Colmenar de Oreja

(Colmenar de Oreja · Madrid)

Colmenar and Oreja are two previously different settlements. The one is named for obvious reasons related to the care of bees. The other comes from Latin, and the Roman consul who ruled the territory was called Aurelius: from there, Oreja. As hive grew over the centuries, Oreja did not. When in 1833 there was the provincial division that has essentially lasted until today, Oreja remained in the province of Toledo and Colmenar in the province of Madrid. Colmenar received the full official name by which it is known today and in 1922 King Alfonso XIII gave him the title of city: in those years it was the third most populous municipality in Madrid.