Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE CITY UNDER SIEGE
During the Civil War years Poble Sec - like many inner-city neighbourhoods - suffered
grievously from Nationalist bombing raids, a foretaste of what was to come in Europe
during World War II. From 1936 onwards, the city authorities oversaw the building of a
system of communal
air-raid shelters
and many had been excavated by the time that the
first raids hit Barcelona in early 1937. Most were constructed in working-class areas (like
Poble Sec, Barceloneta and Gràcia) where the locals hadn't been able to leave the city or
couldn't reach the relative safety of either the metro tunnels or the Collserola hills. Al-
together, around 1400 shelters were built in Barcelona (and another two thousand across
Catalunya), some as simple as reinforced cellars, though many were larger collaborative
efforts like Refugi 307, featuring vaulted brick-lined tunnels, ventilation, water supplies
and even infirmaries and play areas for children. The raids were particularly savage in
March 1938, and by the end of the war three thousand inhabitants had died in the bomb-
ings, with many more injured and thousands of buildings destroyed. Even so, the shelters
undoubtedly saved many lives. In the wake of Republican defeat, after the war, many of
the shelters were forgotten about, though the current city council is keen to raise their pro-
file in the name of education and remembrance of Barcelona's often overlooked wartime
history.
The Olympic area
Espanya, then either walk via the hillside escalators behind MNAC or take bus #13 from Av. de la Reina
Maria Cristina or #55 from c/Lleida
From Poble Espanyol, the main road through Montjuïc climbs around the hill and up to the
city's principal Olympic area, sometimes known as the
Anella Olímpica
(Olympic Ring).
The 1992 Olympics were the second planned for Montjuïc. The first, in 1936 - the “People's
Olympics” - were organized as an alternative to the Nazis' infamous Berlin games of that
year,butthedaybeforetheofficialopening,Franco'sarmyrevolttriggeredtheCivilWarand
scuppered the Barcelona games. Some of the 25,000 athletes and spectators who had turned
up stayed on to join the Republican forces.
The Olympic stadium and other buildings
Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Av. de l'Estadi • No public access, except during events
The stadium at Montjuïc was built originally for the 1929 Exhibition, but it was refitted
entirely for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, while keeping its original Neoclassical facade.
Seventy thousand spectators packed in for the opening and closing ceremonies, though the
current stadium capacity is around 54,000. It's used for major sporting events (it hosted the
2010 European Athletics championships) and big concerts. It's also been officially renamed
