Count Duke

The Conde Duque cultural center offers more than 58,777 square meters of infrastructure dedicated to culture. In addition to several exhibition halls, it has an auditorium and a theater where different performing arts shows are regularly held.

The link with Latin America, central focus of the 2025-26 season of Contemporánea Condeduque (Diario de Madrid, September 10, 2025)

With its imposing pink façade, the building that houses this cultural center was once an important barracks created at the end of 1717 at the behest of Philip V, the first Bourbon king. Completed in 1730, the then Royal Barracks of the Corps of Guards can be considered the last great example of Madrid architecture before the introduction of the Italianate style, which became dominant after the construction of the Royal Palace. In 1976, the building was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument, saving it from demolition. Known as the ‘Conde Duque Barracks,’ it is named after the Count of Lemos and Duke of Berwick and Liria (1718-1785), a descendant of the kings of England and married to a daughter of the Duke of Alba, whose family retained ownership of the land until 1943. A devastating fire partially destroyed it in 1869, and its restoration began in 1969 when it was acquired by the Madrid City Council. In 1983, Conde Duque became a cultural center under the auspices of the Madrid City Council. A comprehensive renovation, through the Master Plan formalized in 2005 and completed in 2011, restored the exterior and interior facades, recovering the exposed brickwork, the original window and door openings, and the original heights where they had disappeared. One of Madrid's main cultural centers, Conde Duque is one of the three major urban cultural spaces promoted by the Madrid City Council's Department of Arts, Sports, and Tourism, along with Matadero Madrid and CentroCentro. The building houses numerous institutions managed through the Directorate General of Libraries, Archives, and Museums; the Directorate General of Heritage and Urban Landscape; and the public company Madrid Destino. These two departments and the public company within the same area directly manage the center's activities, without interfering in each other's specialized areas.