Plaza de la Villa

Once in Calle Mayor, on the left side we reach Plaza de la Villa, where we find the Casa de la Villa (House of the Village), the old Town Hall, now used only for official events as the Town Hall is housed in the Palacio de Correos y Telecomunicaciones in front of the Cibeles.

Opposite the Casa de la Villa we can see the Casa de Cisneros (Cisneros´House) built in the XVI century in Renaissance style. It belongs also to the Town Hall.

Next to the Casa de la Villa is the Torre de los Lujanes (Lujanes´Tower) made of stone. It was built in the XV

century and has a gothic doorway. King Francis I of France was imprisoned here.

The Casa de los Lujanes is considered one of the oldest buildings in Madrid. It is from the XV century. On the left is a tower where they say that Francis I stayed during his imprisonment before being transfered to the Alcazar. There is quite a funny although somewhat dubious story attributed to his imprisonment. Carlos I and Francis I fought several wars as both wanted territories in Italy. Finally Francis I was made prisioner in the Battle of Pavia (1525), but he never knelt down in front of Carlos I. This made Carlos very angry. When Francis I was going to arrive at the Tower of the Lujanes, Carlos I waited Plaza de la Villa

for him there. He was much smaller than the French king. He ordered the entrance door to the tower be lowered in order to make Francis bend when he entered the room. This was the only way he could make Francis kneel in front of him. Another story says that when Francis entered the room he entered backwards!

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Sightseeing in Madrid

City Guide

Plaza de la Villa