L'Hivernacle: Barcelona’s Exquisite Hidden Garden
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Hivernacle, Ciutadella Park, photo by Josep Bracons (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
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Interior of the Hivernacle, photo by Josbel A. Tinoco courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
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The exterior of the Hivernacle, photo by Enric (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
Not to be confused with the pop-up club at the Parc del Fòrum or the seasonal events space in Poble Espanyol, Barcelona’s Hivernacle is an impressive—though often neglected—piece of local history that dates back to the 1888 International Exhibition. The iron and glass Modernist structure was built between 1883 and 1887, and was declared a Cultural Asset of Local Interest in the year 2000.
The City’s Greenhouse
The Hivernacle is essentially a giant greenhouse located at the edge of the city’s Ciutadella Park; it was built by municipal architect Josep Amargós i Samaranch, although it was designed by Josep Fontserè i Mestre as a part of the scientific axis formed by four buildings: the Umbracle, the Martorell Museum and the Castle of the Three Dragons. These spaces were intended to bring the city’s scientific community together in one area, and highlight the evolution and expansion of learning at the end of the 19th century.
The Hivernacle is divided up into three spaces: the nau central, or central nave, which opens up on either side into the nau magnòlies and the nau Picasso, or magnolias and Picasso naves, respectively. While it was used as a conference hall during the International Exhibition itself, its purpose was to serve as an exhibition space showcasing biodiversity, the mysteries of botany, and promoting the joys of gardening to the citizens of Barcelona.
Plans for the buildings in Barcelona's Ciutadella Park for the 1888 Universal Exposition. Image courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona.
Just a few years later, in 1893, the Association of Publishers of Barcelona asked the Barcelona City Council to allow them to use the Hivernacle as their headquarters and teaching space. The organization, which was formed to look after the literary interests of the city, promised to take on the responsibility of completing the building’s construction: the closures of the central nave hadn’t been finished in time for the Universal Exhibition, and minor adaptations would also be necessary in order for the association to make proper use of the space.
However, none of these promises were kept, and by the beginning of the 20th century, the Hivernacle was falling apart. The Association of Publishers moved their headquarters elsewhere, and the building was used as a temporary storage space for plants that would later be included in the landscape architecture for parks in other parts of the city.
In 1907, the city’s Natural Science Board rallied around the dilapidated space, and suggested renovating the Hivernacle so that it could house plants and animal species; the latter would exist in conditions of semi-liberty within a controlled ecosystem. These would include birds, small reptiles and fish in a central pond that would be installed. The Hivernacle was renovated for the first time; it would later feature exhibitions of different types of farm animals, mushrooms, canary breeding, and other scientific topics related to flora and fauna.
However, the Hivernacle’s success was short-lived, as the neglected building again fell into a state of disrepair over the years, giving the once impressive “crystal palace” the look of a bombed-out greenhouse. In fact, its fragile structure was further damaged by bombings during the Spanish Civil War.
Visitors in the Hivernacle in 1934. Photo by Carlos Pérezde Rozas, courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona.
A Cycle of Neglect and Restoration
In 1961, a non-profit organization called the Friends of the Gardens petitioned the City Council to restore the Hivernacle, along with other parts of Ciutadella Park. Two years later, the city began a major renovation of several of the park’s major installations, beginning with the entrance walkways, the lake and the waterfall. The Hivernacle and the Umbracle were overhauled in 1965.
However, after just a short few years, the space once again fell into disuse, and by the late 1970s was once again the worse for wear, though it remained open to the public. More renovations eventually took place in 1983, with the idea of installing an urban environment center inside of it. That plan never came to fruition, though someone attempted to repurpose the space several years later by installing a bar and restaurant inside its glass walls.
As to why the city continued to fund repeated renovation projects in the Hivernacle but didn’t also provide for its upkeep is a mystery. It was in such bad shape during the first years of the 21st century that it closed in 2006, and would remain closed for 14 years. The metalwork was rusting, the glass was broken and all the plant life had long since died. An abortive attempt at renovations began in 2015, which succeeded in repairing a portion of the ironwork, but these stopped in 2016 when the company in charge went bankrupt.
Steps were taken once more to remedy the greenhouse’s sad state in 2021, when the city allocated funds towards what was intended to be its final repair. Over a period of 15 months 2.5 million euros was spent to help restore the Hivernacle to its former glory, with care taken to accurately reproduce the details of the original turn-of-the-century construction and decoration.
Carried out between 2021 and 2023, these latest renovations were based on plans from the original greenhouse in 1888; they replaced the glass, and the internal lighting and irrigation systems, which had been left out of the plans for the previous renovation works from 2007 and 2015. Workers also uncovered original decorative elements, such as the coat of arms of the city of Barcelona, and the floral motifs on the walls created by artist and illustrator Alexandre de Riquer i Ynglada. These motifs—which are intricate designs that were incised into the building material, rather than just painted on—had been covered by layer upon layer of paint, hidden from view for decades.
A motorized system of sensors, windows and skylights was also installed, allowing the building’s internal temperature to be automatically controlled. And in a nod to the Hivernacle’s past, the project attempted to preserve the majority of the plants that had managed to survive in its interior.
The space was reopened to the public in December of 2023, both for visits and as a venue for activities meant to promote the cultural, scientific and historic heritage of Barcelona. The opening ceremony on December 18th of that year was attended by the current Barcelona mayor, Jaume Collboni, former mayor Xavier Trias, and other political figures.
Plans for the Mercat del Peix Research Center, image courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona.
The Hivernacle Today: La Ciutadella Knowledge Hub
Today, the Hivernacle is dedicated to education and raising awareness of the importance of preservation of the natural environment. It is open to the public every day from 10:00 until sunset, free of charge. On weekends, paid guided tours are also available. Talks on ecology, botany, sustainability and gardening are sometimes held inside, and the city has allowed the use of the Hivernacle for classical music concerts and other cultural programing. The central nave is also the location of the Visitors’ Center for the Parc de la Ciutadella, which offers practical information about the park as well as other green spaces in the city.
In an effort to recover the biological diversity that once existed in the greenhouse, tropical and subtropical species were planted based on photos of the interior from the period ranging from 1965 to 1980. Its interior features over one hundred notable plant species, located mostly in the magnolias nave. Some of the specimens are especially impressive when viewed through the lens of historical context; for example, pineapples are commonly found in supermarkets today, but during the era in which the Hivernacle was built, they were considered to be an exotic delicacy in this part of the world. Other examples include the papyrus plant, which came from the area around the Nile River, which was so important to ancient Egyptian culture due to its use in paper-making that pharaohs used to try to jealously maintain control of the world’s supply of the plant.
Aerial view of the Hivernacle, between the Umbrale and the Castell dels Tres Dragons, all built for the Universal Exposition in 1888. Image courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona.
It's restoration is the first step in a sweeping plan by the Barcelona City Council called the “Ciutadella del Coneixement,” referred to in English as “La Ciutadella Knowledge Hub,” whose plan is to convert the Ciutadella Park into a hub of science and innovation. The project is the result of the collaboration of various public entities, research centers and universities; the City Council is set to assume around 75 million euros of the total expense for the project. However, this is merely a portion of the overall expenses, with the total cost projected to be 290 million euros. The hub is to eventually employ approximately 2,000 researchers, and the Hivernacle is just one of the aforementioned four historic structures that are meant to be incorporated into the Ciutadella del Coneixement project.
One of these is the oldest public museum in Barcelona: the Museu Martorell, now renamed the Centre Martorell d’Exposicions, has already been renovated. The third building, due to be renovated by the end of 2026, is the iconic Castell dels Tres Dragons, designed by Modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The fourth is the “sister” building of the Hivernacle, the Umbráculo, which has remained open since it was built in 1887; it was in need of renovations that were much less extensive than that of its sister.
The plan—set to be completed sometime in 2027—will also incorporate major changes to the Barcelona Zoo, which has been instructed by the city to develop a strategy in the coming years to refocus its efforts on animal conservation and research, as well as integrating itself with its surroundings rather than serving as an enclosed barrier, cut off from the nearby green spaces.
Archeologists working on the site of the old fish market, image courtesy of Ajuntament de Barcelona.
The other elements that will make up La Ciutadella Knowledge Hub include three new buildings to be located on the site of the old fish market, the old Mercat del Peix; these buildings will house the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), as well as other new facilities for the Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
The same zone will also be the home of the new CSIC Biosciences Center, which will bring together all the different biomedical research units run by the CSIC in Catalunya, constituting approximately 300 researchers and 40 research groups. The Institut de Biologia Molecular de Barcelona (the Molecular Biology Institute) and the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques de Barcelona (the Biomedical Investigation Institute) will be housed in this new building. All of this together represents around 80% of La Ciutadella Knowledge Hub project, with more still to be planned and built.
An important missing piece is a comprehensive Central Urban Library, intended to cover 16,000 square meters and include both a general and specialized collection, events room, press room, exhibition rooms, a cafeteria, an auditorium and much more. It is tentatively set to open in 2027, though Barcelona’s mayor has warned that the entire project is unlikely to be completed before 2029.
The Cituadella Park and the Hivernacle will remain open for public use, during and after the works intended to create La Ciutadella Knowledge Hub.
