The narrowest building in Europe

The architectural oddities we find in every city end up being the greatest attractions for tourism.

Some examples are the narrowest street in the world, Spreuerhofstraße, in the German town of Reutlingen, is only 31 centimetres in the narrowest part and 50 centimetres in the widest. In Spain, the narrowest street in Hervás, a town by the north of Extremadura; a little alley in the old Jewish neighbourhood that is barely 50 centimetres wide at the widest part. Another attraction for tourists is in San Francisco, Lombard street is a winding street, not longer than 120 meters, with up to eight turns on the way.

Besides the building at Singel street, number 7, in Amsterdam, a building in Valencia is considered the narrowest in the world. The difference is that in the famous building in Amsterdam, even the front is only one meter wide; the interior is a little bit wider. So, if we want to be precise, it’s the building with the narrowest façade in the world.

The building in Valencia is so narrow that it has only one room per floor. In order to make it liveable, rooms have being distributed high rather than across, as usual.

It’s located in the city centre of Valencia, at Lope de Vega square, number 6, right behind Santa Catalina’s church. In this case, Guinness World Records certificate is the widest in Europe.

Not long ago, cities were built across because there was enough space. But there was a time when cities started being overcrowded and new buildings were built high, because of it. That’s what happened at the world capital city for paella, apparently. We are not so sure, though, if it was build like this because there was not enough space or just to fill in an empty spot, but is clear that they were not pretending to build a skyscraper like those from Chicago school, not at all.

Anyway, less than a meter wide is the reason why hundreds of people take photos in front of this building every day and why this building became one of those unique architectonic attractions, catching the attention of everyone. With time, the building has become a remarkable landmark in the map, a place to go for tourists as much as other classic monumental buildings in Valencia, like the cathedral, or the modern Arts Palace. After years being unnoticed, the owner restored the building and even put a funny sign on it, which informs of the exact wide: 105 centimetres.

It’s strange that not many locals noticed the building. Maybe because it’s right in the middle between two bigger buildings and neither its 5 meters high nor the bright red colour were enough to catch their attention. Despite the building by the canals of Amsterdam or even some narrower houses in Japan, who could imagine that Valencia was part of the competition the be the narrowest building of the world?

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