PARC DE LA CIUTADELLA

Description

Essentials about Parc de la Ciutadella in brief

If you want to relax a little in the green after visiting the many sights in the center of Barcelona, you will inevitably come across Parc de la Ciutadella (Park of the Citadel). The park, which covers more than 17 hectares, is located between the districts of La Barceloneta, La Ribera and the grounds of the Pompeu Fabra University. Parc de la Ciutadella is home to the Barcelona Zoo, as well as some remaining buildings from the former Citadel and the 1888 World’s Fair. It’s also a great place to walk along the park’s many paths and take rowboats across the lake in the center of the green space.

The grounds of Parc de la Ciutadella

The park, designed in 1870 by Josep Fontserè i Mestre on the model of the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris, is one of the largest in Barcelona. Within its grounds are the zoo, as well as several remaining buildings of the former Citadel (the Chapel, the Governor’s Palace and the Arsenal) and the 1888 World’s Fair (the Umbracle, Hivernacle and the Castell dels Tres Dragons).

The park stands out for its large green area, the many trees and walking paths, as well as a lake and a waterfall. The lake, the center of the park with several islands and an abundance of exotic plants and aquatic animals, can be navigated by rowboats.

Sights in Parc de la Ciutadella

The citadel

For many years the only urban park, it was built on the former site of the city’s citadel – hence the name. The citadel was built by the Spanish King Philip V after the War of the Spanish Succession in the 18th century to keep the city of Barcelona firmly under control. It was the largest star-shaped citadel in Europe up to that time. Incidentally, Barcelona’s military control was supplemented by the fortress on Montjuïc Mountain, from which the city could also be shelled from above.

For the construction of the citadel, parts of the La Ribera district were demolished and many of the inhabitants were forcibly relocated to the newly built Barceloneta district. The citadel became a hated symbol of the central government in Madrid for the people of Barcelona. During the revolution of 1868, the citadel was permanently destroyed and most of it was demolished. All that remained of the original fortress were the chapel, the governor’s palace and the Arsenal, now the seat of the Catalan Parliament.

The Castell dels Tres Dragons

In the southwest corner of the park is an ensemble of four buildings built on the occasion of the 1888 World’s Fair. The first in the row is the so-called Castell dels Tres Dragons (Castle of the Three Dragons). The brick building is considered one of the first buildings in the Modernist style. It was built in 1887 by the architect Lluis Domènech i Montaner, one of the leading representatives of Catalan Art Nouveau. The Castell dels Tres Dragons is a fine example of the merging of a wide variety of architectural styles and techniques in Modernism. The art of decorating house facades with ceramics used here developed into an important Modernist technique.

L’Hivernacle

Right next to the Castell dels Tres Dragons stands the winter garden L’Hivernacle, a pavilion made of cast iron and glass. The architect Josep Amargós took Eiffel’s steel and glass constructions as a model for the design.

The Geological Museum

Located next to the Hivernacle, the Geological Museum building was built in 1882 by Antoni Rovira i Trias in neoclassical style. It was the first museum in Barcelona and today houses a large collection of minerals.

The Umbracle

Behind the museum is the Umbracle, a wooden-brick construction in which grow large tropical plants that prefer the shade of the virgin forests. The architect was also Amargós.