Guided Tour of Biblioteca Pública Arús

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Lovers of culture, history and society will find a true haven of peace at the Biblioteca Pública Arús. Set up by the philanthropist, free-thinker and pro-Catalan liberal Rossend Arús, the library opened to the public in 1895 and has become a research center specializing in contemporary social movements (mainly labor organizations and freemasonry) and books published in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

When it opened, the library’s collection consisted of some 24,000 volumes that encompassed all the fields of knowledge of the day, including philosophy, religion, social sciences, law, languages, biology, botany, medicine, art, music, literature, geography and history. This highly prized collection survives almost intact today and bears witness to the age when the library was founded. The library currently houses some 80,000 volumes of books and booklets, serial publications, manuscripts and incunabula, cartographic documents, music scores, microfilms and electronic resources.

Located in the house where Rossend Arús lived on Passeig de Sant Joan, the library and its collections were left to the public in his will. Designed by the architect Bonaventura Bassegoda i Amigó, the building features decorative elements by Josep Lluís Pellicer and other craftsmen like Manuel Fuxà and Lluís Nogués.

Tours are every Saturday, are one hour long, and are available in English at 10:00, Spanish at 11:15, and in Catalan at 12:30.

For more events check our online events calendar.