{"id":64055,"date":"2016-03-16T15:08:53","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T14:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/?p=64055"},"modified":"2021-10-13T18:07:34","modified_gmt":"2021-10-13T16:07:34","slug":"dragons-in-barcelona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/dragons-in-barcelona\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are there so many dragons in Barcelona?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">What do <strong>Parc Guell, Casa Bustillo<\/strong>, the gate of <strong>Pabellones Guell<\/strong>, <strong>House of Umbrellas, Casa Amatller<\/strong>, and <strong>Torre Bellesguard<\/strong> have in common? There are <strong>dragons<\/strong> living in them. And not just these building, there are over 500 dragons in the <strong>city<\/strong> of <strong>Barcelona<\/strong>. Each more unique than the last, and each with their own story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">Why have these <strong>mystical creatures<\/strong> decided to make Barcelona their homeland? Well, there are a couple theories:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_17 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-grey\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1\"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/dragons-in-barcelona\/#Theory_1_The_Legend_of_St_George_and_the_Dragon\" title=\"Theory #1 The Legend of St. George and the Dragon\u00a0\">Theory #1 The Legend of St. George and the Dragon\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/dragons-in-barcelona\/#Theory_2_Josep_Martinez_The_Legend_of_Drakelona\" title=\"Theory #2 Josep Martinez The Legend of Drakelona\u00a0\">Theory #2 Josep Martinez The Legend of Drakelona\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/dragons-in-barcelona\/#Theory_3_The_Representation_of_The_Dragon\" title=\"Theory #3 The Representation of The Dragon\">Theory #3 The Representation of The Dragon<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Theory_1_The_Legend_of_St_George_and_the_Dragon\"><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><b>Theory #1 <\/b><a href=\"http:\/\/allaboutcatalonia.blogspot.com.es\/2009\/05\/sant-jordi-legend.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><b>The Legend of St. George and the Dragon<\/b>\u00a0<\/a><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">The <strong>legend<\/strong> of <strong>Sant Jordi<\/strong> has been passed down from Catalan generation to generation. It dates\u00a0back to the 14th century. Legend has it that Sant Jordi saved the beautiful <strong>princess<\/strong> from the possession of a hungry dragon. He stabbed the dragon through the heart with a single sword. From the dragon&#8217;s pool of blood grew a perfect red rose bush. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Dragon1_SHBarcelona.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-64056\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-64056\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Dragon1_SHBarcelona-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Dragon2_SHBarcelona\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>This story has become a symbol of the <strong>Catalan<\/strong> culture.\u00a0So much so that they celebrate this story every 23rd of April. Many\u00a0famous Catalan architects, such as the famous <strong>Gaudi<\/strong>, have also taken it upon themselves to dedicate their work to this story. By incorporating the story of the dragon, the prince and the princess\u00a0into his architectural designs, thus, he has engraved the story into various city structures.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Casa Bustillo<\/strong> is a great example. Have you ever noticed the roof top of Casa Bustillo looks like scales? Well, that\u2019s because they\u00a0represent\u00a0the dragons scales. And the chimney represents the sword Sant Jordi put through the dragon to save the princess. The balconies look like skeleton eyes which represent the many princes that attempted to capture the men but were unsuccessful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Theory_2_Josep_Martinez_The_Legend_of_Drakelona\"><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><b>Theory #2 <\/b><span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/www.barcelonadragontours.com\/en\/2015\/07\/15\/864\/\"><b>Josep Martinez The Legend of Drakelona<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">Joseph Martinez, a photographer from Andorra, came up with a theory of his own. He illustrates different dragons traveling to Barcelona through land and sea, in broad daylight and at night. All choosing to meet in the beautiful city of Barcelona.\u00a0Upon arriving they choose a location to wait in. Some choose to hide deep inside the different neighborhood of Barcelona, concealing themselves from the humans. And others were unafraid to of being noticed. Many of them sat in their places waiting (I don\u2019t understand why). But as the story continues they waited until they decided that they loved Barcelona. They decided to stay and they made Barcelona their city. They called it\u00a0Drakelona, the City of Dragons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Theory_3_The_Representation_of_The_Dragon\"><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><b>Theory #3 The Representation of The Dragon<\/b><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_64058\" style=\"width: 258px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Dragon3_SHBarcelona.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-64058\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-64058\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-64058\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Dragon3_SHBarcelona-248x300.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: Jose Luis Mieza Photography via Visual Hunt \/ CC BY-NC-SA\" width=\"248\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-64058\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/reinante\/3638466050\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Jose Luis Mieza Photography<\/a> via <span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"https:\/\/visualhunt.com\">Visual Hunt<\/span> \/ <span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">Many believe that these dragons have been placed in different buildings throughout the city because of what dragons represent. A dragon can embody a guardian, powerful and wise. Protecting the city of any person or creature that threatens to destroy it. For example, the well-known dragon is the Chinese dragon on the \u201chouse of umbrellas.\u201d This dragon is the guardian dragon Dilong. He watches the skies, bring rains, and controls rivers according to eastern legend. You can find him in <strong>Rambles<\/strong>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">The dragon also represents evil. A merciful monster which imprisons and destroys everything around it. Examples of this include the dragon design on the building of Casa Amatller or Casa Bustill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">This irony between good and evil, power and protection,\u00a0is what creates the magical city of dragons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">Now it\u2019s time for you to scour the city in search of these mysterious creatures. If you need some help, our friends at <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.barcelonadragontours.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Barcelona Dragon Tours<\/a><\/strong> have already scouted a couple. Join them in their continuous hunt for these interesting mystical creatures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"\n    class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-valign-bottom kksr-align-left \"\n    data-id=\"64055\"\n    data-slug=\"\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 150px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-legend\">\n            <strong class=\"kksr-score\">5<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">\/<\/span>\n        <strong>5<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">(<\/span>\n        <strong class=\"kksr-count\">1<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">\n            vote        <\/span>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What do Parc Guell, Casa Bustillo, the gate of Pabellones Guell, House of Umbrellas, Casa Amatller, and Torre Bellesguard have in common? There are dragons living in them. And not just these building, there are over 500 dragons in the city of Barcelona. Each more unique than the last, and each with their own story.\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":64165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4348],"tags":[3601,3599,1573,3600,986],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64055"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64055"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106766,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64055\/revisions\/106766"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}