Torrejón de Ardoz is a municipality of Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. It is located to the east of the city of Madrid, near the A-2, the highway connecting Madrid and Barcelona and is essentially a dormitory town, mostly consisting of apartments, a large mall and a park containing models of many famous European landmarks.
The European Union Satellite Centre, an agency of the European Union, is located in Torrejón de Ardoz. It is also the location of the headquarters of the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, the Spanish space agency.
Through the streets of its old town, which has places of great cultural interest, you can learn about its long history. Today, its Europa Park delights young and old alike. La Casa Grande, dating from the fourteenth or fifteenth century, was once the work house of the Jesuits.
When the Jesuits were banished (18th century), it was used for several functions in different hands: it was the barracks of the Civil Guard, and now it is an important hotel and artistic center, which is worth a visit for its wine press, patios and cellars. It also houses an important collection of Byzantine icons.
Another tourist attraction in this municipality is, without a doubt, the church of San Juan Evangelista. Located in the modern Plaza Mayor, this church built in the sixteenth century was more modest and smaller than we know it today, since in the seventeenth century it was enlarged to its present form. Inside it holds one of the artistic treasures of the town: the Martyrdom of St. John the Evangelist, painted by Claudio Coello in 1675.