Church of San Ginés

Before you is the Church of San Ginés, on Calle del Arenal, one of the oldest parishes in Madrid. Its present appearance dates from the 17th century, but its history is much older, and so are its legends.

1A very old parish

The first documentary reference to the church is a charter of Alfonso VII from 1156. The medieval building partly collapsed in 1641 because of the sandy ground, and the present church was built to plans by Fray Lorenzo de San Nicolás. Its archive holds the baptismal record of Francisco de Quevedo, from 1580, and the marriage of Lope de Vega to Isabel de Urbina was registered here in 1588.

2The robbery and the ghost

It is documented that in 1358 Pope Innocent VI granted a bull of indulgence to those who took part in the atonement for a sacrilegious robbery in the church. Around that event a legend grew: according to tradition, the thieves killed a man who was praying in the church, and ever since a headless figure is said to appear at the door at nightfall. The versions change the victim, the manner of death and even the year.

3The chapel crocodile

Another tradition, recorded by the chronicler Jerónimo de la Quintana in 1629, tells that a stuffed caiman hung in a chapel as a votive offering, in memory of a miracle of the Virgin that took place in the Americas.

The robbery of 1358 is a fact; the ghost, a popular tale.

4What to look out for

• The Pasadizo de San Ginés, beside the church.
• The Chapel of the Santísimo Cristo, from the 17th century.
• The tower, visible from Calle del Arenal.