Back From Barcelona – Montjuic

One of the other places we visited when in the Parc Guell area Back From Barcelona – Parc Guell was Montjuic. Montjuïc or Montjuich, meaning “Jewish Mountain” in medieval Latin and Catalan, is a broad, shallow hill in Barcelona with a rich history. It was the birthplace of the city, and its strategic location on the Mediterranean and the Llobregat River has made it significant throughout history. The hill has a medieval Jewish cemetery, declared an area of Cultural Asset of National Interest in 2007. Montjuïc has been the site of various fortifications, including the Castle of Montjuïc dating back to the 17th century. The area was also associated with political imprisonments and executions, and held significance during the Spanish Civil War.

We took the cable cars up the mountain that gave us a spectacular view of Barcelona from above.

We toured the Castell de Montjuic, which today is a museum and a tribute to its very turbulent past. The Castell de Montjuic was built in 1640 as a military enclave. The fortress, which stands on the site of a watchtower, came under royal ownership and, some 50 years later, was one of the key defense points in the War of the Spanish Succession, between 1705 and 1714. It was built at this location because of the 360º views of the city below.

In the middle of the 18th century, the military engineer, Juan Martín Cermeño, was commissioned to restore the castle which had been badly damaged during the war, and its current appearance dates from this time. The castle has launched bombing raids on the city on a number of occasions and it has also been used as a prison. On 15th October 1940, the president of the Catalan government, Lluís Companys, was executed by firing squad at the castle. The castle was used as a military prison until 1960 when it was given back to the city and used as an army base. Three years later, Franco opened a weapons museum in the castle. In 2007, the castle came under the ownership of Barcelona City Council and, as a result, now belongs to all the citizens of Barcelona.

One of the guard towers.

Today, the Castell de Montjuic is used for all kinds of events, and houses a lot of companies within its walls. We actually saw a wedding party taking their wedding pictures as we were there. But not so very long ago, it was still used as a prison that housed mainly political dissidents and military prisoners. The terrors and atrocities that took place within the walls of Castell de Montjuic are still fresh in the minds of many even today. Many people can tell you horror stories of their family members who were incarcerated in the castle, just a generation or two ago.

We toured all around the castle on our own outside, then took the tour of the castle inside.

The Royal Crest.

These are the tunnels leading to the “dungeons” or the cells. We were not allowed to take pictures in the cells because they are temperature and light controlled. There are so many drawings and writings on the walls from the prisoners. I think we were told they found over 600 drawings and writings on the walls during the restoration. Many of them are very graphic and very telling of what happened within the cell walls.

The City of Barcelona, the Catalans and Spain have always had a very tumultuous relationship at best. The Catalans are still fighting for their independence from Spain. Here is one of the plaques on the walls describing the beliefs about Barcelona, from General Espartero.

This was the flag tower on top of the roof. Different flags were displayed to send messages out to Barcelona.

The tour was very interesting and informative. I love history, and I love to learn everything I can about where I go.

The tensions between the Catalans and the Spanish are still very much alive today. We even saw a protest rally being set up in the Platja of Las Ramblas. We left before things got hot and heavy. We didn’t want any part of this battle.

Troubled times, conflict and revolutions have always been a part of history, in Spain, as well as the rest of the world. Unfortunately today, the world is rising in revolution once again. We have to stay vigilant, and stay safe as best as we can.