Last week, I had the opportunity to go on a field study of the El Born area, wandering the streets and learning about the way of life in Barcelona many years prior. The streets we walk through in present day were originally belonged to different Guilds – craftsmen that specialized in certain fields that spent their lives dedicated to perfecting their craft. These craftsmen were the driving force of economy in Barcelona during this time and today the streets serve as a reminder to the way of life the guilds endured. El Born is home to five different streets that are dedicated to specific craftsmanships or trades – Carrer de les Semoleres, Carrer dels Cotoners, Carrer de les Candeles, Carrer dels Banys Vells, and Placa de Llana.
In the 13th century, Carrer de les Semoleres was a place for cous cous to be produced and sold to the public. It was also one of the first streets dedicated specifically to the guilds and a pattern continued for other streets and the guilds that inhabited them. Carrer dels Cotoners was home to the guilds that produced and sold cotton. Carrer de les Candeles is the street where candle makers resided and worked during this time. Carrer dels Banys Vells was a place for bath and laundry craftsmen. Lastly, Placa de Llana was known for wool production.
The house-workshop dwellings that the guilds lived and worked each day are known as “La Casa Taller”. The space between these houses are narrow, as the buildings themselves are taller in size than they are in width. The bottom floor of these workshops was home to the owner of the workshop with large open windows looking out. The formal name for these spaces are called Principal. The next floor was where the owner’s assistant resided and the following floors were home to the servants and laundry women.
When referring to architecture in this area, the tall, narrow buildings that run deep to make up for the space the lack in width are unique, similar to the design of the long narrow streets. The windows and balconies on the lower levels of the building were larger than those at the top, where the servants resided. The guilds homes themselves were made mostly out of stone.
On the outside of the Santa Maria del Mar church, two men can be seen carrying stones on their packs – a direct representation of the daily lives of the guild workers during this time. What I found to be interesting was the fact that this church was built by the guilds for their own personal use. While the outside of the church is no match in comparison to others such as La Sagrada Familia, the architectural detail on the inside is beautiful. The creators of the church were later buried here when they died – another symbol of their life long commitment to their craft.
El Mercat del Born was originally a monastery/convent up until the 1700s when it was then transformed into the market that it is today. During our field study, we were able to go to the back room of the market where the ruins of the convent can still be seen today.
Located near the Santa Maria del Mar church is El Fossa de les Moreres. Many people that died fighting for Catalonia during the Siege of Barcelona are honored and buried here, with the ever-burning flame as a sign of remembrance.
The Fortress of Phillip V was originally constructed to prevent future rebellions from happening again. At the time, the fortress was known as the biggest in all of Europe. As if the Catalonians had not been through enough, the king mandated that the fortress be built from the buildings that already stood, forcing their residents to be evicted from their homes.
The decree of Nova Planta was set forth by Phillip V after September 11, 1714. The goal of the decree was to create a state that was centralized and forced all of its inhabitants to abide by the same rules. One of these rules included banning the use of the Catalan language. King Felipe wanted to ban all Catalan culture and values to be expressed during his reign.
El Consolat de Mar or La Ilojta was built by Pere III in the 1300’s. It served as the seaside stock exchange and is know the oldest of its kind in Europe. The construction of El Consolat de Mar promoted wealth in Barcelona by those who invested in it and the city itself.
Rachel Richter 