Parc de la Ciutadella - Barcelona, Spain
Posted by: 
razalas
N 41° 23.168 E 002° 11.186
31T E 431978 N 4581941
Barcelona’s city park par excellence was initially designed around 1870 by Josep Fontseré.
Waymark Code: WMDC7G
Location: Cataluña, Spain
Date Posted: 12/23/2011
Views: 24
Overflowing with largely centenarian vegetation and very rich in plant species, the Parc de la Ciutadella contains a large diversity of features which make it especially valuable. The monumental waterfall, the buildings constructed in the second half of the nineteenth century and today converted into museums, the lake where visitors can row boats and the paths and numerous sculptures in the park are but a few examples. The Barcelona zoo also stands in the grounds of the Park.
Built during the second half of the nineteenth century, this park is one of the main reference points of the green areas in Barcelona. For many years it was the only park in the city, and the first of those that exist today which was specifically designed as a public park.
In the Parc de la Ciutadella there are endless possibilities for enjoyment. This has made it one of the areas with most entertainment and cultural activities on offer in Barcelona. It has large grass areas and wide pathways, and there are benches for relaxing and reading, and lawn parterres frequented -both in the winter and the summer- by young people enjoying the sun. It is also a popular place for walking or cycling.
The park, which in 1951 was declared an artistic historical monument, is considered to be an open air museum for the number and quality of its sculptures. There are works by Frederic Marès (the equestrian statue of General Prim), Eusebi Arnau (marble bust of Marià Aguiló), Josep Clarà (bronze nude dedicated to the Catalan Volunteers of 1914), Josep Llimona (female nude in marble El desconsol), Pau Gargallo (marble bust of Lleó Fontoba), Manuel Fuxà (marble busts of Milà i Fontanals, Victor Balaguer and Joaquim Vayreda, and bronze figure of Bonaventura Carles Aribau) and Eduard B Alentorn (group in marble La Cigonya i la Guineu), among other sculptors.
Due to its popularity, we should mention two sculptures: La dama del paraigües, (The woman with the umbrella) by Joan Roig Soler, which for many years was one of the symbols of Barcelona and which crowns an ornamental fountain designed by Josep Fontseré, and a stone Mammoth, the first and only of the reproductions in natural size of extinct animals that, in 1907, the board of Natural Sciences planned to install in the park.
From: (
visit link)