This Saturday we return to the Casa de Campo, to tell you about a very unique space. The Garden of Departure. Here farmland was plowed and created in the 16th century. A fruit and vegetable farm on the Vargas family farm. This farm was located next to the river, far from the urban area.

In the year 1559 the king Felipe II, began the process to acquire the property, the Casa Vargas, which ended up becoming the Casa de Campo, and other adjacent lands, in a process that lasted until 1562, creating an area, very close to the palace, for his personal enjoyment. .

In this way, the orchard was integrated into the recreational and hunting space linked to the Crown, but maintained its productive function.

Together with King's Bridge, its history since then has continued to be associated with that of the Casa de Campo and its use continued until the 1928th century. In XNUMX, the Garden was transferred to the Medicinal Plants Committee, dependent on the Ministry of Agriculture, by Alfonso XIII. It remained this way for a few years, until the Civil War which had one of the most active front lines in Madrid in the Casa de Campo and which destroyed the Huerta and many other parts of the Casa de Campo.

In 2007, within the framework of the project Madrid River The Orchard was restored, almond trees, hazelnut trees, plum trees, pomegranate trees, fig trees, apple trees, mulberry trees, walnut trees, olive trees and pear trees were planted. Some larger trees are preserved, which had survived the vicissitudes of the passage of time such as two spectacular horse chestnut trees. A dry channel has been recreated that reminds us that the stream ran through here Meaques, today buried in this section.

La Huerta is fenced, an enclosure that recovers a historical fact since it is assumed that it has always been fenced. A very interesting and not yet well known element is the Viewpoint of the Huerta de la Partida, with fantastic views of Madrid, to which we will dedicate another day of our 365 days in Madrid.

A abrazo.