Location
This town lies within the Madrid municipal area, and its most densely populated centre is practically joined on to the neighbouring town of Getafe . Just a few kilometres from the capital, it forms part of the city's industrial belt in the south of the Madrid autonomous region.
Population
It underwent rapid population growth relatively recently, in the 1970's, and today the town has over 180,000 inhabitants, making it one of the most heavily populated in the Madrid region.
Useful Facts
Like many other places in the region, Leganés is no longer an agricultural producer supplying the big city nearby, but a city in its own right in which its former activity plays virtually no part. The MetroSur, one of the Madrid Metro lines, runs through Leganés, so that the town has excellent transport connections with the southern area of Madrid, and, of course, with the city itself. Six Metro stations of this Line 12 are in the town.
What to See
The town is amply supplied with leisure and shopping facilities, with large centres dedicated to both (one of which is described below), but its historic and artistic heritage should not be overlooked; this includes an outstanding example of religious art, the Baroque church of San Salvador, built between 1660 and 1700 approximately, which contains altarpieces by José Benito Churriguera. Other buildings worthy of mention include the C18th church of San Pedro Apóstol, in Polvoranca; the hermitages of San Nicasio, Nuestra Señora de Butarque and, the oldest of the three, the hermitage on the La Mora estate Interesting civil architecture, for its part, includes the house of Santa Isabel, site of the first psychiatric centre in the region; and its most important expression in the form of the barracks of the Reales Guardias Walonas (Royal Walloon Guards). Older still are the remains uncovered by archaeological digs, which suggest that the town, today one of the campus sites of Madrid's Carlos III University, had its beginnings thousands of years ago.
Fiestas
There are four local festivals: that of the town's patron saint, Nuestra Señora de Butarque (Our Lady of Butarque), on August 15; that of San Nicasio, on November 11; that of San Juan, which starts on June 24; and that of San Fortunato, patron saint of the district of La Fortuna, in July.
Since 1997, Leganés has had a multipurpose hall called La Cubierta, once just used for bullfights and now also for concerts, fairs, sports and leisure activities. Its roof is very interesting; in fact it consists of two halfspheres, one fixed and the other moveable.
