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Bourbon Madrid

  • Bourbon Arrival

Felipe V initiates the Bourbon dynasty on the 18th of February, 1701. When he arrived in Madrid, he lodged himself in the Palace of the Buen Retiro while waiting for his public entrance in the Court to live in the old Royal Palace.

In 1720 work began on the Bridge of Toledo, which was a major problem for the Madrid City Council since it had only been partially completed dating back to the previous century. Over time, the fury of the river swept away the provisional wood bridges, mostly do to the fact that they were very long bridges since they spanned the widest and lowest parts of valley. The bridge had middle arches, arbours, viewpoints and small fountains. It had two rococo style chapel-monuments dedicated to Saint Isidore and his wife Saint Mary. The bridge had in its entrances and exits obelisks, fountains and incline ramps that facilitated access down to the river bed.

  • The Alcázar

Christmas 1734 was tragic as the Royal Palace caught fire, but there were no deaths as the flames were not in the royal residence of the Palace. Tragically, many treasures burned that were collected by the kings who had passed through the Palace. Quickly, Felipe V ordered the construction of a new Palace on the same location as the existing Palace. Felipe V desired an air of regality, like that of Versailles. On April 7, 1733 the first stone was laid, one of forty feet in width.

On the 9th of July in 1746, the king died in the Buen Retiro Palace and was buried in the palace church on la Granja de San Ildefonso.

The reign of Fernando VI began and a tranquil chapter of Madrid's history opened during which important innovations for the city were carried out. One of which was constructing the orphanage on Fuencarral street.

  • The best mayor: the king

On September 11, 1759 Carlos III, son of Felipe V, was proclaimed king. Carlos III did much for Madrid, although he did not like the city very much and almost moved the capital to Seville or Valencia. During the first twenty years of his reign he lived in the Royal Court, because he thought that Madrid was a disagreeable and dangerous city.

Carlos III undertook reforms on the city's pavement and public street cleaning in 1761. Every week the bailiffs entered houses and examined the state of the houses, imposing fines on the most undesirable dwellings.

As a result, garbage was no longer thrown onto the street, but rather kept in rubbish bins until trash buggies made their rounds. The citizens of Madrid were required to install gutters on their houses to avoid water flooding directly onto the street. Also, ponds were constructed for the disposal of fecal matters and drains to rid houses of kitchen and bath water. The City Council bookmarked an annual sum of 250,000 reales for cleaning and sanitizing the city.