CALLE ZACATíN
Zacatín: main shopping street, previously where craftsmen were based
This street used to stretch from Plaza Bibarrambla all the way to Plaza Nueva, running parallel to the Darro before the river was covered over. However, at the beginning of the 19th century the upper part nearest to Plaza Nueva was lost when the Gran Vía was redesigned.
Zacatín means "Clothes Market" and it was here that textiles and cloth used to be sold in the lower part of the street in Moorish times, when it was nothing more than a series of dirt huts on the river bank. There was also a potpourri of all other sorts of craftsmen such as silversmiths, tanners, dyers, tailors, shoemakers, hatters, haberdashers in the area and some street names reflecting these activities still survive today. From 1491 onwards, in order to create a better sense of order, the whole area was reorganised and the different trades were each allocated a different zone. The silversmiths therefore were relocated to the main entrance to the ALCAICERÍA.