House of the Seven Chimneys (Madrid) and the legend of its ghost

During your tourist trip to Madrid, when you walk from the Plaza de Cibeles to Gran Vía, you have the opportunity to see the building that has raised one of the most famous legends of Madrid, House of the Seven Chimneys.

Located in the king's square, on the corner with the Infantas StreetIn the House of the Seven Chimneys you arrive by the Barquillo street from the Alcala street, in front of the building Bank of Spain.

La House of the Seven Chimneys It is one of the few buildings that you can still see in Madrid built in the XVI century, at the time of king Philip II.

At the time, this mansion was a country house near Madrid, and was surrounded by orchards and gardens.

Curiosities and history of the House of the Seven Chimneys

Finished building in year 1577 , its curious name is due, precisely, to the presence of seven chimneys lined up on its roof, which you can still see.

It was its second owner, the Genoese merchant Sebastian Cattaneo, who commissioned a first extension of the building as a result of which the famous chimneys were installed.

Later, in 1590, the Dr. Fernando Sandi y Mesa He bought the house and founded the Mayorazgo de los Colmenares.

A historical event that occurred in the House of the Seven Chimneys It was in the 18th century, when the Marquis of Esquilache, Minister of Finance of the king Carlos III, used the building as a refuge on the occasion of the historical event known as the Esquilache Mutiny.

Legend of the ghost of the House of the Seven Chimneys

At the end of the 19th century, the building of the House of the Seven Chimneys underwent new reforms, becoming the headquarters of Bank of Castilla.

It was at that time when the remains of the human skeleton of a woman from the 16th century were discovered, which reinforced the already forgotten Legend of the House of the Seven Chimneys.

Says the famous legend that the house was built so that a young woman named Elena, who had relations with him at that time prince philip, which would later be the king Philip II.

This young woman married a captain of the royal troops, who was soon sent to Flanders to participate in the Battle of San Quentin, where he died in combat.

After hearing the news, the young woman was very saddened and shortly after she was found dead in her bedroom.

The corpse of the young woman Elena She disappeared, which began to fuel the legend, since it was said that she had been murdered.

The young woman's father, after her death, committed suicide in her own home. House of the Seven Chimneys.

Time after, the legend He says that during one night he saw ghost of a young girl in a white tunic walking with a torch in his hand along the roof of the house, wandering between its chimneys.

And these ghostly apparitions continued for many more nights.

The only thing confirmed is that in the nineteenth century, during some renovations, the remains of a human skeleton were discovered in the basement, and it was a woman who was buried along with some coins from the 16th century.

This discovery revived the legend of the ghost of the House of the Seven Chimneys, as speculations returned about the true reasons for the death of the young woman Elena and why his body was buried in the basement.

It is currently one of the most popular curiosities of the history of Madrid, which continues to be referred to in books and tourist guides of the capital.

Therefore, you know, if you walk next to the House of the Seven Chimneys During the night, keep looking at the roof in case the ghost of young Elena.

In 1948 the building was declared Historic Artistic Monument, and after another reform in the 50s, currently the House of the Seven Chimneys in Madrid Since the late 80s it has been the main headquarters of the Ministry of Culture.

When you get a chance to see this historic building, which has also been declared A Cultural, you will see that it maintains the aesthetics that the buildings had in Madrid when it became the headquarters of the Kingdom Court.