Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
Frente del Agua, Paredes de Buitrago
Trenches & fortifications
The story
In late July 1936 rebel troops under Colonel García Escámez crossed the Somosierra and seized Paredes de Buitrago, close to the El Villar and Puentes Viejas reservoirs that supplied Madrid with water. Republican forces, helped by workers of the Canal de Isabel II who fortified the positions, stopped them just short. The front stabilised by the end of August and stayed here for the rest of the war, the Nationalist 72nd Division facing Republican mixed brigades across the valley. The Comunidad de Madrid has cleared and signposted 26 positions of both armies.
What you can see today
Trenches, machine-gun nests, shelters and command posts at Loma Quemada (Republican), El Pinar and Peñas Bajas (Nationalist), with information panels.
Plan your visit
An 8 km circular waymarked route starts from the interpretation centre in the old village laundry. Allow 3 hours; good footwear.
- Open
- Waymarked route; interpretation centre hours not published (ask 91 868 02 67)
Checked September 2026 from official sources: comunidad.madrid, turismo.puentesviejas.org. Things change, so check before you travel.
Sources
- comunidad.madrid/cultura/patrimonio-cultural/ruta-guerra-civil-frente-agua
- comunidad.madrid/cultura/patrimonio-cultural/ruta-guerra-civil-frente-agua
Nearby sites
- Bustarviejo penal labour camp · 21 km
- La Granja offensive – the battlefield above La Granja (Cabeza Grande, Matabueyes) · 39 km
- Paracuellos de Jarama cemetery · 55 km
- Alto del León (south side), Guadarrama · 59 km
- Posición Jaca bunker, El Capricho park · 61 km
- Ciudad Universitaria front · 64 km
All 158 sites in Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 →
The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The battlefields, trenches, ruined villages, shelters, museums and memorials of the Spanish Civil War across the whole of Spain, told fairly from both sides.
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