Cave of Salamanca

Castile and León · Spain · Ruin

In the crypt beneath a demolished church, the Devil ran a school of black magic – and the Marquis of Villena escaped, minus his shadow.

Behind the cathedrals of Salamanca, on the Cuesta de Carvajal, lies the crypt of the long-demolished church of San Cebrián – the notorious Cave of Salamanca. Tradition holds that the Devil himself taught seven students the black arts here for seven years, after which one of them, chosen by lot, would remain as payment. The chosen one, the Marquis Enrique de Villena, escaped according to legend but left his shadow behind with the Devil, walking shadowless for the rest of his days. Isabella the Catholic is said to have had the entrance walled up, and the tale grew so famous that Cervantes built a play on it and the word salamanca came to mean a sorcerer's cave across Latin America. Since 1993 the site has been open once more.

FAQ

Where is Cave of Salamanca located?

Cave of Salamanca is in Kastilien och León, Spain.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Daniel Di Palma / CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons