The Montjuïc Castle is located in the highest part of the Montjuïc mountain. Given its strategic location the castel was used in the past as a watchtower, until it was rebuilt by Jouan Martin Cermeño in 1751.
The King Felipe V ordered its restoration after the Succession War which took place in the early XVIII Century, in which Barcelona surrended to the king after more than one year of resistance.
It was rebuilt to have a better control the city from two sides: the city centre with La Ciutadella (Citadel) currently transformed into a Public Park and the sea.
From there the King could bomb the rebel city, the central courtyard of the castle is still preserving the original cannons from that time.
In the nineteenth century, after the French invasion, the castle was occupied by Napoleon’s troops. Since 1810 was used as a military prison and it had the same use during the Spanish Civil War.
During the period of Franco’s dictatorship the castle became a political prison, where prisoners were executed and buried in the common cemetery. In this prison Lluís Companys, the president of Republican Government was killed in 1940, among other politicians and important members of the Catalan society.
The courtyard of the castle is particularly interesting as it hosts the Military Museum, containing a collection of cannons and the armor, as well as portraits of the most important Catalan lords and kings of the medieval history.
How to get to Castell de Montjuïc
- Bus: 193 - Castle of Montjuïc Stop
- Barcelona Touristic Bus: Southern Route (you can take it on Plaça de Catalunya or Plaça de Espanya).
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