But don’t let all this modern bustle fool you! Tetuán’s story stretches back centuries and is packed with twists and turns-like your average bargain sale at one of its famous stores. In the fifteenth century, this street was called “Monteros,” because it was home to the king’s hunters-imagine the scent of leather, the clatter of boots, and maybe the distant howls of hounds belonging to King Fernando III’s entourage. Just a hundred years later, the name “Colcheros” took over, thanks to the street’s thriving guild of quilt makers and sellers. So, if you feel strangely cozy here, now you know-your inner quilt lover is calling!
Let’s fast-forward to 1869, when the street took the name “Tetuán.” This was a nod to the capture of the city of Tetouan in Morocco by General O’Donnell, in one of those dramatic moments of Spanish history-politics and pride leaving their mark on even the place-names. Briefly, during the Spanish Republic in the 1930s, it was grandly renamed “Conquista de Tetuán,” but by 1936, simplicity won, and it was just “Tetuán” again.
Over centuries, Tetuán curled and bent with the city-widened, straightened, and paved with everything from brick and sand in 1552 to stylish cobblestones in the 1860s. And in 1991, with a move as bold as a shop owner’s Black Friday sale, Tetuán shut out car traffic forever. Imagine! No honking, no squeezing between bumpers-just the laughter and footsteps of thousands weaving through a pedestrian oasis.
As you gaze around, check out the beautiful early 20th-century buildings. Don’t miss Number 1 at the corner with Rioja-a work by Seville’s famous architect, Juan Talavera y Heredia. The next corner, Number 2, was designed by Aníbal González in 1917, and for decades, the Gran Britz café on the ground floor was the place to be seen-Seville’s answer to Parisian glamour (or at least, as close as one could get before siesta time). At Number 25, at Jovellanos Street, spot another Talavera gem built for Francisco Gil Fernández in 1911.
But perhaps the biggest drama here played out on the very spot where fashion shops now stand. From the 16th century’s Hospital del Espíritu Santo, to the 19th-century Academy of Buenas Letras, to the splendid Teatro San Fernando-opened in 1847, the pride of the city, its operas, zarzuelas, and grand concerts drew crowds until its demolition in 1973. If you listen closely, you might just hear the faint strains of an aria, mixed in with the sound of credit cards being swiped.
So go ahead-shop, stroll, people-watch, and imagine the hunters, quilt-makers, kings, and artists who’ve called Tetuán home. And if you find an amazing bargain-well, that’s history in the making!
