Three Dragons Castle

The Natural Science Museum is hosting the exhibition “The Castle of Three Dragons, from restaurant to Natural Science Museum” which takes a look back over the history and architecture of the building designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner for the 1888 Universal Exhibition. Domènech i Montaner is world-wide known for his later buildings Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, both of them on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.

This great building of unpainted brick, crowned with embattlements, known to most as the Three Dragons Castle, is an example of early Barcelona modernism. The building is was built by Domènech i Montaner in 1887. Since 1920 it has housed the Zoology Museum. It preceded the famous Amsterdam Stock Exchange by Berlage (1898) in its use of construction materials: exposed brick and undisguised iron structures. The building is also important for the history of art, because it is the site of the workshops where in the 19th century old artisan techniques in ceramics and iron-working were studied for the first time. This activity led to a resurgence in the decorative arts in Catalonia.

More inf@: Natural Science Museum website

Three Dragons Castle, Barcelona.

Hospital de Sant Pau: 600 years improving Barcelona

One of the modernist pavilions at Hospital de Sant Pau

The Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau dates back to 1401 when six hospitals in the city merged, forming the Hospital de la Santa Creu. With the growth of the city and the advances in medicine in the 19th century, the centre was unable to meet the demands of the time and construction of a new building was proposed. The original 15th century buildings, located near Hotel 1898, now house a design school and a library. The new buildings were erected outside the ancient city, on the new ‘Eixample’ and near the Sagrada Familia grounds.

Thanks to the legacy of Pau Gil, a banker, on January 15, 1902 the first stone of the new building was laid. “Sant Pau” was added to the old hospital’s name to honour the wishes of its benefactor. The genious architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner was commissioned with the project. Domènech i Montaner is also known for his work at Palau de la Música Catalana. Over the years, the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau has become the most significant public building in Catalan modernisme. On 1997, the building was acknowledged as World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Recently, Hospital de Sant Pau has been seen in Woody Allen’s movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona and pictured as scenario in Batman‘s Barcelona adventure.

After one century serving the city, the modernist pavilions needed a major update, and a new building will now host all the health services. The modernist pavilions will be fully restored and soon to be used as a permanent seat for the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean, together with other cultural activities.

More inf@:  Hospital de Sant Pau website   ..::.. Tourist information about Hospital de Sant Pau