Short answers, pulled from the story.
Philip II moved his court to Madrid in June 1561, transforming the town into the political center of the monarchy and capital of Spain. The population grew rapidly from about 18,000 in 1561 to 80,000 by 1598.
Madrid became a stronghold of the Republican faction and an international symbol of anti-fascist struggle during the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939. The city suffered aerial bombing and fell to Francoists in March 1939 after an all-out battle in November 1936.
José Luis Martínez-Almeida of the People's Party has served as mayor since 2019. He took office following the mandate of left-wing Mayor Manuela Carmena who served from 2015 to 2019.
Madrid lies in the center of the Iberian peninsula on the southern Meseta Central, sixty kilometers south of the Guadarrama mountain range. It straddles Jarama and Manzanares river sub-drainage basins within the wider Tagus River catchment area.
The Bank of Spain was founded in 1782 as the Bank of San Carlos and later renamed Bank of San Fernando in 1829 before becoming the Bank of Spain in 1856. Its headquarters remain on calle de Alcalá.