Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona

Parc de la Ciutadella is a public park in Barcelona, created on the grounds of the former Ciutadella fortress. Josep Fontserè designed the park, and its beginnings date to 1872. The site later hosted the Universal Exhibition of 1888, and its public artworks make the park an open-air sculpture museum.

The fortress was built after Barcelona fell in 1714 during the War of the Spanish Succession. It served as an instrument of control, and constructing it destroyed a substantial part of the La Ribera district and displaced its residents. When the fortress lost its purpose, the remaining land was transformed into this park; the chapel, the governor’s palace, and the arsenal survived.

The arsenal now houses the Parliament of Catalonia. The grounds include a small lake, museums, the city zoo, and a large fountain designed by Fontserè. The park also carries the modernisme català label, bringing together civic history, public art, and a landscape shaped from a former military stronghold.