The Almudena Cathedral is a Madrid landmark, which took more than 100 years to complete. Shortly after King Philips II declared Madrid the capital of Spain in 1561, he decided that the city needed a grand cathedral. With much opposition and political turmoil, the project was postponed again and again until finally in 1868, the archdiocese in Toledo granted permission to construct a new cathedral dedicated to the female patron saint of Madrid, Virgin Almudena. The cathedral was officially declared complete in 1993.
