Colmenar Viejo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Colmenar Viejo
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Hermitage of Santa Ana
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Location of Colmenar Viejo in Madrid
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 Colmenar Viejo
Location in Community of Madrid
Colmenar Viejo
Location in Spain
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| Country |  Spain |
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| Community |  Community of Madrid |
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| Province | Madrid | ||
| Comarca | Cuenca Alta del Manzanares | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 182.6 km2 (70.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population
(2018)
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| • Total | 49,498 | ||
| • Density | 271.07/km2 (702.08/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym(s) | Colmenareños | ||
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) | ||
| Postal code |
28770
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Colmenar Viejo is a lively town and municipality in Spain. It's located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Madrid in the Community of Madrid. About 49,498 people live here, and it's part of an area called Cuenca Alta del Manzanares.
Contents
Exploring Colmenar Viejo's Main Sights
Colmenar Viejo is home to many interesting historical places. You can find old archaeological sites here. Many of these sites date back to the time of the Visigoths, an ancient people who lived in Spain. These sites include areas where people lived and where they were buried.
The most important places to visit in Colmenar Viejo are:
- Basilica of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción: A beautiful church that is a major landmark.
- Ermita de Remedios: A small chapel dedicated to the town's saint.
- Visigothic archaeological tombs: Ancient burial sites from the Visigoth era.
Understanding Colmenar Viejo's Environment
The municipality of Colmenar Viejo covers a large area. It is about 182.6 square kilometers (70.5 square miles) in size. This makes it the third largest municipality in the province of Madrid. Only Madrid city itself and Aranjuez are larger.
For a long time, people in Colmenar Viejo have been mining granite. This activity has changed the look of the land over time. Also, a lot of the land is used for livestock farming. This means raising animals like cows and horses. Because of this, large areas of grassland have become very important to the landscape.
A big part of Colmenar Viejo's land is protected. It falls within the Parque regional de la Cuenca Alta del Manzanares. This park is called the Manzanares Upper Basin Regional Park. Being part of this park means the land has a very high level of environmental protection.
There's also a special area called the Navalvillar Grassland. The municipality protects this area. Even though it's not in the regional park, it has many different types of plants and animals.
Colmenar Viejo's Climate
Colmenar Viejo has a type of weather called a hot-summer Mediterranean climate. This means it has hot summers and cold winters.
| Climate data for Colmenar Viejo, 1982–2010 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.0 (46.4) |
10.0 (50.0) |
13.9 (57.0) |
15.2 (59.4) |
20.0 (68.0) |
26.0 (78.8) |
30.0 (86.0) |
29.7 (85.5) |
24.3 (75.7) |
17.4 (63.3) |
11.7 (53.1) |
8.7 (47.7) |
17.9 (64.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.8 (40.6) |
6.3 (43.3) |
9.3 (48.7) |
10.5 (50.9) |
14.8 (58.6) |
20.1 (68.2) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.6 (74.5) |
19.0 (66.2) |
13.4 (56.1) |
8.3 (46.9) |
5.6 (42.1) |
13.3 (55.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.6 (34.9) |
2.5 (36.5) |
4.7 (40.5) |
5.7 (42.3) |
9.6 (49.3) |
14.1 (57.4) |
17.4 (63.3) |
17.6 (63.7) |
13.8 (56.8) |
9.4 (48.9) |
4.9 (40.8) |
2.5 (36.5) |
8.6 (47.5) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 52 (2.0) |
41 (1.6) |
36 (1.4) |
52 (2.0) |
57 (2.2) |
28 (1.1) |
14 (0.6) |
16 (0.6) |
36 (1.4) |
76 (3.0) |
78 (3.1) |
68 (2.7) |
537 (21.1) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 5.7 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 6.7 | 7.6 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 4.0 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 62.5 |
| Average snowy days | 3.1 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 11.4 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 77 | 70 | 61 | 60 | 58 | 48 | 40 | 42 | 54 | 70 | 75 | 78 | 61 |
| Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología | |||||||||||||
Population Growth in Colmenar Viejo
The population of Colmenar Viejo has changed a lot over the years. This chart shows how many people lived in the town from 1900 to 2009. You can see that the number of residents has grown quite a bit, especially in recent decades.
| Vertical bar chart Demographic of Colmenar Viejo between 1900 and 2009 |
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Colmenar Viejo in Movies and TV
Colmenar Viejo has been a popular spot for filming movies and TV shows! The Dehesa de Navalvillar, a local grassland, was used by Estudios Tablada in Madrid. Many famous films were shot there, including:
- El Cid
- Spartacus
- Alexander the Great
- For A Few Dollars More
- La última aventura
- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
- Conan the Barbarian
More recently, the TV series Locked Up (known as Vis a vis) had a studio built in Colmenar Viejo for most of its filming. Popular Netflix series like Money Heist and Sky Rojo have also filmed scenes in the area.
Getting Around Colmenar Viejo: Transport Options
Colmenar Viejo has good transport links, making it easy to get around.
Bus Services
The town has both local and interurban bus lines.
Urban Bus Lines
These buses help people travel within Colmenar Viejo:
- L-1: Connects Las Adelfillas to the Train Station.
- L-2: Connects Remedios Avenue to the Train Station.
Interurban Bus Lines
These buses connect Colmenar Viejo to other towns and to Madrid:
- 610: Travels between Torrelodones, Hoyo de Manzanares, and Colmenar Viejo.
- SE 720: Goes from Colmenar Viejo to Manzanares el Real (passing through Soto del Real).
- 720: Connects Colmenar Viejo to Collado Villalba.
- 721: Travels from Colmenar Viejo (via Libertad Avenue) to Madrid (Plaza de Castilla).
- 722: Goes from Colmenar Viejo (via Ronda Oeste) to Madrid (Plaza de Castilla).
- 723: Connects Colmenar Viejo to Tres Cantos (not available on Sundays).
- 724: Travels from El Boalo and Manzanares el Real to Madrid (Plaza de Castilla).
- 725: Connects La Cabrera, Valdemanco, Bustarviejo, and Miraflores de la Sierra to Madrid (Plaza de Castilla).
- 726: Goes from Navalafuente and Guadalix de la Sierra to Madrid (Plaza de Castilla).
- 727: Connects San Agustín de Guadalix to Colmenar Viejo.
- Night bus line 702: Travels between Colmenar Viejo and Madrid (Plaza de Castilla) at night.
Train Station
Colmenar Viejo has a train station located just outside the main town. It's the last stop for line C-4 of Cercanías Madrid, which is a local train service. From this station, you can reach:
- Tres Cantos in about 8 minutes.
- Cantoblanco University in about 15 minutes.
- Madrid (Chamartin station) in about 23 minutes.
Before 2011, trains to Burgos used to pass through Colmenar. However, due to a problem in the Somosierra tunnel, those trains no longer use this route.
Celebrating in Colmenar Viejo: Festivities
Colmenar Viejo has several exciting traditional festivals throughout the year:
- Fiesta de la Vaquilla: Celebrated on February 2nd.
- Fiesta de la Maya: Celebrated on May 2nd.
- Festivities in honor of the Virgen of Remedios: Held on the last weekend of August.
- Day of Colmenar Viejo: This day, November 22nd, remembers when the village was officially recognized by Ferdinand II of Aragon.
Bullfighting Tradition
Colmenar Viejo has a famous bullring called La Corredera. It opened in 1891. This bullring is considered one of the most important in Spain, second only to Las Ventas in downtown Madrid. The bullring was updated and reopened in 1990.
Sister Cities
Colmenar Viejo has special connections with two other towns in different countries. These are called "twin towns" or "sister cities":
See also
In Spanish: Colmenar Viejo para niños
