¿Por qué el 9 de noviembre es la Almudena y es fiesta en Madrid?
Autumn is a nice season, full of unique moments to enjoy beautiful landscape and colours. Madrid lives autumn to the maximum, furthermore, these weeks we can enjoy several bank holidays so we can relax and have fun with our beloved ones: family, friends or… why not? On our own.
After the October 12th bank holiday (previously, we explained the origin of this holiday) and 1st November holiday, well.. In Madrid now, we have another bank holiday extremely interesting: This Thursday 9th November is a major holiday in Madrid because we celebrate the the Virgin of Almudena.
It is bank holiday only in the city of Madrid, no in its surroundings, and this festivity is devoted to the Virgin of Almudena (also, you can make your day by visiting the wonderful cathedral of Madrid, the Cathedral dedicated to this advocation of the Virgin. Once there, you will discover many secrets, for example, the astonishing crypt supported by 558 columns, a crypt where more than 1,500 high nobility souls rest.
But despite this fact, the Virgin of Almudena serves as a patroness of Madrid since 1085, during the pontificate of Gregory VII, when a procession took place next to the Al-Mudayna (this Arabic name means “the citadel”). This ancient wall feel when a series of stones came off and the image of the Virgin was discovered. This image was hidden for more than 700 years. This discovery took place on the 9th November and right now, we know very little about the statue… Maybe the James the Apostle brought it from Jerusalem, as the legends say.
Anyway, it was not until 1623 when Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, asked the City Council to build a temple devoted to this Virgin. Years later, in 1646, the Virgin of Almudena became the patroness of Madrid and the council proclaimed her as “protector and intercessor of the Madrid for ever and ever”.
After works, arrangements, changes and the complete demolition of the, so far, oldest temple in Madrid, back in 1868, from the ruins of the church of Santa María de la Almudena it was built the current Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena, consecrated years later, in 1992. Until that moment, the official Cathedral of Madrid was the San Isidro Church, Madrid.
9th November is bank holiday just in Madrid, not in Spain, and for this reason is a great opportunity to visit, at least, the Cathedral of Madrid.
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