).
• VOX: 4 councillors (16.24 % of votes).
• MORE MADRID: 1 councillor (5.22 % of the votes).
• Unregistered: 1 Councillor

Despite the fact that the Spanish Socialist Workers Party obtained the first position in the 2019 local elections, an investiture pact between Ciudadanos, VOX and PP, gave the mayoralty to Sergio Parra, from Ciudadanos.

The current government team of the Valdemoro City Council is made up of the mayor, two deputy mayors and thirteen councilors:

Ordinary plenary sessions are held monthly, although extraordinary plenary sessions are frequently convened in order to address issues of interest to the municipality.

Services

Health

Main stage of Infanta Elena Hospital

Centro de Salud el Restón

On November 24, 2007, the Infanta Elena de Valdemoro Hospital came into service, which has 100 beds, 8 operating rooms and 2 delivery rooms, as well as an emergency service and a day hospital. It provides service to the towns of Valdemoro, San Martín de la Vega, Ciempozuelos and Titulcia, and is part of the public health network of the Community of Madrid, despite being managed by the Swedish company Capio Sanidad.

Valdemoro also has two health centers, dependent on the Health Department of the Community of Madrid, the "Valdemoro" and the "El Restón" Health Center.

Education

Valdemoro has a wide educational offer, both public, subsidized or private:

• Child Education I cycle: 5 public centers, 4 concerted and 6 private.
• Child Education II cycle: 9 public centers, 4 concerted and 2 private.
• Primary education: 9 public centers, 5 concerted and 2 private.
• Secondary education: 4 public, 4 concerted and 2 private centres.
• Baccalaureate: 3 public centers and 3 arranged.
• Middle Degree Training Cycles: 1 public centre and 1 concerted.
• Higher Degree Training Cycles: 1 public center and 1 concerted.

In addition, Valdemoro has an Official School of Languages, which teaches English, French and German courses, a Municipal School of Music and Dance, an Adult Education Center and a UNED university classroom. All these educational centers are grouped in the Educational Activities Center, on Cuba street.

In the 2007-2008 academic year, Valdemoro had 12,046 students enrolled in its centers, divided as follows: 4,412 students in Early Childhood Education, 4,315 students in Primary Education, 2,346 students in Secondary Education, 558 students in Baccalaureate and 558 students in Training Cycles.

National University of Distance Education

Valdemoro has a UNED University Classroom, integrated into the Madrid Sur Associated Center. The presence of the UNED in Valdemoro dates back to the 1991-92 academic year. The facilities are located in the Center for Educational Activities, which has two classrooms with a capacity for 25 students and another two with a capacity for 15 students, the Center's library, an assembly hall for 100 people and an office for administrative tasks. Currently there are more than 500 students enrolled. In the Valdemoro classroom, degrees are taught: access to university for people over 25 and 45 years of age, Law, Pedagogy, Social Education and UNED-CUID (Languages): English.

Justice

Valdemoro is the head of the judicial district of the same name, which covers the municipalities of Chinchón, Ciempozuelos, San Martín de la Vega, Valdelaguna, Titulcia, Torrejón de la Calzada, Torrejón de Velasco and Valdemoro, with a total population of more than 100,000 inhabitants. Currently in Valdemoro there are seven courts of First Instance and Instruction, which are spread over various buildings in the town. However, the construction of a Palace of Justice that brings together all the courts is planned. To relieve work and bring justice closer to the rest of the towns of the party, judicial offices have been set up in Ciempozuelos and Chinchón, and it is planned to create two more in San Martín de la Vega and Torrejón de Velasco.

Culture

The Juan Prado Cultural Center is the main cultural nucleus of the municipality. Its facilities house the headquarters of the Department of Culture, an exhibition hall, a library and the Juan Prado Municipal Theatre, which has a capacity of 458 seats.

In addition to the library of the Cultural Center and the Viva Verde neighborhood library, Valdemoro has had the Ana María Matute Municipal Library since 2007, dedicated to the Spanish novelist, with a bibliographic collection of more than 70,000 volumes and 300 reading points.

Despite not being too significant, it is worth noting the incidence of tourism in the town, with 546 hotel beds spread over 4 hotels and 6 hostels. Valdemoro's proximity to the Warner Theme Park and the capital is a key factor in the development of the local hotel sector.

Historical heritage

Although the town is not well known for its historical and cultural heritage, it is home to many interesting buildings. In fact, its historic quarter is included in the Ministry of Culture's General Register of Cultural Interest, being one of the seventeen towns in the Community of Madrid cataloged as a "Historical-Artistic Site". Also part of said registry are the parish church and the hermitage of Christ in the category of "Historical-Artistic Monument", and the area of El Espartal in the category of "Archaeological Zone".

The Community of Madrid includes the municipality in several cultural routes, highlighting the routes through the Plaza Mayores of the Community and those of the Baroque.

Church of Our Lady of the Assumption

Tower of the parish church

In Baroque style, it is the most important building in the monumental complex of the municipality. It consists of a central nave measuring 60 by 28 meters with four side chapels on each side. The materials used on the outside are brick and stone masonry. Thanks to the intervention of Pedro López de Lerena, it houses paintings by Goya and Bayeu; there are also paintings by Claudio Coello.

Hermitage of the Holy Christ of Health

Baroque-style hermitage that, due to the multiple reconstructions suffered, combines a multitude of styles. It consists of a central nave covered with a barrel vault and six side chapels.

Convent of Santa Clara

Convent of Santa Clara or the Incarnation

The Convent of Santa Clara was built under the patronage of the Duke of Lerma at the beginning of the XVII century. The convent is distributed around a square central cloister, like most monastic buildings of the time.

Source of the Villa

Source of the Villa

Fountain built in 1605 as a result of the granting of the fair privilege granted by Felipe III to the town. It is built in stone from Colmenar, consists of three pipes and is crowned by the first known coat of arms of the Villa.

The Juncarejo

Main page of El Juncarejo

Built by Bruno Fernández de los Ronderos in 1885, it currently houses the Marqués de Vallejo School, whose student body is basically made up of girls and boys from families linked to the Civil Guard. The main building has two floors, and is built in Toledo rigging.

Plaza de la Constitución

Plaza de la Constitución

Rectangular-shaped square that obeys the Castilian tradition, with arcades and two-section balconies. Its buildings include the Clock Tower, built in the second half of the XVII century, the Town Hall, rebuilt in 1994, and the New Town Hall, the work of Sánchez Hinojal, and inaugurated in 1990.

Tower of the Clock

The tower, located in the Plaza de la Constitución, is one of the most recognizable symbols of the municipality. It dates from the year 1672 and was built by the architect Cristóbal Rodríguez de Jarama. The building where it is located was built in the XVI century, although in 1609 its façade was reformed by Francisco de Mora.

Consistorial House

The original building dates from the 16th century, although throughout its history it has undergone numerous reforms and rehabilitations. The first dates from 1609, when the architect Francisco de Mora reformed the arcades. In 1994 it was rehabilitated and since then it has housed the Department of Education and Health.

House of Inquisition

Labor house from the XVII century located in the central Plaza de Autos. The origin of its name is uncertain, although its relationship with the Spanish Inquisition is ruled out, since in Valdemoro there were no courts of this type.

The Astronaut

Francisco Leiro: The astronaut (2001)

Sculpture created by the Galician sculptor Francisco Leiro Lois in 2001. It is four meters high and is located in the El Restón neighborhood.

Youth Guard College

Civil Guard training center, located to the north of Valdemoro, reserved only for children of corps personnel. It is part of the national heritage, but it is also a municipal heritage of Valdemoro.

Parties

• San Marcos (April 25): A popular festival that is held annually in the Bolitas del Airón Park. It has its origin in agricultural celebrations that offered rogatives to ensure the prosperity of the fields. Numerous sports, cultural and leisure activities are currently being held.
• Most Holy Christ of Health (First of May): It is the first patron celebrations of the municipality. Its origin is dated around 1650, when the Walloons requested permission to hold an annual feast in honor of their pattern. Musical performances, cultural events and taurino shows take place in the municipality on these dates.
• Our Lady of the Rosary (September 8): the second patron celebrations, and their origin dates back to five centuries. As in the celebrations of the Christ of Health, taurine, cultural and leisure activities are of great importance these days.
• Virgin of the Pilar (12 October): of recent creation, and in honor of the Virgin of the Pilar, patron of the Guardia Civil, whose parish is in the neighborhood of El Restón, activities are carried out throughout the day.
• Baroque Fair (at the beginning of October): recovered in 2004, the Baroque Fair is an artisan market set in the century XVII, one of the peak periods of the municipality.

Parks and gardens

Some of the parks that Valdemoro has are:

• Parque Bolitas del Airón: with 440 000 m2 of extension, is the green lung of the municipality and its most emblematic park. It houses the largest concentration of trees of paradise (Elaeagnus angustifolia) of the Community of Madrid, and is crossed by two streams, the Ermita de Santiago and the Cañada.
• Parque Tierno Galván: dedicated to the mayor of Madrid between 1979 and 1986, is the second park in extension of Valdemoro, with 120 000 m2. It has a pond and several water circuits that run through it, as well as being equipped with children's areas and a circuit of exercises for adults.
• Parque Adolfo Suárez: the most recent park in the municipality, has an extension of 50 000 m2 and longitudinally runs the UDE West-Norte neighborhood.
• Parque de España: Located in the neighborhood of El Restón, it has 45 000 m2 of surface, two lakes, children's areas, and a bike path that runs through its perimeter.
• Parque de la Alberiza: built in two heights on a small hill and with an area of 11 000 m2, its most outstanding elements are its central source and the pergola of roses that surround it.
• Parque del Duque de Ahumada: located in the heart of the historic centre, on the grounds of the former Youth Guard College, there is a grassland with roses and flowers with two fountains, plus a pergola with glynins.
• Garden of the Duke: located next to the Duque de Ahumada park, it has an ornamental fountain and a sculpture that represents a Guardia Civil in a closed enclosure.
• Parque Andalucía: with an extension of 6709 m2, and located next to the north entrance of the municipality, it has children's area and a large ornamental source, which allows the neighbors to refresh themselves in the months of the warmest.
• Ana Tutor Park.

Sports

Juan Antonio Samaranch

The most important sports facilities in the municipality are:

• Rio Manzanares Sports Complex: it houses a sports pavilion, a heated swimming pool of 25x12.5 meters (now closed, for a breakdown), a gym and a sauna.
• Ice Pista Francisco Fernández Ochoa: bears the name of the Spanish skier who died in 2006, and has an Olympic surface for the practice of the 1800 skating.
• Municipal Sports: hosts the summer pools, ten tennis courts, two paddle tennis courts, a fronton court, a minibasket track and a multi-purpose track. In addition, the complex is completed with several football fields 11 and football 7, and a natural grass stadium, home of the Valdemoro Atlético Sports Club, which currently militates in preferred category.
• Polideportivo Abogados de Atocha: consists of two tennis courts, two paddles, two chito, a multipurpose track and an artificial grass football field.
• Pavilion Cubierto Jesús España: located next to the sports firm Atocha and with capacity for 500 spectators, is the headquarters of the Club de Baloncesto Fundación Valdemoro XXI Century, which currently militates in the LEB Bronce League.
• Sports Complex Paseo del Prado: consists of a multipurpose central court, a room prepared for the practice of judo, fencing, rhythmic gymnastics and musculation, several outdoor courts for the practice of football room, basketball and basketball, gym, sauna and a room for the practice of table tennis and padminton.
• Pool Cover Valdesanchuela: is the second heated pool in the municipality, and has three glasses, one of 25x18,5 meters dedicated to the bathroom, another for the learning and a third to be used for therapeutic purposes.

In popular culture

• The origin of the popular saying Between Pinto and Valdemoro It is somewhat uncertain, although there are several theories about it. Some point out that both villages were separated by a stream; others refer to the dynasty of the Austrias, because Valdemoro was a resting place on the road to Aranjuez; others to a possible Christian-Muslim border during the Reconquista; there is also the one that points to the quality of the wines of both municipalities, because it was said that Pinto was inferior to Valdemoro, and when someone took a wine, between Pinto and Valdemoro. The most likely may be that related to King Fernando III, which on the occasion of the constant disputes between the bishop of Palencia and the cities of Segovia and Ávila with Madrid, to include in their respective demarcations the lands of Pinto and Valdemoro, decides to assign Pinto to Madrid and Valdemoro to Segovia. By then, and in their presence, 42 new milestones were placed, some still visible. It is likely that Fernando III would spend several days in the House of Posts that existed on the dividing line, and that when asking for the king in the Court, someone would respond with the well-known phrase.

• Precisely, Valdemoro wines appear in the national Episodes of Benito Pérez Galdós and in the popular novel The Adventures of Captain AlatristeArturo Pérez-Reverte. This last one is set in the century XVII, period in which the wines of the municipality enjoyed great fame in Madrid.

• Among the many films filmed in Valdemoro stand out The art of dying with Fele Martínez and Elsa Pataki, The Lola goes to the ports with Rocío Jurado and Francisco Rabal, Marianela with Rocío Dúrcal and Pride and passion Sophia Loren, Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant.

• There is a zarzuela of José Clavijo and Fajardo entitled The Fair of Valdemoro. It is an adaptation of the work Il mercato di Malmantile, of the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni and was written in honor of the wedding of the Infanta María Luisa of Spain and the Archduke Leopoldo of Austria.

Twinned cities

• Zug in Western Sahara (2007).
• Gödöllő in Hungary (2008).

Notable people