Description
Ciutadella Park is Barcelona's favorite park, 31 hectares of lawns, palms, a lake and monumental fountains on the northeastern edge of the old city. For decades after it opened it was the city's only green space. It was born from the city's most hated building.
The first thing to see is the Cascada, the monumental fountain at the park's northern corner, loosely modeled on Rome's Trevi Fountain. Two giant crab claws form its stairs, and Venus rises from a shell in front. It was inaugurated in 1881 without sculptures and was criticized by the press.
Josep Fontserè then added a fountain and more details over six years, with a student named Antoni Gaudí lending a hand.
The Parliament of Catalonia sits in the former arsenal of the old fortress. Nearby stands the brick Castle of the Three Dragons, built by Domènech i Montaner for the 1888 Universal Exposition.
The park also holds a small lake, several museums and the city's zoo, opened in 1892 and home to Snowflake the albino gorilla from 1966 until 2003.
The park exists because of a siege. In 1714, after thirteen months, Philip V's army took Barcelona. To keep the rebellious city under control, he built a five-pointed citadel, then the largest fortress in Europe, and razed a good part of the Ribera district to make room.
Hundreds of Catalans were forced to build it for three years, and the whole city paid for it with a new tax called el cadestre. Barcelona hated it. In 1869, General Prim finally handed what was left over to the city.
Of the fortress only the chapel, the governor's palace and the arsenal survive: the palace is now a school and the chapel a military parish church. In 1872 Fontserè began turning the ground into a park, and the 1888 Universal Exposition, with its sculptures and pavilions, gave it much of its present look.
The first thing to see is the Cascada, the monumental fountain at the park's northern corner, loosely modeled on Rome's Trevi Fountain. Two giant crab claws form its stairs, and Venus rises from a shell in front. It was inaugurated in 1881 without sculptures and was criticized by the press.
Josep Fontserè then added a fountain and more details over six years, with a student named Antoni Gaudí lending a hand.
The Parliament of Catalonia sits in the former arsenal of the old fortress. Nearby stands the brick Castle of the Three Dragons, built by Domènech i Montaner for the 1888 Universal Exposition.
The park also holds a small lake, several museums and the city's zoo, opened in 1892 and home to Snowflake the albino gorilla from 1966 until 2003.
The park exists because of a siege. In 1714, after thirteen months, Philip V's army took Barcelona. To keep the rebellious city under control, he built a five-pointed citadel, then the largest fortress in Europe, and razed a good part of the Ribera district to make room.
Hundreds of Catalans were forced to build it for three years, and the whole city paid for it with a new tax called el cadestre. Barcelona hated it. In 1869, General Prim finally handed what was left over to the city.
Of the fortress only the chapel, the governor's palace and the arsenal survive: the palace is now a school and the chapel a military parish church. In 1872 Fontserè began turning the ground into a park, and the 1888 Universal Exposition, with its sculptures and pavilions, gave it much of its present look.