The Church of San Nicolás de los Servitas is also know as La Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari and is located at 1 Plaza San Nicolás in Madrid. The church is the oldest in the city, and was first mentioned in a publication in 1202, the "Fuero de Madrid", which determined local laws and regulations.
It is the oldest Catholic church in Madrid, dating back to the 13th C. and it is mentioned in the "fueros" (city foundation documents determining local laws and regulations) in 1202. The oldest part of the building is the bell tower, which probably dates back to the time when Madrid was a small Muslim village in the 12th Century. That oldest part of the structure has undergone a degree of renovation, still keeps some of the distinctive "Mudéjar" (Muslim) style in its arches. This all pre-dates the time that Phillip II officially moved the Spanish Empire Court to Madrid in 1561. When I visited it in 2019, the inside of the church was pretty plain, but the local priest told me that they were applying to some city grants to restore the inside to its original state. If you are in the general area its an interesting site to visit and learn about the Madrid before its Imperial court history. read more