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Main Street of Alcalá de Henares

The Main Sreet (Calle Mayor, in Spanish) was developed in the twelfth century as the main axis of the medieval village, which developed around the Holy Child Church. The street linking the ancient plaza de la Picota (today called plaza de los Santos Niños (child saints)) and the ancient gate of Guadalajara.

It was the commercial area of the Jewish quarter, and maintains that role today. Its appearance, however, has changed over the centuries.

The wooden support posts of the arcades were replaced during the XV and XVI, by columns of stone, ordered by the archbishops Carrillo, Cisneros and Tavera. In the nineteenth century, these columns were replaced by pillars. Despite this, there are still examples of the ancient stone columns that can be seen in some paintings of the Baroque period that correspond to certain holidays, such as Corpus Cristi.