Madrid has many stories … it is no coincidence: it is one of the cities with more ancestry and tradition throughout Europe. Many of its buildings are really historical, as we tell you here. And today we bring you a legend that fascinates us: not only for intriguing, but for romantic. And we are one of those who think that in life you have to put a pinch of everything … also of romantic mystery. So today we tell you about the legend of the House of Seven Chimneys. You know which one is? Yes? Do not?

At the end of the 19th century, the building of the House of the Seven Chimneys had new reforms, becoming Banco de Castilla headquarters.

It was at that time when the remains of the human skeleton of a woman of the 16th century were discovered, which revived again the already forgotten legend of the House of Seven Chimneys that we are going to tell you today.

This house was built to serve as a dwelling place for a young woman named Elena, who was the daughter of a montero of Felipe II.

Elena’s husband had to go to war in Flanders against the French troops, where he participated in the famous battle of San Quentin. There, he died in combat and Elena was devastated until she died of grief.

However, soon after they died they began to run different stories about the case. The house servants suspected that Elena had been killed. The suspicions were based on something quite conclusive: they claimed to have seen slashed marks on Elena’s lifeless body.

Before her death, Elena had given birth to a girl. That girl could have been the result of an extramarital relationship with no one else and no one less than the king of Spain, Felipe II. Rumors that Felipe II and Elena had been lovers spread like wildfire.

The thing got even more complicated when a few days after Elena died, the father appeared hanged from one of the beams of the house.

The authorities then ordered further investigation of Elena’s death, but the body had already disappeared. No one knew where he could be and it was thought that perhaps he was hidden in the walls of the building or buried in his gardens. But Elena’s body never appeared.

Years later, when the commotion over the crimes had ceased, a man claimed to have seen at night a figure sliding on the roof between the chimneys of the house. It was a woman dressed in white who carried a torch in one hand and with the other pointed to the Alcazar, abode of King Philip. It was said to be Elena’s ghost.

Other versions of the legend tell that Elena was actually the daughter of King Philip II and that after her husband died, she died of grief and her ghost appeared to wait for her late husband.

Be that as it may, it is one of the most beautiful and romantic historical legends of our beloved Madrid. So, you know, if one day you see something suspicious, tell us, but be sure to visit one of the most charismatic sites in our city.