Stolperstein dedicated to Karl Frommknecht Grosshaus

The Stolperstein dedicated to Karl Frommknecht Grosshaus is a small memorial stone set into the pavement in Madrid's Chamberí district, at the corner of Calle Viriato and Calle Bravo Murillo. The brass plaque commemorates one of the Spanish victims of the Nazi regime and forms part of a wider European project that marks the last known homes of people deported to concentration camps.

What exactly is it?

A Stolperstein — literally a "stumbling stone" — is a small cobble-sized block, roughly 10 cm square, topped with a brass plate engraved with the victim's name and a short account of their fate. The project was started in 1992 by German artist Gunter Demnig, and its idea is simple: each stone is laid into the pavement outside the last known residence of a person persecuted by the Nazis, so that passers-by "stumble" — figuratively — over the memory rather than walking past it unnoticed. In Madrid, the stones honor Spaniards who ended up in German concentration camps following the fall of the Republic and the outbreak of the Second World War.

The story behind the stone

The stone for Karl Frommknecht Grosshaus was laid on 28 April 2023, during an installation that added six new Stolpersteine to Chamberí at once. Most of the people honored that day had been sent to Gusen concentration camp in Austria, a subcamp of the Mauthausen system notorious for some of the harshest forced-labor conditions in the entire Nazi camp network.

Frommknecht Grosshaus's own story carries a particularly striking family dimension. For years, he was remembered within his own family as someone associated with Nazism — a version of events that persisted from the years of Franco-era Spain, when silence about a Republican past was the norm and the truth about many personal histories became distorted or erased. It took decades of research by his grandson, Juan, to reconstruct what had actually happened: the man had in fact fought on the Republican side, the opposite of what the family had long believed. His case illustrates how postwar silence and fear could warp the memory of loved ones for generations, and how initiatives like the Stolpersteine project — together with painstaking archival work — are now helping restore such stories to their proper context.

How to get there

The stone sits in Chamberí, a quiet, upscale residential district just north of central Madrid, known for its early-20th-century architecture and the historic Mercado de Chamberí. The easiest way to arrive is by metro: the nearest stations are Cuatro Caminos (lines 1, 2 and 6), and Islas Filipinas or Guzmán el Bueno, all within a short walk of the corner of Viriato and Bravo Murillo. Bravo Murillo is one of the district's main shopping streets, so a visit to the stone can easily be combined with a stroll past nearby cafés and shops.

When to visit?

The stone can be visited at any time of year, since it sits on an open public pavement with no opening hours to work around. That said, it is small and easy to miss — it helps to know the exact address in advance and to allow a quiet moment to reflect rather than rushing to find it.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Stolperstein? A brass plaque set into a small paving stone, placed outside the last known home of a person persecuted under the Nazi regime. The project was launched in 1992 by German artist Gunter Demnig.

Who was Karl Frommknecht Grosshaus? A Spaniard deported during the Nazi era. For years his family mistakenly remembered him as a Nazi sympathizer, until research by his grandson Juan revealed that he had actually fought on the Republican side.

Where exactly is the stone located? At the corner of Calle Viriato and Calle Bravo Murillo, in Madrid's Chamberí district, marking his last known place of residence.

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