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Madrid opens its largest photographic archive: 200,000 images to explore the city we were
It is now possible to trace Madrid’s history through 200,000 digitised photographs. The Gerardo Contreras collection, available online, makes it possible to discover what the city and its protagonists were like. A unique opportunity for curious Madrid residents.
Those who walk around Madrid and are curious about its past now have a new window open to them. From this week, anyone can access 200,000 historical photographs online and free of charge, portraying life in the city and in Spain during much of the 20th century. The collection, the work of photojournalist Gerardo Contreras, is available on the Community of Madrid’s Archives Portal and allows users to immerse themselves in everyday scenes, major events and corners that have since been transformed.
The images, taken between 1924 and 1971, show everything from the arrival of penicillin in Spain to the inauguration of the Madrid-Seville-Lisbon air route, including the monarchy of Alfonso XIII and the impact of man’s arrival on the Moon. The archive brings together nitrate and cellulose-acetate negatives, glass plates and thousands of paper prints, many from international agencies and kept by Contreras during his time at the head of the Contreras y Vilaseca agency.
Among the most singular items are around 3,000 glass plates documenting, for example, charitable events presided over by Queen Victoria Eugenia between 1924 and 1940. The plastic film rolls, with images taken between 1935 and 1941, contain scenes from the Spanish Civil War in Madrid and the immediate post-war period. The bulk of the collection, more than 130,000 snapshots, covers 1939 to 1971 and reflects everything from social and sporting life to the weather and urban changes.
For those looking for specific details, the Archives Portal search engine makes it easier to locate moments, places and people. Access is open and free, making this collection a valuable tool for students, researchers and any Madrid resident keen to discover what the city we inhabit today used to be like.
The Community of Madrid’s Archives Portal has become established in recent years as a key resource for those wishing to understand the evolution of the city and its surroundings. Its digital catalogue grows every season, integrating collections from photographers, institutions and private collections. Thus, Madrid is already beginning to move in that direction: opening its collective memory and making it accessible to everyone, from any corner and at any time.