Atocha [aˈtotʃa] is an administrative neighborhood (barrio) of Madrid belonging to the district of Arganzuela.
The Atocha meadow appears as Prato de Thoia and prado de Toia in the 13th-century Madrid town charter.[1]It has been linked to atochar ("esparto field"), the hermitage of Our Lady of Atocha (derived from Theotoca ("Mother of God") or Antiochia) or atochada[2] (an earthwork with grasses to contain water, here applied to a local brook).[3]
Located in the middle of Madrid, the ward is formed by a strip between the avenue Calle de Méndez Álvaro (south-west), and the north-eastern area of Madrid Atocha railway station, that occupies great part of its territory. The northern border is at the square Plaza del Emperador Carlos V and the southern one in the avenue Calle de Pedro Bosch.
Atocha borders the districts of Centro (north), Retiro (north-east), Puente de Vallecas (south) and with the Arganzuelan wards of Palos de Moguer, Las Delicias and Legazpi.[4]
Home of Madrid Atocha, the main railway station of the city, the ward is also served by the Metro lines 1 (at Estación del Arte and Atocha stations), 6 (at Méndez Álvaro station) and by several lines of a commuter rail network named Cercanías Madrid.[5]
Lomo hecho de atocha, romero o broza y tierra, para contener el agua en los bancales.
Media related to Atocha neighborhood, Madrid at Wikimedia Commons
40°24′2.95″N 3°41′1.25″W / 40.4008194°N 3.6836806°W / 40.4008194; -3.6836806