Calle de Minas

Malasaña·Universidad

The name alludes to caves or underground galleries that existed on the hillside before the area was built up. The most widespread tradition links them to the remains of a bridge over the Matalobos stream, destroyed by the troops of Henry II of Castile, whose arches served as a refuge for criminals. Three other hypotheses compete without direct evidence. Mesonero Romanos himself declared in 1861 that of this street “we know neither the etymology nor the history,” placing it at the front of the street-name disputes.

Calle de Minas drops from Espíritu Santo to Pez down a slope so steep the ground itself tells its secret: beneath the pavement ran the Matalobos stream, which came down from the Amaniel woods. Before the houses arrived, the bottom of that ravine filled with caves and hollows. People called them “minas”⁠—⁠not for metals, but in the sense of dug-out galleries, holes in the earth. From that desolate spot comes the name, and through those hollows, it is said, bandits spent the night. Mesonero Romanos included it in 1861 among the quarter’s upper parallels and described it as having “no population, vitality or commerce” owing to its extreme position and its incline. Through the 20th century it stayed true to its humble character: tavern, herbalist, bakery, carpentry. Its oddity is another: it has kept the same name for as long as written records exist, something almost impossible in a Madrid street map remade entirely in the 19th century.

Its names

  • Minas AltaSiglo 17th – mid 19th century
  • Calle de las MinasMediados del 19th century – actualidad
Sources (6)

Crossings