{"id":88214,"date":"2017-06-27T09:57:31","date_gmt":"2017-06-27T07:57:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/?p=88214"},"modified":"2017-06-18T09:59:29","modified_gmt":"2017-06-18T07:59:29","slug":"arus-public-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/arus-public-library\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ar\u00fas Public Library"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Barcelona has a great network of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/libraries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>public libraries<\/strong><\/a> that offer excellent services to the public, in addition to giving you the opportunity to find the perfect <strong>book<\/strong> and having tons of information at your fingertips. Many of <strong>Barcelona&#8217;s public libraries<\/strong> offer workshops, events, and a great place to relax and dive into a <strong>great story<\/strong>. Most neighborhoods have a <strong>local library<\/strong>, but there are some <strong>historical libraries<\/strong> in Barcelona that are worth seeing just for their amazing architecture and to see how they have played an important role in Barcelona&#8217;s history. One such <strong>library<\/strong> is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bpa.es\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>The Ar\u00fas Public<\/strong> <strong>Library<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0which has been fascinating visitors for years, not only for its architectural wonder but also for its historical connection to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.freemason.com\/how-to-join\/what-is-freemasonry\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>Freemasons<\/strong><\/a>.<\/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\/arus-public-library\/#History_of_the_Masons_in_Barcelona\" title=\"History of the Masons in Barcelona\">History of the Masons in Barcelona<\/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\/arus-public-library\/#The_librarys_beginnings\" title=\"The library&#8217;s beginnings\">The library&#8217;s beginnings<\/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\/arus-public-library\/#Visiting_the_library\" title=\"Visiting the library\">Visiting the library<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"History_of_the_Masons_in_Barcelona\"><\/span>History of the Masons in Barcelona<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_88218\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88218\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-88218\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Books-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-88218\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by yosoynuts via Visual Hunt<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">You have probably heard of the <strong>Freemasons<\/strong>, a secret society that is the subject of countless books, movies, and conspiracy theories. Like many European capital cities, Barcelona has a history of <strong>Freemasonry<\/strong> as well as symbols <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/costa-dorada\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hidden<\/a> all over the city. Ildefons Cerd\u00e0 was a city planner in the 1800s who helped design the layout of the modern city of Barcelona, and planned the city with <strong>Masonic<\/strong> principles in mind. During this time there were more than 170 <strong>Masonic lodges<\/strong> in Spain, including one such lodge located in the <strong>library<\/strong>.\u00a0<strong>The Ar\u00fas Public Library<\/strong> is located on Passeig Sant Joan, a street named after Saint John, the patron saint of the <strong>Freemasons<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Address:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.es\/maps\/place\/Biblioteca+P%C3%BAblica+Ar%C3%BAs\/@41.392986,2.1764383,17z\/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x12a4a2e48903f871:0x7c70418e72571fb7!8m2!3d41.392986!4d2.178627\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Passeig de Sant Joan, 26<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/cccbs-library\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CCCB&#8217;s cool secret library<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_librarys_beginnings\"><\/span>The library&#8217;s beginnings<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The <strong>Ar\u00fas Public Library<\/strong> hasn&#8217;t always been a <strong>library,<\/strong> it once was the home of its namesake, <strong>Rossend Ar\u00fas<\/strong> who was an influential playwright and journalist at that time. He conducted <strong>Masonic meetings<\/strong> in his home starting from 1888, and had great power and influence in Barcelona from behind the scenes. He and fellow members of the <strong>Masons<\/strong> had strong <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/the-current-state-of-catalan-politics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">political<\/a> ties and used this in their favor. Soon, <strong>Ar\u00fas<\/strong>&#8216; home became an official <strong>Masonic Temple<\/strong> and upon his death in 1891 it became a <strong>Freemason library<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">During Franco&#8217;s dictatorship, he ordered that all <strong>Masonic<\/strong> buildings be torn down, and most were. However, the <strong>Ar\u00fas Public Library<\/strong>\u00a0was protected and kept a low profile, which helped it escape destruction. After the dictatorship ended, the <strong>Freemasons of Barcelona\u00a0<\/strong>unveiled the <strong>library<\/strong> and opened it up to the public.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/historic-libraries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Historic libraries in Barcelona<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Visiting_the_library\"><\/span>Visiting the library<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_88219\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88219\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-88219\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Library-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-88219\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by latitudes-flickr via Visualhunt<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Today, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/show-venues\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">visit<\/a> the<strong> library<\/strong>\u00a0and experience its history firsthand. Since it is a <strong>public library<\/strong>, you can enter certain parts of the <strong>library<\/strong> free of charge and take a peek around. A great option is to purchase a ticket for a <strong>guided visit<\/strong> which will give you access to all parts of the <strong>library<\/strong>, and you can learn detailed information about its past. A guided tour costs\u00a0\u20ac9 and is available in English or Catalan. Discover this hidden gem in Barcelona&#8217;s center and explore the magic and mysticism behind its history.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i>Looking for an apartment in the city? Let\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><i>ShBarcelona\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/a><i>help you in your search.<\/i><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"\n    class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-valign-bottom kksr-align-left \"\n    data-id=\"88214\"\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>Barcelona has a great network of public libraries that offer excellent services to the public, in addition to giving you the opportunity to find the perfect book and having tons of information at your fingertips. Many of Barcelona&#8217;s public libraries offer workshops, events, and a great place to relax and dive into a great story. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":88223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4346],"tags":[7524,6319,7084,4548,4100,6320],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88214"}],"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\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88214"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88252,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88214\/revisions\/88252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}