Paseo de los Tristes and Casa de las Chirimías

Park in Granada

Paseo De Los Tristes, Granada

The Paseo de los Tristes or the The Promenade of the Sad Ones is a paseo located in Granada, Spain. It is located to the north of the Alhambra Complex by the Darro river and offers stunning views of the towers.

Puente de las Chirimías and Casa de las Chirimías

The Paseo de los Tristes begins at Bridge of the Chirimias, which is named after the house it lies next to. The Casa de las Chirimias is a viewpoint tower, dating back to 1609 in the Baroque style. The tower consisted of three parts. It was used to watch the celebrations carried out in the esplanade below. The judge and constables would watch from the ground floor, the mayors and “Twenty-four knights” from the first floor and, on the third floor, musicians with Chirimias, which is a type of flute, trumpets and flageolets would play music.

The House of The Chirimías was built in the early seventeenth century, by the public authorities, on the plot that had been ceded by the lords of Castril, in 1609. This building was one of the first to introduce the Baroque style in Granada. It was built as a lookout tower, and from there the city authorities presided over the public festivities and events that were held on the esplanade of the Paseo de los Tristes, then called Paseo de la Puerta de Guadix.
TheThe Puente de las Chirimias was built in 1882 although there was possibly an Arab bridge in the same place.

At the end of the square there is another bridge: the “Puente del Aljibillo” and its name refers to a cistern that was on the promenade on the other side of the river.

History of Paseo de los Tristes

The official name is actually Paseo del Padre Manjón and prior to which it was  Paseo de la Puerta de Guadix. it was one of the most used public spaces in Granada until the 19th century. At the start of the 17th century, Castril Lords, who had their property and land in the area, denoted land to the city so a promenade could be built. The fountain found in the middle dates back to this time, to 1609.

It was in the 19th century that it began to be called Paseo de los Tristes or The Promenade of the Sad Ones. On the hill of the Sabica around 1805, above the Alhambra, it was situated the present-day cemetery of San José de Granada, formerly called the cemetery of Las Barreras. On the same land back in the times of Spanish Muslim it was housed a royal almunia and the Palacio de los Alixares.

The cemetery was accessed by going up the hill via the Cuesta de los Chinos and to get there, the funeral procession had to go down the Paseo de la Puerta de Guadix which is currently the Paseo del Padre Manjón. On many occasions the majority of the procession said their goodbyes to the deceased here, just before heading up to the Sabica. That is where the nickname Paseo de los Tristes comes from, the name all Granada today knows it by.

The Paseo de los Tristes and Casa de las Chirimías appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Granada!

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Visiting Paseo de los Tristes and Casa de las Chirimías

Hours:

24 Hour


Price:

Free

Address: Paseo de los tristes, granada Calle Reyes Católicos, 32 18001 Granada Spain
Duration: 20 minutes

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