Casa de Los Lujanes and La Plaza de La Villa. (for Amelia)

The oldest house in Madrid. The oldest door is a little way down the narrow alley way on the left of the tower (you can just see the right-hand white surround). This square was the old market and meeting place in mediaeval Madrid. The Lujanes family were the local bigwigs in the 14th and 15th centuries. This was before Madrid became important. Earlier Kings and Queens of Castilla had sometimes held court here but it was a small provincial town compared to the royal cities of Valladolid, Burgos and Toledo. Only when Phillip II decided to make Madrid one of his more permanent residences, did its central position in the Peninsula seem obvious for a centralized beaurocracy to govern Spain and an empire. From the late 16th century onwards the population of Madrid increased exponentially
I caught a lucky break between the streams of guided tours but I had to wait ages for it!