A route through the cemetery of Poblenou

Some people may think is a bit spooky visiting a cemetery, but it shows you more clearly than any other monument how is a a city or a country, its religion, its burial customs, its relationship with life and death, its people and its architecture. So from ShBarcelona we suggest you visit the Poblenou Cemetery, one of the best known of the city, by day or by night following one of these routes.

Daytime routes can be made throughout the year and include a tour of the Barcelona-nineteenth century through the various pantheons where celebrities are buried. This route is short, but very useful to quickly evoke 100 years of history, from 1775 (when the Climent bishop blessed the new funerary facilities) until 1888, when the Universal Expo was held. 29 pantheons properly marked are visited along the route.

The night tour is done only once a year, on the Day of All Saints, on the 1st of November, and goes through various costumed characters who tell the audience the history and culture of this cemetry, always linked to the city of Barcelona. This activity is free but you must book to attend calling to +34 93 484 19 99.

A bit of history…

This cemetery was originally thought as a solution to the problems of unhealthy due to crowding of the population within the walled city. It was opened in 1775 by the bishop Josep Climent i Avinent near the Mar Bella Beach, is currently located in the Taulat Street number 2. The premises were destroyed by Napoleon’s troops and in 1813 Antonio Ginesi, an Italian architect, built the new enclosure with neoclassical forms and egalitarian space burials, which reflects the aesthetic tastes and political aspirations of the wealthy merchants and manufacturers in Barcelona at that time. Years later, in 1821, the cemetery was completely filled due to the cholera epidemic that caused thousands of deaths. In 1849 came the most important Poblenou Cemetery remodelling when Joan Nolla built the enclosure of the pantheons, where the works of renowned sculptors and architects of the time is shown. In these pantheons it is clear that the Catalan bourgeoisie of the time (XIX century) wanted to display their wealth even when they were death through opulent graves in which they were buried.

Finally, in 2004 Cemeteries Route arises in Barcelona, in which tourists and local people may know more deeply the history of the city through the spaces in which we bury our loved ones.