Las Rozas de Madrid is one of the largest townships and municipalities in the autonomous community of Madrid, Spain, with an area of 59 km² (22¾ sq. mi.). It is located 20 km (12 miles) northwest of the city of Madrid itself, on the A-6 freeway to A Coruña. Las Rozas is the beginning of this freeway, near the fork road M-505 to El Escorial, which marks the southern boundary of this ‘comarca’ or rural district (although it is no longer rural).
The municipality is served by four RENFE railway stations– Las Rozas, Las Matas, El Pinar and El Tejar. A fifth stop, at Peñascales was closed. The municipality shares borders with Torrelodones to the north, Villanueva del Pardillo and Galapagar to the west, the national park of Monte del Pardo (Madrid) in the east and Majadahonda (south).
Las Rozas has one of the highest average per capita incomes in the Community of Madrid.
During the final decades of the 20th century the town has experienced a vigorous building program, mostly as a dormitory town for Madrid, with a correspondingly strong population growth, which more than doubled between 1991 and 2005 (from 35,137 to 76,246 inhabitants).
The provisioning for local services (such as schools and new dwellings) has at times been outpaced by the locality’s high birth and immigration rates. However, by 2010 the community was well served in all health, education and social sectors.
Cinema
During the 1960s, Las Rozas was used as a film set, with one studio that Samuel Bronston built being a luxurious mansion near Las Matas. It was one of the most important film studios in Europe and aimed to be the largest in the world, but commercial failures such as 55 Days at Peking prevented Las Rozas from becoming a famous film making location. For the filming of 55 Days at Peking many locals (called “roceños”) were employed as extras and as the bricklayers that built the sets decorated them in tribute to the beauty of Ava Gardner. It is believed an artificial river was constructed and filled by tankers.
A road across the Dehesa of Navalcarbón is named in Samuel Bronston’s honour. He wished to be buried in Las Rozas, his remains were finally put to rest in the graveyard of Las Rozas.
Culture
There are many cultural activities mainly based around the Joaquín Rodrigo Auditorium, which includes a school of music and dance, four cultural centres, three libraries and five exhibition facilities.
Listed on the official web-site of the municipality there is: an annual Carnival, Concierts of Sacred Music, Coral Music and Folk Winter Festival as well as The Compositores de España International Piano Competition which has been held here since about 2000.
There are also various themed street-markets, fairs celebrating horsemanship in April, various seafood and tapas exhibitions in the summer and Festibike international cycling event in the autumn.