Legends and stories of old Madrid: what is legend and what is history

Madrid is full of stories handed down from generation to generation. Some have documents behind them and others are pure tradition. In this article we go through six stories of old Madrid and, for each one, separate what legend tells from what the sources say.

How was Madrid really born?

Before the legends, a firm starting point. Madrid was born as Mayrit, a military outpost founded in the 9th century by Emir Muhammad I of Córdoba. Today’s name derives from it.

That first wall stood on high ground, next to where the Royal Palace and Almudena Cathedral are today. Several legends in this article revolve around it.

The Virgin of the Almudena, hidden in the wall

What legend says

Legend has it that when the Muslims reached the city in the early 8th century, the Christians hid an image of the Virgin in one of the wall’s towers, near the old church of Santa María.

According to tradition, the image reappeared on 9 November 1085, after King Alfonso VI took the city. During a procession, a section of the wall opened and inside was the Virgin with the Child. Beside her, two candles were still burning after centuries. Some say the smoke from those candles explains the image’s dark colour.

What history says

The name does have a documented explanation. Almudena comes from the Arabic al-mudayna, meaning citadel or walled enclosure: the place the image is associated with.

The cathedral dedicated to the patron saint is much more recent. Alfonso XII laid its first stone in 1883 and Pope John Paul II consecrated it in 1993.

The Bear and the Strawberry Tree: a dispute over pastures

The question

The statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree, el Oso y el Madroño, in the Puerta del Sol, is a meeting point for Madrid’s residents. But why a bear, and why a strawberry tree? Here the answer is not a legend but a lawsuit.

What history says

According to Madrid City Council, the bear recalls that the animal lived in the hills around the town, as several documents show. As early as the time of Alfonso VIII, the townspeople carried a banner showing a she-bear with seven stars on her back.

The strawberry tree came after a dispute between the town and the Cabildo, the city’s body of clergy, over who owned the pastures and woodland. It was agreed that the pastures would go to the Cabildo and the trees and hunting to the town. Since then, Madrid’s coat of arms has shown the bear standing up against the strawberry tree.

Was a King of France held prisoner in the Lujanes Tower?

What legend says

The Torre de los Lujanes, the Lujanes Tower, stands in the Plaza de la Villa. Tradition says that Francis I of France was held prisoner there after being captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525.

What history says

Municipal sources record this as a legend and add that, according to other versions, the king was only staying there. There is no conclusive proof that the tower was his prison.

What is documented is the building. Álvaro de Luján had the house and tower built before 1471. On the doorway facing Calle del Codo you will see a horseshoe arch with large stone voussoirs, unique in the city.

The House of the Seven Chimneys and its ghost

What legend says

Few houses in Madrid have so many stories. One legend says its seven chimneys stand for the seven deadly sins. Another, very old one tells that an illegitimate daughter of Philip II lived locked up here and that her spirit still haunts the building.

Popular tradition turns it into the setting for a tale of love and death at the court of Philip II. No serious source confirms it.

What history says

The Casa de las Siete Chimeneas is one of the few examples of 16th-century civil architecture left in Madrid. The architect Antonio Sillero built it between 1574 and 1577 for Pedro de Ledesma, secretary to Antonio Pérez.

It had famous owners, such as the Count-Duke of Olivares, the Marquis of Esquilache and Manuel Godoy. In 1881 the banker Jaime Girona bought it and, from 1926, it was for a few years the first home of the Lyceum Club Femenino, a pioneering women’s club.

San Isidro and the miracle of the well

What legend says

San Isidro, Saint Isidore the Farmer, is Madrid’s patron saint. Tradition tells that one day his son fell into a well. Isidro and his wife, Santa María de la Cabeza, could not get him out and prayed to the Virgin of the Almudena. Then the water in the well rose and the boy appeared safe, floating in his basket.

What history says

According to tradition, Isidro lived and died in the 12th century in the house of his employer, Iván de Vargas. On that site today stands the Museo de San Isidro, devoted to the origins of Madrid.

The museum preserves the well associated with the miracle, in a small, plain room. What is historical is the place and the devotion; the miracle belongs to tradition.

Why do people eat grapes with the Puerta del Sol chimes?

What people say

Every 31 December, thousands of people gather in the Puerta del Sol to eat twelve grapes, one for each chime of the clock on the Real Casa de Correos.

What the sources say

Madrid’s tourist board gives 1909 as the most widespread explanation. That year, grape growers in the Levante, Spain’s eastern region, had such a large harvest that they gave grapes away, claiming that eating them on New Year’s Eve brought good luck. It is the most popular theory, but not the only one, so it is best told as such.

How to tell legend from history while you walk

• Be wary of exact dates in miracle stories: they usually come from tradition.
• Check whether an official or academic source records the story, and how it presents it.
• Enjoy legend as legend: it says a lot about how the city saw itself.

In short

• Mayrit: Madrid was born in the 9th century as an outpost of Emir Muhammad I. That is history.
• Almudena: the image hidden in the wall and found in 1085 is legend; the Arabic name and the cathedral, built from 1883 to 1993, are history.
• Bear and Strawberry Tree: the dispute between the town and the Cabildo is recorded by the City Council itself.
• Lujanes Tower: Francis I’s captivity there is tradition without conclusive proof.
• Seven Chimneys: the ghost is legend; the house, built from 1574 to 1577, is history.
• San Isidro: the miracle of the well is tradition; the museum and its well are a real place you can visit.
• Grapes: the 1909 theory is the most widespread, but not the only one.

When menumentos launches, these stories will play on your phone as you pass each place, and every legend will start with “legend has it”.