Museu Maritim

A highly valuable example of civil Gothic architecture, Barcelona's royal shipyards are home to the Museu Marítim de Barcelona (Barcelona Maritime Museum).

BARCELONA'S ROYAL SHIPYARDS: HISTORY

The Museu Marítim de Barcelona is located in the building of the royal shipyards, on the city's waterfront and at the foot of the Montjuïc mountain. The shipyards were built to serve as a military dockyard for the galleys commanded by the Crown of Aragon.

With a history stretching back more than 700 years, the complex is a zone about which little is yet known from a historical perspective. However, given the research projects that are currently underway and the archaeological excavations due to take place in the near future, we will soon have a greater knowledge of the complex and its significance.

The origins of the building are uncertain. It could be said that its history begins with a documentary reference dated 1243. However, the first phase of construction work on the architectural complex actually took place in the period spanning the years 1283 and 1328, and was followed by another stage of work between 1328 and 1390. The end result was a regular (square) complex comprising a series of Gothic units supported by stone pillars and topped by a gabled roof. An enclosed yet extensive zone, it has light and space in which to work. It is basically a roof resting on stone columns, under the shelter of which work took place.

Various extensions were carried out after the aforementioned dates. There were basically three such extensions, which were adjoined to the original structure and came to complete the complex. Specifically, they were the New Gallery, erected between 1390 and 1415, and traditionally known as the Pere IV Building; the Units of the Generalitat (Catalan Regional Government), which were built onto the eastern side of the medieval structure between 1612 and 1618; and the expansion of the Gothic units, which now go by the name of the Comillas Hall, towards the side opposite the shoreline in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The shipyard complex was situated outside the 13th-century medieval fortifications. However, an extension incorporating the Raval area was carried out in the 14th century, and the shipyards were positioned inside the new walled enclosure, in a corner of the city. A section of that very wall still surrounds the western part of the complex, facing Montjuïc, and is the only vestige that now remains of the city's fortifications, which were demolished as of 1854. The section of wall that still stands includes a bastion that dates back to the middle of the 17th century.

Over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries, during which time the building was used as a military facility, a number of minor structural alterations were made, generally consisting of the addition of new auxiliary buildings. The most significant was the Cavalry Barracks, a pentagonal building that was situated at the edge of the Rambla and which was demolished in the year 1935. In any case, the building's basic structure has been maintained despite the various uses made of it, in such a way that it's appearance today is almost the same as it was originally.

Barcelona's royal shipyard complex was included in the Register of Historical, Artistic and Scientific Heritage of the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Regional Government) in the year 1937, and was declared to be a Historical and Artistic Monument by the Cabinet of the Spanish Government on 5 May 1976.