Old Olive Tree Outside The Almudena Cathedral, Madrid Royalty-Free Stock Photo

The cathedral seems to have been built on the site of a medieval mosque that was destroyed in 1083 when Alfonso VI reconquered Madrid.[1]Francisco de Cubas, the Marquis of Cubas, designed and directed the construction in a Gothic revival style. Construction was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, and the site lay abandoned until 1950,[2] when Fernando Chueca Goitia [es] adapted the plans of de Cubas to a baroque exterior to match the grey and white façade of the Palacio Real that stands directly opposite.The cathedral was completed in 1993, when it was consecrated by Pope John Paul II.[3] On 22 May 2004, the marriage of King Felipe VI, then crown prince, to Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano took place at the cathedral