Give me shelter
Barcelona is a city of perpetual change, but it is also forged from the legacy of its turbulent history. Etched both in the local consciousness and the physical urban fabric of the city, the shadows and scars of the Spanish Civil War are still present today—from the bunkers that overlook the city in Turó de la Rovirá to the shrapnel-marked church façade in Plaça Felip Neri.
The district of Sant Andreu was a focal point of conflict during the war. Then a village in its own right, before it was annexed into the conurbation of Barcelona, it was known as Sant Andreu de Palomar. It was a hotbed of different warring factions—anarchists, communists and republicans—and was an area regularly targeted by Fascist forces.
Sant Andreu became a focal point for aerial bombardments. General Franco had learnt from the bombing campaigns of Guernica in the Basque country that air raids were an effective way to terrify the local populace. The bombing sorties were flown out of Mallorca for Franco by the Italian Royal Air Force.
Such devastating warfare meant that Barcelona quickly became a warren of bunkers and shelters, some of which belonged to wealthy families who had their own private shelters and others which were public. Created by the passive defence board (La Junta de Defensa Pasiva), these public shelters were designed to hold hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people. One such example is the Refugi 307, which consists of 400 metres of tunnels buried under Montjuïc, now open to visitors as part of the Museu d’Història de Barcelona (MUHB).
Citizens that were caught out in the open during the raids often took refuge in the metro tunnels or makeshift shelters, although sometimes the use of these shelters proved more dangerous than the bombings themselves. During October 1937, as bombs fell during a storm, many civilians died when the tunnels flooded or collapsed under heavy rains.
There are believed to be more than 1,400 documented bomb shelters in Barcelona, many of which were covered by the city’s expansion during the boom of the Sixties and Seventies, as Barcelona left its dark past behind and looked to a new horizon of prosperity.
As a living, breathing city, perpetually under construction, many of these shelters have been found and some of them considered historically important enough to be opened to the public.
One such shelter is located in Sant Andreu—Shelter 469. Situated on Carrer de Coroleu 15, the shelter was hidden under the local cultural centre, La Lira. When the building underwent renovations, the bunker was discovered.
According to Mariana Iturralde, La Lira’s cultural secretary, “Before the shelter was discovered, it was nothing more than an urban legend talked about by the older generation, who remember taking cover in the shelter. We knew it was somewhere underneath the building but until the renovations began we weren’t sure of its exact location.”
Once the renovations began and the shelter was discovered, La Lira contacted the local town hall to investigate the historical significance of the shelter. All known shelters in Barcelona are documented in an ‘atlas of air raid shelters’ (Atlas de los Refugios de la Guerra Civil Española en Barcelona), maintained and updated by the city council.
The Sant Andreu shelter forms part of a series of shelters in the same area. A few doors away in the basement of a health clinic, a larger shelter lies abandoned, whilst on Gran de Sant Andreu, the shelter at the famous Café Versailles doubled as an underground card den. Neither of these are open for visitors. Meanwhile on the corner of Carrer de Socrates, the casing of a deactivated bomb still lies encrusted in the building facade above a butcher’s shop.
The design of La Lira’s shelter gives an insight into life during this period. “This was not meant for long-term shelter,” explained Mariana Iturralde. “This particular one was a business shelter, created with one entrance (they normally have two) and a round stone table, to be able to continue meetings during bombing raids.” Despite the war raging on above ground level, for some it was business as usual.
When a shelter is discovered, the city’s archaeological institute (Servei d’Arqueologia de Barcelona) surveys the site and evaluates its historical and cultural value. The MUHB has launched several incentives to ‘converse, legislate, index and catalogue’ the air raid shelters of Barcelona. However there is no law to protect them.
Many shelters have been demolished or simply overlooked due to urban planning. Just recently, another documented shelter (shelter 722), this time on Carrer de Burgos in the district of Sants, was uncovered during road works. Local neighbourhood associations have asked for a meeting with the city council to discuss the historical significance of the shelter before it is cemented over.
Many residents feel it is important to respect and preserve the historical legacy of the Civil War, and one group has taken it upon themselves to create a database that logs air raid shelters, informing the public of their whereabouts. Barcelona Foradada (barcelonaforadada.wordpress.com) has interactive maps showing the shelter locations, characteristics and materials used to make them, giving people the opportunity to witness these haunting spaces of the past, and remember.
BUNKERS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Bunkers del Carmel
Situated on the Turó de la Rovira hill with 360º views of the city. The area can be reached on bus V17. The bunkers are usually freely accessible to the public but are closed until the end of April for maintenance works.
Refugi 307
This shelter has three entrances on Nou de la Rambla. Four hundred metres of tunnels include a toilet, water fountain, infirmary and children’s room. Visits can be arranged through www.museuhistoria.bcn.cat
Refugio de la Plaça del Diamant (Refugio 232)
One of the city’s biggest shelters and one of the best preserved. To book a visit, call 93 219 6134 (from 9.30am to 1.30pm).