The Siege and Destruction of Madrid's Montaña Barracks: A Tragic Chapter in the

Montaña Barracks, situated on Montaña de Príncipe Pío in Madrid, was a significant military building constructed in the 19th century. Its construction was completed in 1863 at a cost of about 20 million reales, primarily funded by the ecclesiastical desamortization of 1858-1863 (known as desamortización de Madoz). The building was designed to house a large garrison of soldiers.

On July 19, 1936, General Fanjul, without troops in Madrid but leading the uprising, entered the barracks disguised as a civilian. The Montaña barracks were surrounded by government troops on March 19, 1937. The siege was led by Lieutenant Orad de la Torre. The sublevados resisted for a few hours before the barracks were destroyed during the siege and subsequent assault.

The Montaña barracks subsequently served as a concentration camp for Republican prisoners in April 1939 and were later transformed into a public park in 1972.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons