Stolperstein dedicated to César Santos Moreno

The Stolperstein dedicated to César Santos Moreno is a brass memorial plaque set into the pavement on Bravo Murillo street in Madrid's Tetuán district. It marks the last known address of a Madrid resident who was deported to a Nazi concentration camp for his involvement in the Spanish resistance.

Who is being remembered here?

César Santos Moreno was a member of the Spanish resistance who, after the Spanish Civil War, went into exile in France. In 1944 he was arrested there together with his wife, María Gisbert Merino, and their son, Gaspar Santos Gisbert. All three were deported on the so-called "Tren Fantasma" (Ghost Train), a convoy that transported more than 300 prisoners from the Le Vernet transit camp to concentration camps in Germany and Austria. César was sent to Mauthausen, his wife to Sachsenhausen, and their son to Buchenwald. That is why three Stolpersteine sit side by side at this exact spot on the pavement — a reminder that deportation tore apart entire households, not just individuals.

What exactly is a Stolperstein?

Stolpersteine, or "stumbling stones," are an ongoing international project by German artist Gunter Demnig. Since the early 1990s, small brass-topped cobblestones have been embedded in pavements across European cities, placed outside the last freely chosen home of a victim of Nazi persecution. Each stone is engraved with a name, birth year, and the fate that person suffered. It is now considered the largest decentralized memorial in the world, and Madrid alone holds more than a hundred stones, most of them dedicated to Republicans deported to camps after the Civil War.

How do you get there?

The stone sits in Tetuán, along Bravo Murillo, one of the main streets running through northern Madrid. The easiest way to reach it is by metro — the nearest stations on lines 1 and 7 are just a short walk away. The area is also well served by the EMT city bus network running along Bravo Murillo. Since this is an ordinary residential neighborhood, it is worth pairing the visit with a walk through Tetuán, a district known for its local bars and everyday middle-class life, well away from the tourist center.

What will you actually see?

The stone itself is small — a roughly 10-centimeter cobblestone set flush into the pavement at the entrance to a residential building. Its brass surface is engraved with the person's name, year of birth, deportation date, and the camp where they died or survived. Right next to it lie the matching stones for his wife and son, so the fate of the whole family becomes clear at a glance. There is no visitor infrastructure here — no information panel, no viewing area — the encounter with history happens literally underfoot, mid-stride on an ordinary street.

When is the best time to visit?

The stone can be viewed year-round, at any hour, since it sits on an ordinary public pavement. The clearest photos of the engraved brass come on an overcast day or in the morning, when sunlight does not glare directly off the metal. It is worth avoiding late-afternoon rush hour, when pedestrian traffic on Bravo Murillo is heaviest.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an entry fee? No, the stone is set into a public pavement and can be visited free of charge at any time.

Are there other Stolpersteine nearby? Yes, Madrid has more than a hundred of them, including several in Tetuán itself, often arranged in small clusters that commemorate entire families deported during the same period.

When was this particular stone laid? It was unveiled on 28 May 2021, as one of eight new Stolpersteine installed in the Tetuán district that day.

Do you need to book a visit in advance? No, this is not a museum or a gated site — the stone can be seen simply by walking along Bravo Murillo.