Whether it is the narrowest street in the world I cannot say. Not sure if it features in the Guinness Book of Records either but it certainly would not allow two portly people to pass one another without getting stuck that is for sure. Just over 1 meter wide the Callejon del Duende is located in the Barrio Populo in the old town area of Cadiz City. The barrio is well known and forms the oldest part of the City just behind the Townhall and Plaza San Juan de Dios.

The streets were built deliberately narrow in the old days to keep the sun out and retain a cool atmosphere at street level and many of the ancient streets in Cadiz are built with a bend in them to stop the famous Costa de la Luz winds from whipping along and chilling the pedestrians during the levante season.

This particular little narrow alley is very famous in Cadiz as it is allegedly haunted by a young couple who walk the alley at night in eternal sorrow. Legend has it that she was a young Cadiz girl who lived in the local area and she met a handsome French Captain during the Peninsular Wars when the French took over Cadiz and held siege to it until August 1812. They would meet in the narrow alley under cover of darkness and love blossomed between them. It was an impossible love affair and the risks were great. He was the enemy and she was a traitor in the eyes of the people. There are two versions of what happened to them. The first states that they were discovered by the people of Cadiz who did not hesitate to kill the traitor and her lover. The second states that he was killed in battle and she committed suicide being unable to stand the pain of her loss.

Whichever version is correct, it is a sad end to two young lives but at least the Callejon del Duende still stands as a reminder of the couple who´s love lead to their untimely deaths.