Logbook · 4 places

What to see and do in Majadahonda

What to see and do in Majadahonda (Área Metropolitana, Madrid): 4 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Nature · 2 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Majadahonda

Battle of Majadahonda 850 m
Mount of el Pilar 3.8 km

Towns near Majadahonda

Spain › Community of Madrid › Área Metropolitana › Majadahonda

What to see and do in Majadahonda

Majadahonda
Village
Majadahonda, founded around the 13th century by shepherds from Segovia — its name refers to a “majada honda” —, is today a municipality of around 73,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Madrid, with which it forms an urban continuum, as it does with Las Rozas, Boadilla del Monte and other neighboring municipalities. In 1812 it saw an Anglo-Portuguese cavalry charge against the French, and during the Civil War, when it was the scene of fierce fighting in the taking of Madrid, it was left almost deserted. Its later expansion has been very rapid, like that of other municipalities in the metropolitan area, and today it has numerous services, including the Puerta de Hierro University Hospital.
Mount of el Pilar
Nature
Monte del Pilar is a Mediterranean woodland of 804 hectares divided between Pozuelo de Alarcón, which contributes 446, Majadahonda, with 249, and Madrid, with the remaining 109; a remnant of the old hunting grounds of the court of Philip II. It is a natural continuation of the Regional Park of the Upper Manzanares Basin, from which it was separated by the A-6 motorway and by housing developments built in the second half of the twentieth century. In the drier areas holm oak, broom and stone pine predominate, while ash, elm and poplar occupy the riverbanks. The wildlife, scarce owing to human pressure, includes rabbits, hares, foxes and squirrels, as well as birds such as the woodpigeon or the little owl, and occasionally the odd wild boar drawn by rubbish.
Battle of Majadahonda
Historical milestone
On 3 January 1937, General Luis Orgaz, who had replaced Varela after the latter was wounded on 25 December, launched close to twenty thousand men against Las Rozas and Majadahonda, with two tank companies and heavy artillery, in the third battle of the La Coruña road; facing them, the Republicans lined up five divisions totalling 45,000 men. Asensio's column occupied Majadahonda on the 4th, while Soviet T-26 tanks neutralised the German Panzer I tanks supporting the attack. The insurgents gained ten kilometres of road but failed to cut Madrid off from the sierra de Guadarrama, with casualties of between 6,000 and 15,000 men; the town was left almost deserted and devastated, and had to be rebuilt by Regiones Devastadas.
The Battle of Majadahonda
Historical milestone
The Battle of Majadahonda was fought on 11 August 1812, during the Peninsular War. The French cavalry under General Treilhard surprised the Anglo-Portuguese vanguard which, under the command of Brigadier D'Urban, was marching at the head of Wellington's army and had occupied Majadahonda and Las Rozas that morning. The Portuguese did not resist and fled, abandoning three cannons and almost two hundred men; the French galloped as far as Las Rozas and spread panic through the British camp before falling back and forming a line. The battle was decided in favour of the French when the reserve squadrons entered the fray. General Beresford, unhappy with the Portuguese cavalry despite its good performance a month earlier at the Arapiles, requested a reprimand that Wellington did not grant.