Calle de Hartzenbusch

Behind a surname that trips up almost everyone who reads it aloud stands one of the greats of Spanish Romantic theater. Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch was born in Madrid in 1806, son of a German cabinetmaker and a Spanish mother, and learned the woodworking trade before turning to literature. In 1837 he premiered Los amantes de Teruel and his name became known. The play revives an old legend from Teruel: Diego and Isabel love each other, but her family gives him a deadline to make his fortune; Diego returns a day late, she is already married, and the two die of grief side by side. Teruel reenacts it every year. Hartzenbusch also directed the National Library between 1862 and 1875. The city council dedicated this street to his memory in 1886; it was formerly called calle de Moreno y Rodríguez, and runs between Fuencarral and Palafox, among old façades and neighborhood shops.