Streets with curious names

Streets with curious names are surely to be found in most large cities with history. Seville, with a past that goes back many centuries, cannot be less.

Here are some interesting examples, which will surely leave you wanting to know more…

The stone man street

In this street we find the figure of a man’s body in stone, embedded in the wall. This street was originally called ¨Del buen rostro¨, until this statue appeared in the time of King John II (15th century). This king promulgated a law that obliged people to kneel down when passing the Holy Sacrament (the consecrated host, the body of Christ in the Catholic religion), the punishment for non-compliance being the payment of a significant fine. The tombstone that promulgates this law is still to be seen next to the Salvador Church

After a night drinking wine, Mateo Rubio and his friends, on their way out of the tavern, late at night, found a procession passing by with a priest carrying a raised Host in his hand, on their way to a dying man’s house.Everyone knelt down at once, except Mateo, who wanted to show his courage and incredulity, called them cowards and said: ¨Yo I will not kneel, but stand forever…¨

And indeed, he stood there forever, for at that moment a terrible thunderclap was heard and a bolt of lightning plunged him to his knees on the ground, where he has remained ever since. So now we understand the curious name of this street.

The lost child street

Not far from the previous one, and also with a curious name, which evokes a little of the fear of any adult who keeps memories of childhood, we have this street, very close to the famous Alameda de Hercules

This is not the story of a single lost child, but of many rescued from loneliness and abandonment…

The origin of this street goes back to the 16th century, with the foundation of a brotherhood that took in and educated homeless children, buying houses in the nearby Joaquin Costa Street.

The brickwork street

This is another of the streets with a curious name that we want to mention. Nowadays we can see many streets in the historical centre with cobbled floors, some of which have been renovated in recent years to make them a little more regular and easier to walk on, although without losing their character of ¨old¨. It was a noble lady, Doña Guiomar Manuel, very much ahead of her time in many ways, who donated the money needed to brick up the streets of Seville to avoid the dirt and mud on the streets and make them more passable (although also noisier for the cars). Later on, the brick, which is not very long-lasting, will be replaced by the well-known stone paving stones. The street we are talking about is the last one to undergo this transformation, by far, in time.