★★★★★ 5.0
Discover
Matadero Madrid
Standing at Pl. de Legazpi in Arganzuela, you're facing a 48-pavilion fortress designed by Luis Bellido after he studied Europe's greatest slaughterhouses in summer 1907. This complex operated for 72 straight years—1924 to 1996—processing Madrid's entire meat supply. See those geometric Neo-Mudéjar tiles? That's Bellido's genius solving an impossible challenge: raising marshy riverbank ground using terraced construction for drainage. In 2006, this 165,000-square-meter industrial giant became a contemporary arts hub. Nave 16 spans over 4,000 square meters alone. Step through those gates and you're walking into architectural revolution transformed into creative paradise.
Did You Know?
- :Matadero Madrid was originally built between 1911 and 1925 as a state-of-the-art municipal slaughterhouse and cattle market, designed by architect Luis Bellido, who traveled across Europe to study the latest advancements in slaughterhouse technology and hygiene before creating the complex.
- The architecture of Matadero Madrid blends industrial functionality with Neo-Mudéjar style, featuring distinctive blue and green ceramic tiles on the façades—a decorative touch uncommon in utilitarian buildings of its era, which helped soften its industrial appearance.
- Today, Matadero Madrid is a vibrant cultural hub hosting everything from large-scale art installations and circus performances to open-air concerts, and it even includes a 4,000 m² exhibition space (Nave 16) and a unique 'Casa del Lector' (House of the Reader), a library and cultural center dedicated to literature and reading.