Through the town

Due to its privileged location in the Sierra de Guadarrama, Collado Mediano seems to have been a crossroads of roads and livestock trails.

There is evidence of a Roman road that came from Alpedrete, and that crossing a “collado mediano”, or medium-sized hill, reached the meadows of Cercedilla and finally crossed the Sierra via the Fuenfría pass. With the passage of time, this road became a cattle track. In this way, the tracks used mainly for the transit of mineral and stone have contributed to creating the history of this town, a meeting place.

In a walk through the village you can see the following places of interest:

Town Hall

Built on large granite ashlars, it is accessed through a triple portico. An example of 18th-century buildings, where traditional mountain houses, buildings, more imposing stone constructions and other lesser structures for agricultural functions all coexisted. Located in the Plaza Mayor, it is notable for its tower housing the clock that is found in every town hall in this mountain area.

Parish Church of San Ildefonso

Construction began on 3 September 1799. It was built with stone from the oldest church in the locality and from the Chapel of San Juan. Both the old church (shrine and old cemetery) and the new one were dedicated to San Ildefonso, a saint born in Toledo in 606 and who died on 23 January, the date on which his saint’s day is celebrated.

Following tradition, it is built on a hillock, as an element unifying the two districts in the municipality, the upper an lower parts. With a floor plan in the shape of a Latin cross, the nave is rectangular, some 16 metres long by 8 metres wide, leading to a transept of similar size with a presbytery 4 metres wide. The latter houses the 17th-century altarpiece on the High Altar from the Mercedarias Convent in Madrid.

At its feet and facing west stands its square tower built in stone masonry. Of more recent construction are the annexes attached to the apse and that serve as a sacristy. The main façade has a covered semi-open portal forming a colonnade on a stone plinth, which gives access to the church through a wooden door. In front of this door is a stone transept, erected – according to the inscription chiselled on the stone – in 1745, and costing 49 reales. Its walls are crowned with a decorative Mudejar brick frieze.

As a curiosity it is worth mentioning that the work cost 100,000 reales, including 2,000 reales which was the value of the materials demolished from the old church. It was inaugurated in 1782 by the parish priest Don Tomás de Ronda, according to documentary evidence.

Caño Fountain

One of the best loved fountains by the residents of Collado Mediano. Throughout its recent history its has served to supply water while serving as a meeting point in the daily lives of the local inhabitants.

Traditional dwelling in Plaza del Caño

This 17th-century stone building is an example of the mountain architecture still remaining in the municipality. Its distinctive features include its small windows to better conserve the heat inside, a key element to withstand the winter weather in this area.

Shrine in the Old Cementery

Located in the old cemetery, it belonged to the old church of the Virgen del Rosario. It is in the late Romanesque style and dates from the late twelfth century. It represents the remains of the main chapel of an old church, whose materials were used to build the Parish Church of San Ildefonso in 1782.

It is accessed through a door with a pointed arch supported by circular columns crowned by capitals representing human forms. It has a simple rectangular nave, covered by an ashlar vault supported by a single pointed central arch. The whole of the cemetery and the shrine, of great historical value, is located inside a small fenced park. The cemetery enclosure is square and enclosed by a wall made of granite masonry.

It is named after the cemetery in whose grounds it stood, and the French who died in the War of Independence were the first to be buried here. It is notable for being the oldest monument in Collado Mediano’s historic-artistic heritage and has recently been restored.

Traditional house in the Plaza del Pozo

An old house built between the 17th and 18th centuries that corresponds to the traditional constructions of Collado Mediano. Built in stone for better heat conservation, it has only one floor. It also has a small courtyard at the front.

Monument to the Spanish Navy (El Ancla)

Built in 1972, this large anchor rests on a circular stone column. A monument dedicated to the Spanish Navy, it commemorates the municipality’s gratitude to the nearby town of Los Molinos for the services provided by its sanatorium, which served the residents of Collado Mediano for a long period of time.

Villa de Collado Municipal Theatre (old cinema)

Since 2007 this building houses the Municipal Theatre, in addition to being a hub for the development of various activities related to culture in the municipality.

The old Guillén Cinema that housed it was built at the end of the 1950s and was one of the few in the whole mountain area at that time. It was a meeting place for the residents of Collado Mediano until its closure in 1972.

Barbarita Fountain

It is named after Doña Bárbara, the first owner of Villa Paca. This well-known villa is the first residential summer house built in the municipality at the end of the 19th century.

The singularity of this fountain lies in its two basins and its three spouts, buried at ground level, located in the vicinity of the emblematic building.

Villa Paca

This was the first “hotel” – what we would today call a summer house – to be built in Collado Mediano. It dates from 1898 and is one of the buildings that came about as a result of the arrival of the railway in the municipality, highlighting the importance of the social phenomenon of the summer holidaymaker. It is located in a district associated with well-known personages and other illustrious visitors of that time.

Municipal Park

Green zone of 7,451 square metres built in 1972. It has three ponds, each with attractive jets of water that take different forms.

In addition to the landscaped areas and the leafy trees there is a space for leisure, where children can enjoy its swings and other children’s games.