Torrelodones

Torrelodones is a municipality in the northwest of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Spain. It is situated 29 kilometers northwest from the city of Madrid. Because of its location between the Sierra de Guadarrama and the metropolitan area of the capital, it is linked to two districts in Madrid: the agricultural area of Guadarrama and the metropolitan area of Madrid.It lies at an average altitude of 845 meters. According to the 2014 census, 22,838 people live in the municipality, distributed among seven towns.The people of Torrelodones earn among the highest per capita incomes of the Community of Madrid. Services, hotels, and construction are the main economic activities. In 2012 it had about 22,680 inhabitants. With over three colleges and four developments, Torrelodones is usually divided into two parts: the "Torrelodones people", where there is the Town Hall, and the "Torrelodones colony", where there are schools, homes and small businesses.Torrelodones is bordered to the north by Hoyo de Manzanares, to the south by Las Rozas de Madrid, to the west by Galapagar, and to the east by Madrid (through El Monte de El Pardo).Historically the municipality was named "Torrelodones" (Lodones' Tower). That name led to the current name of the town Torrelodones. The name comes from, for one side, the Muslim watchtower that Muslims used during Al-andalus age to guard the city from the attacks of Christian people during the Iberian peninsula's reconquest. For the other side, "Lodon" (hack berry) is a type of tree that was really abundant in that zone whose scientific name is Celtis australis.