Calle Gallarza

Gallarza is a Basque surname of place-name origin. It comes from an estate in the lands of Guipúzcoa, in the Léniz valley, and passed from there to those who lived on it. Its root combines the Basque word galar, dry wood or a dead branch, with the suffix -tza, which marks abundance: a spot where dry trunks abound. Which particular Gallarza the street honors could not be documented. Anyone walking it will find a short, quiet street in the very heart of El Viso. That estate explains much of its character: it was built between 1933 and 1936 to Rafael Bergamín’s plans, on one of the highest points in Madrid, from which it takes its name. It is one of the cleanest examples of Spanish rationalism applied to the garden city, with houses of sober lines and narrow streets meant for strolling. Several neighboring streets bear the names of peninsular rivers such as Nervión, Sil, Tormes and Arga, so that Gallarza, a surname and not a river, breaks the series.