TORMES RIVERBANK

On the right bank of the Tormes, next to the Roman Bridge, existed until the seventies of the 20th century the Santiago neighborhood —also known as Tanners' Quarter or Tanneries' Quarter—. It owed its name to the Santiago parish, a humble church built by the Mozarabs in the 11th century and completely rebuilt in the mid-20th century.

For centuries, the tanneries installed on the riverside were the main industrial activity of Salamanca. In this densely populated environment, millers, fishermen, washerwomen and, above all, tanners depended on the river for their work. The area suffered frequent floods that caused serious damage to churches, monasteries, and industries established next to the river. Among the most remembered are the Flood of the Deceased and that of Saint Polycarp, both with numerous victims.

At the end of the 19th century, alongside the modest traditional tanneries, larger factories emerged, strategically located next to the Tormes. Among them are the El Sur flour mill (1897), today Casino del Tormes, and the power station of the Unión Salmantina (1897), current Museum of Automotive History. Further up, outside the walled enclosure, is the Mirat factory, one of the oldest and most important industries in the city and the only one still active. Founded in 1746, it experienced a great boost in 1874, when Juan Casimiro Mirat acquired the old Hieronymite monastery of Nuestra Señora de la Victoria. The architect Joaquín Secall Asión directed its rehabilitation and expansion, preserving elements of the original building —such as the arch attributed to Juan de Álava— and incorporating new facilities for the production of superphosphates and fertilizers.

The suburb began its decline in the mid-20th century with the closure of the tanneries. The disappearance of traditional trades and the deterioration of homes led residents to move to new working-class neighborhoods. In the seventies, the expropriation and demolition of a large part of the old town to build the Ring Road almost completely erased the old Tanneries' Quarter. Even the name Tanners' Riverbank disappeared from the street map.

The row of houses attached to the old medieval wall constitutes today the last vestige of the neighborhood; their lintels reveal that they were built between the 18th and 19th centuries. The Santiago parish remained isolated next to the Roman Bridge, without residents and without the cluster of houses that accompanied it since the Middle Ages. Declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1931, its advanced deterioration led to a restoration that, in the mid-20th century, became a complete reconstruction. The current building can be considered a Neo-Mudéjar church.

History, art, and landscape on the banks of the Tormes

We begin the tour next to one of Salamanca's most emblematic monuments: the Roman Bridge, a gem of 1st-century AD engineering that for centuries was the only entrance to the city from the south. Its 26 arches —15 of them from the Roman era— have withstood floods, reconstructions, and the incessant passage of travelers. At its entrance, we are greeted by the Toro del Puente (Bridge Bull), a granite Vetton boar that recalls the city's pre-Roman origins and, together with the bridge, has been part of Salamanca's coat of arms since the Middle Ages.

A few steps away, we find the sculpture of Lazarillo de Tormes, a work by Agustín Casillas. The ensemble depicts the rogue and the blind man at the instant before the famous “calabazazo” (head blow with a gourd), which —according to tradition— occurred in this very spot.

Until the second half of the 20th century, this place was home to the old Santiago neighborhood, a medieval enclave inhabited by fishermen, tanners, and laundresses whose lives revolved around the river. Its parish church was the Church of Santiago, today completely reconstructed, which was the first temple pilgrims of the Vía de la Plata (Silver Route) encountered after crossing the bridge on their way to Compostela.

To our left stands the unmistakable modernist silhouette of the Casa Lis. This late 19th-century mansion, today home to the Art Nouveau and Art Déco Museum, stands out for its spectacular Tiffany stained-glass windows, which fill the building with light and color. Inside, it houses the important collection of decorative arts donated to the city by Manuel Ramos Andrade: porcelain dolls, glasswork, chryselephantine sculptures, French lamps, and jewelry that transform the visit into a journey to the refinement of the Belle Époque.

The stroll continues amidst vegetation and the murmur of the river until reaching the old industrial area of the Tormes. Here stands the El Sur Flour Mill, built over the old Aceña del Muradal. Its interior preserves the Swiss machinery of the Bühler company, a testament to the industrial modernization of the late 19th century. After its restoration, the building now houses the Casino del Tormes and a museum with the old factory's machinery.

Very close by, the current Automotive Museum occupies what was once a tannery and later a power plant. Its elongated halls and industrial architecture recall the intense artisan and industrial activity that for centuries depended on the waters of the Tormes. Inside, it hosts one of Spain's most important public museums dedicated to the history of the automobile.

On the other side of Calle del Teso de San Nicolás, in a basement, the remains of the Church of San Nicolás de Bari are visible through glass, where in the 16th century, Spain's first anatomy classroom operated, linked to the University of Salamanca.

The path advances towards the Fluvial Promenade Viewpoint, a perfect spot to observe the Iron Bridge -by Enrique Estevan- reflected in the river waters, especially at sunset. Continuing along the path, to our left, we find the old Service Station, built in 1941 and still in operation. Its play of volumes and its integration of housing, warehouse, and pumps make it a curious example of 20th-century functional architecture.

The route runs under the Enrique Estevan Bridge, an elegant metallic structure inaugurated in 1913. Designed by engineer Saturnino Zufiaurre, a disciple of Eiffel, this modernist bridge was created to relieve the burden on the Roman Bridge and has become a symbol of industrial and progressive Salamanca at the beginning of the 20th century.

From here, we immerse ourselves in a space dominated by nature: on one side, the river with its lush riverside vegetation, and on the other, spacious gardens with children's areas and healthy living spaces accompany our journey. We pass under the Felipe VI bridge, a modern infrastructure that allows access to the eastern part of the city from the old Madrid Road.

The promenade now leaves to the left the stone wall of the Rodríguez Fabrés Foundation, the former Monastery of la Vega, which still preserves interesting Romanesque remains inside. Two waterwheels, located next to the wall, remind us that not long ago these lands were fertile orchards.

The walk then takes you to the Puente del Pradillo (Pradillo Bridge), a railway structure that is part of the so-called “Eiffel school.” The original bridge, built in 1891–1892, suffered severe damage after a train derailment in 1930. The Western Railway Company then commissioned a new bridge, inaugurated in 1933, which is the one that has survived to this day. Built of granite and riveted steel, with lattice girders on five piers, it remains the second-largest metallic structure on the Ruta de la Plata (Silver Route), only surpassed by the Guadiana viaduct in Mérida.

As you advance, the riverbank reveals another of its main protagonists: the Mirat Factory, one of Salamanca's most important and best-preserved industrial complexes. Situated on a terrace overlooking the Tormes valley, it integrates remains of the old convent of Nuestra Señora de la Victoria (Our Lady of Victory), a work by Juan de Álava. It is a magnificent example of 19th-century industrial heritage, still in operation.

Very close by, next to the river, appear the remains of several historic waterwheels, including the San Jerónimo waterwheel, whose cylindrical brick structure is preserved integrated into the promenade. Vestiges of the Cabildo mill also remain, testament to the intense relationship between the Tormes and the hydraulic activities that for centuries gave life to the riverbank.