Parque del Oeste Pillboxes

Few visitors to Parque del Oeste know that this zone was once a bloody front line during the Spanish Civil War. Three still-standing pillboxes date back to that historic military conflict.

These towers were part of the more than 15 built by the Franco’s forces during the Spanish Civil War, in their attempt to conquer the city of Madrid. It was one of the most advanced pro-Franco positions in Madrid and these buildings—dating back to 1938—were located in a complex network of trenches that pointed to the city.

Of the whole of the concrete towers that were built, only three remain standing today, which are walled up with two embrasures to introduce the machine guns, conserving the impacts of the republican artillery. In one of them, you can still see the inscription made by the national unit that was commissioned to build them: ‘Sappers number 7.’ These pillboxes were aimed towards the neighborhood of Arguelles and the model prison that today is the headquarters of the Spanish Air Force.