Castle of the Three Dragons - Barcelona, Spain
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denben
N 41° 23.282 E 002° 10.976
31T E 431687 N 4582155
The Castle of the Three Dragons (Catalan: Castell dels Tres Dragons) is the popular name given to the modernist building built between 1887-1888 as a Café-Restaurant for the 1888 Universal Exposition of Barcelona by Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
Waymark Code: WMQRQM
Location: Cataluña, Spain
Date Posted: 03/24/2016
Views: 7
In its time, the Castle of the Three Dragons was one of the main buildings of the Universal Exposition. The work began in September 1887, and suffered many delays, and so, on April 8, the day of the inauguration, it was not ready, delaying its opening until August 17. For this reason Domènech i Montaner resigned as the responsible architect.
At the end of the exhibition, Domenech himself installed an industrial arts workshop related to architecture, with the possible collaboration of Antoni Maria Gallissà i Tighten. Later it was dedicated to museum purposes, being a museum of history, archeology, biology and natural sciences. During the Spanish Civil War it was closed, after suffering some damage by Franco's bombing. From 1942 to 1945 it was the chair of Social Aid definitely aimed at Museum of Zoology. In the 1980s it was restored by architects Cristian Cirici, Pep Bonet and Carles Bassó. Until 2010 it hosted the zoology collections of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Catalonia (in Catalan: Museu Nacional de Ciències Naturals de Catalunya), when they were transferred to the Forum Building. In 2011, the Castle of the Three Dragons was transformed to receive the scientific headquarters of the museum, welcoming the Laboratory of nature with its laboratories and research spaces, collections for study and conservation.
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