PARC DEL LABERINT D’HORTA

Description

Essentials about Parc del Laberint d’Horta in brief

The center of Barcelona pulsates every day and many of the city’s sights are often crowded. Those who want to enjoy a little peace and quiet in the Catalan metropolis will find it just outside the city center in Parc del Laberint d’Horta. Located on the slope of the Serra de Collserola ridge in the north of the city, the park is the oldest preserved urban garden in Barcelona and a wonderful green oasis of tranquility. The approximately nine-hectare park consists of a classicist and a romantic garden section, as well as the eponymous labyrinth in the center.

The grounds of Parc del Laberint d’Horta

Parc del Laberint d’Horta includes a classicist garden of the 18th century, extended with elements of a romantic garden of the 19th century. The park, which covers about nine hectares, is enclosed by a very large Mediterranean forest that runs up the hillside. The park owes its name to a central hedge maze, which can be counted among the most elaborate of the few surviving ancient garden mazes in Europe.

The history of Parc del Laberint d’Horta

The park historically goes back to the Catalan nobleman Joan Antoni Desvalls i d’Ardena, who at the end of the 18th century had a neoclassical garden laid out on the slope above the family’s summer residence. In the course of the 19th century the park was extended several times and in 1880 it was complemented by a house garden adjacent to the palace. The park had thus reached its final extension.

Since 1971, Parc del Laberint d’Horta has been open to the public. Due to the large number of visitors, the park had to undergo a thorough renovation in the mid-1990s. To prevent further destruction, the number of visitors allowed in the park at one time was limited to 750.

The areas of Parc del Laberint d’Horta

Palau Desvalls

Entering the park, at the park entrance you will see the Palau Desvalls, the former palace of the Desvalls family. It was built in different sections in the 18th and 19th centuries around a medieval tower. However, the Palau cannot be visited.

The neoclassical garden

From the entrance, an ascending path leads straight ahead to the oldest part of the park, the neoclassical complex. In terms of structure and furnishings, this area has been preserved largely true to the original. In the garden there is a rich sculpture program that alludes to the ancient Greek and ancient Roman legends. The classicist part of the garden consists of six levels (from the level of the palace in ascending order): the boxwood garden, the flower garden, the labyrinth, the panoramic terrace, the romantic canal and the pavilion with basin.

The maze

The labyrinth, which gives the park its name, forms the center of the area. The maze has an approximately square, slightly trapezoidal warped base with a size of 45 by 48 meters. The hedge walls cover a length of 750 meters; they are made of Italian cypress in topiary and reach a height of two and a half meters. The entrance at the southwest corner is formed by a stern gate made of cypress and decorated by a relief that shows Ariadne handing over the ball of yarn to Theseus. At the base of the relief is says: “Go in, you will get out without detour. The labyrinth is simple. The ball of yarn is not necessary. Which Ariadne once gave to Theseus.” That’s encouraging.

In the center of the labyrinth is the small circular destination square, from which eight paths star through as many hedge arches. In its center is a sculpture of Eros drawing an arrow from a quiver, missing his left arm and right hand. Stone benches invite visitors to rest. Some of the branching paths form winding cul-de-sacs that can be used for hide-and-seek or understood as clandestine meeting places.

The exit of the maze leads through a stern gate to an approximately circular square, which is almost completely occupied by a round basin, from the center of which a small fountain rises. Under the adjacent double-flight staircase leading to the next higher garden level is a grotto with a figure of the nymph Echo.

The romantic garden

Seen from the entrance, to the left of the classicist garden is the romantic garden, laid out along a small stream. From the main entrance, the romantic garden is reached through a cemetery, which contrasts with the lively and cheerful rest of the complex. In general, the romantic garden is rather dreamy and, due to its many trees, a pleasant shade on sunny days. In contrast to the lively neoclassical part of the garden, it is probably intended as a reminder of death.