Folders

Right on the edge of the Manzanares Linear Park is the Cerro de la Gavia, property of Adif, which enjoys archaeological protection, since, on it, the remains of one of the most important Carpetan towns in the Community of Madrid, the Town of La Gavia, are preserved.

The Carpetani settled in the park between the 3rd century BC. C. and the 3rd century AD. C. So many years of settlement made the remains that we can find today abundant, with 70% of the structure of the town preserved.

Romans

Several Roman sites were found in the Park. The most important in Villaverde was located in a place known as the Arenero del Ventorro del Tío Blas. José Pérez de Barradas was in charge of the investigation of this site, known as the Roman Villa of Villaverde").

Remains of walls and pavements have been found there, as well as some pieces of mosaic, as well as various bronze objects, coins, ceramics and metals. One of the most notable discoveries was the head of an alabaster statue, the head of Silenus.

Another important site was found in the Arenero de Martín, located near the Manzanares River. Six graves were found there, possibly Roman. The best preserved contained a juvenile skeleton believed to be that of a woman in a supine position.

The objects found, as well as part of the mosaic, were moved during the excavations, so today no vestige of the Roman villa of Villaverde can be found in its original location.

Bourbons

In the Park we can find remains from the time of the Bourbons, who sought to make the Manzanares River navigable. For this purpose, a canal was built parallel to the river which, starting from the Toledo Bridge, extracted its waters from it and, through locks, allowed the navigation of small barges to the town of Rivas. This canal is the Real Canal del Manzanares.

Other vestiges that are still preserved from the period are the Casa de la Cuarta Eclusa") and the Cardboard Mill"). The first, which still stands today, was the building for the workers of the fourth lock of the Real Canal del Manzanares. Another past, much more recent, is that of the barracks for the troops of the Commander of the Popular Army of the Spanish Republic, Enrique Líster.

The interior of the main room of the house has not undergone major changes in recent centuries. Today the watering troughs for the cattle and the mules that pulled the Canal barges are built; The wooden originals were used by Republican troops to keep warm in winter during the Civil War. The fireplace with a bread oven located nearby fed the Court of Ferdinand VII and Bourbon himself.

It is believed that Luis Candelas also visited the House of the Fourth Sluice, transformed into a night brothel by the Bourbon.[1]​.

Spanish Civil War

From the end of 1936, in the middle of the Battle of Madrid, until the end of the War in 1939, the section of the Manzanares River that runs through the Park served as a natural containment moat for the advance of General Franco's rebellious troops, with the Republican defense line located in its surroundings. From Vallecas and VillaVerde to Rivas-Vaciamadrid, kilometers of trenches and various defensive positions were dug, which in some cases were the scene of violent combats on the right bank of the river.

Currently, many material remains from that time can be found in the Park, including trenches and command posts that are preserved almost intact.

Present

The strong degeneration of the Parque Lineal environment in the last thirty years is an incontestable fact. From poorly integrated infrastructure, to illegal landfills and uncontrolled uses of this vast and fragile natural and historical space.

This degeneration has been used by administrations to offer alternatives in the form of other citizen uses that could put an end to this space as it is known, due to its controversial economic and environmental sustainability.[2]​.

The present of the Manzanares Linear Park is thus debated between positions that encourage the construction of large supply or leisure infrastructures in it, converting it or making it disappear, versus other conservationist positions, tending to integrate its environmental, archaeological and historical realities and potentialities. Degradation is then used by everyone as an argument justifying the position defended.

Currently, after the construction on the land of the Manzanares Linear Park (Section 2) of the High Speed ​​train to Levante in its Atocha-Torrejón de Velasco connection, the environmental, landscape and historical impact of the Park has been of great importance and will condition any subsequent attempt to enhance said Heritage.[3]​.

Also of enormous impact will be the Getafe Olympic rowing canal, which the Madrid City Council plans to install without a specific date in Section 2 of the Linear Park. In this case, more than one million square meters will occupy the Manzanares plain in an insufficient space that will make it necessary to divert the course of the river, eliminating the current biotopes, archaeological remains and ultimately simplifying a living environment of great possibilities that will make its historical and environmental recovery impossible.[4]​.

Also of great interest is the work that the Madrid City Council is carrying out to connect Section 1 of the Linear Park with the Madrid Río project. This is a pedestrian and cyclist walkway that will join lands previously separated by the Madrid M-30 ring road and will give a new dimension to the lands closest to the Manzanares Linear Park to the Madrid capital.

Section 3 needs urgent rehabilitation. Sections 1 and 2 are equipped for bicycles and pedestrians, but the latter, which extends to Rivas-Vaciamadrid, is in a state of degradation, even invaded by streams that make transit by bicycle or walking almost impossible.

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Parque Lineal del Manzanares.

• - Manzanares Linear Park.

• - Master Plan for the Use and Management of the Southeast Regional Park.