The Paseo de los Tristes in Granada - despite its name - is one of the most beautiful streets in the world.
But why is it called that? Discover this and other curiosities about the road that connects the Carrera del Darro with the Cuesta del Chapiz and that hundreds of tourists walk along every day in the Nasrid city.
We know it as Paseo de los Tristes de Granada but its of
ficial name is Paseo del Padre Manjón, in honour of the founder of the Ave María Schools.
However, this street receives this nickname, which has become famous because it was the place through which funeral processions once passed on their way to the cemetery. In the 19th century, to go to the San José cemetery (then called the Barreras cemetery), located on the Sabika hill, funeral processions had to pass through this street. Many people avoided going up the Cuesta de los Chinos to the cemetery and said goodbye to their loved ones at this point. Hence he adopted the name by which he is known.
The origin of the Paseo de los Tristes in Granada dates back to the 17th century, when the lords of Castril, owners of the land, gave part of it to the construction of this street.
A gunpowder explosion in a nearby workshop caused the land to become vacant land, so its owners decided to get rid of it to turn it into a public road, which gave access to the Puerta de Guadix.
In Muslim times, this walk was known as Camino de la Alcazaba and the royal almunia and the Alixares palace were built there. It was in the Arab era when the fourteen bridges that cross it were built, although some of them have had to be rebuilt over the centuries.
Starting in 1805, as we have already seen, Granada's Paseo de los Tristes became the path to the city cemetery and that is what gives it its nickname. Along the walk we can find numerous buildings full of stories and hidden legends. But what is not a secret is that this street still preserves the beauty of its origins.
The Paseo de los Tristes in Granada is a cobbled street with almost 500 years of history that runs parallel to the Darro River, located between the hills of the Alhambra and the Albaicín neighborhood.
This street offers us one of the most emblematic panoramic views of the city, with privileged views that make it one of the most romantic and beautiful walks, full of curiosities that you probably don't know about...
The Paseo de los Tristes begins after passing the church of Santa Ana, located in Plaza Nueva. This point is near the Puente de las Chirimías, a name that comes from a type of flute typical of the time. Parties were held on that esplanade and, to encourage them, the Casa de las Chirimías was built in 1609, taking advantage of the land donated by the lords of Castril. From that small building, the musicians animated the festivities with their shawms and trumpets. That house is still preserved, with its tall, square structure in the shape of a turret and with the coat of arms of the city of Granada on its façade.
The Paseo de los Tristes begins after passing the church of Santa Ana, located in Plaza Nueva. This point is near the Puente de las Chirimías, a name that comes from a type of flute typical of the time. As we have already seen, there are fourteen bridges that cross the Paseo de los Tristes in Granada. We have just mentioned one of them, the Chirimías Bridge, rebuilt in 1882, since the original medieval bridge disappeared in its entirety.
But there are also others such as the Puente de Espinosa and the Puente de Cabrera, both of Christian origin, or the Puente del Aljibillo, also known as the Puente del Rey Chico or the Puente de Ibn Rasiq, which gave access to a small cistern in the Zirid era and It dates back to the 11th century, although it retains few original elements.
In front of the church of San Pedro and San Pablo is the Casa de Castril, a palace that belonged to the third lord of Castril, Don Hernando de Zafra, who was the grandson and heir of the secretary of the Catholic Monarchs.
Currently, this building is known as the Casa de Zafra and is considered the most beautiful of the Renaissance palaces in Granada, with an impressive stone façade designed by Sebastián de Alcántara, a disciple of Diego de Siloé. Among the elements that make it up, a blind balcony on the corner of the first floor draws attention, and on which you can read a motto: 'Waiting for her from heaven'. This phrase has given rise to all kinds of legends.
On the other side of the river there is an abandoned building that corresponds to the Bosques de la Alhambra hotel, built in 1910. Its location was idyllic but the terrain turned out to be too humid, so guests stopped staying there and the establishment had to close.
In its place they opened a hospital, which ended up being abandoned because it did not have the best conditions to care for the sick, who are the protagonists of many of the legends that have spread about the building over the years.
You will now understand why it is known as the Rheumatism Hotel, but the truth is that today its most popular nickname is the Doll's House.
At the end of the tour along the Paseo de los Tristes in Granada towards the Cuesta del Chapiz, right at the beginning of the square, we find an impressive sculpture of a dancer. This is also the choreographer Mario Maya, from Córdoba by birth but who forged his career in the tablaos of Sacromonte.
He received the National Dance Award and the Gold Medal of Andalusia and the Granada City Council also wanted to pay tribute to him in 2014 by placing this statue in his honour.
