The Calle Mayor is a centric
street
A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...
in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, Spain. Located in the
Centro District
Centro District is located in the Valles Centrales Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. The district includes the state capital Oaxaca and satellite towns.
The district has an average elevation of 1,550 meters.
The climate is mild, with averag ...
, the Calle Mayor starts in the
Puerta del Sol
The Puerta del Sol (, English: "Gate of the Sun") is a public square in Madrid, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre ('' Km 0'') of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous ...
and ends at the cuesta de la Vega.
History
Created in the Middle Ages it originally connected the
alcázar
An ''alcázar'', from Arabic ''al-Qasr'', is a type of Islamic castle or palace in Spain built during Al-Andalus, Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries. They functioned as homes and regional capitals for governmental figures throughout ...
with the Puerta de Guadalajara (a disappeared wall gate). The Calle Mayor, that borders the
Plaza Mayor to the North, became the main thoroughfare of the city in the Early Modern Period. The Calle Mayor was the place where the guilds of silversmiths and jewelers concentrated. In the 18th century, the street was divided in three sections with different names: ''Almudena'' (from the alcázar surroundings to the
Plazuela de la Villa; ''Platería'' (from the plazuela de la Villa to the Puerta de Guadalajara), and ''Mayor'' (from the Puerta de Guadalajara to the
Puerta del Sol
The Puerta del Sol (, English: "Gate of the Sun") is a public square in Madrid, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre ('' Km 0'') of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous ...
).
References
Bibliography
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Streets in Madrid
{{Madrid-geo-stub