The Diada (National Holiday) of Catalonia is celebrated all over the Principality, but holds special memory in various sites that were key during the defeat in the War of the Spanish Succession.
The fall of Barcelona was a huge defeat after a 20-month siege, but the last Catalan bastion to surrender was the town of Cardona, which capitulated on 18 September 1714. The city of Lleida had done the same seven years before. The round Manresana tower was also important, in Els Prats de Rei, where troops fought for control of the Calaf plateau to facilitate the final assault on Cardona. In one way or another, all of Catalonia was marked by the War of the Spanish Succession.
Palau de la Generalitat
Archduke Charles held the legislative Corts of 1705-1706 in the Hall of Sant Jordi to stress the respect he wanted to show towards the Catalan constitutional system and institutions, since it was where the council known as the Diputació del General met.
The neighbouring Hall of Contrafaccions was the meeting place for the military wing, which became one of the staunchest guarantors of the Catalan constitutional system. Sessions of the Conference of the Three Commons were also held in these two rooms.
Did you know...?
In 1400, the Diputació del General, the governing body of the country during the XIV to XVII centuries, acquired a building in Call Major in Barcelona to establish its definite headquarters. The building had been the property, successively, of a poet, a surgeon, a treasurer and a moneychanger and their respective heirs.
Fossar de les Moreres
This is currently a square in the city of Barcelona with a war memorial for those killed in the siege of Barcelona. It was one of two historical cemeteries of the adjacent basilica of Santa Maria del Marand became a mass grave during the siege where many of the defenders of the city were buried.
In the square you can read: "Al fossar de les moreres / no s'hi enterra cap traïdor; / fins perdent nostres banderes /serà l'urna de l'honor" ("No traitor is buried / in Fossar de les Moreres; / even stripped of our flags, / this is the tomb of honour").
In 1999 the Generalitat declared Fossar de les Moreres to be an Asset of Cultural Interest; until then, it had been considered a historical complex. The commemorative elements of 1714 were built in 2001.
Since April 2002, the association Memorial 1714 has placed a bouquet of flowers with the Catalan flag in the perfume burner each Sunday at noon.
Did you know...?
The verses that are read at the Fossar are from a poem by Frederic Soler Pitarra explaining how a gravedigger and his grandson buried the people killed while defending Barcelona in 1714, and when they are brought the body of a soldier from the besieging army, son of the gravedigger and father of the boy, they refuse to bury him there.
Fossar de les Moreres
Ciutadella
Though it longer stands, this pentagonal military fortress was built between 1716 and 1748 based in the design of Flemish military engineer Joris Prosper van Verboom, the first governor of the stronghold, even though he never saw it finished. This fortification was never used to defend the city from attack by an enemy army, but was erected as an instrument of repression against the residents of Barcelona.
From 1719 to 1866, many political prisoners were held in the tower of Sant Joan, rechristened as the 'Catalan Bastille'. Finally, after many requests to destroy it, the Ciutadella was demolished in 1869.
Only three buildings of the original structure remain: the arsenal, seat of the Parliament of Catalonia; the chapel, which is now a military church; and the military governor's home, which has been turned into a secondary school.
Did you know...?
The Parc de la Ciutadella also includes the Martorell Museum of Geology, the Museum of Zoology, a shade house and a greenhouse.
Parc de la Ciutadella
Site of Born
This dig site was discovered in the Born neighbourhood at the end of 2001, where structures from Barcelona of 1714 were found under the market building, built between 1874 and 1878 over the old esplanade that separated the Ciutadella from the city. The market premises corresponds to 5% of the city destroyed to build the Ciutadella. Sixty-nine families lived at the site and their dynamism is evident from the 35 trades they exercised, as viola makers, surgeons, shoemakers, saddlers and more. In house no. 18 in Passeig del Born, you can see the perimeter of what was destroyed.
The new Born Cultural Centre opens on 11 September. It will be an open house from 12 to 29 September, from 10 am to 7 pm.
Did you know...?
It is possible to visit the archaeological site with the remains of homes dating from 1714; the permanent exhibition that shows how the inhabitants of the Ribera quarter lived 300 years ago; and the temporary exhibition.
Born Centre Cultural
Castle of Montjuïc
It is possible that there was once a watchtower from Roman times on top of Montjuïc, but the first documentary references to its existence are from the 10th century. Throughout the years, this tower was renovated and expanded until it became a fort. The position of Montjuïc Castle let it dominate the city and became a strategic point of the first order for ensuring control over it. During the War of the Spanish Succession, the Coronela of Barcelona took custody of the Castle under the orders of Captain Dalmau (1713). In August 1714 an agreement was made to surrender the Castle, following the orders of the Three Commons and General Antonio Villarroel. After having received the orders to give up the fort, the Sergeant Major of Montjuïc, Lieutenant Colonel Francesc Vila i Lleó, decided to open the stores of Montjuïc and distribute food among the population in order to alleviate famine in the city.
On 12 September 1714, the Castle was surrendered to the Bourbon troops and the next day, Vila i Lleó entered the city with the rest of the population. After this date, the Castle underwent great changes until becoming as we know it today. From 1775 to 1779, Juan Martín Cermeño was the military engineer who designed its renovation, had the moat dug up and built the defences that gave it the pentagonal shape characteristic of the great fortresses of the modern era.
The Castle has been intimately linked to the history of Barcelona, often tragically, such as its use as a prison or grounds for firing squads. Famous victims included Ferrer i Guàrdia and President Lluís Companys.
Did you know...?
On 15 October 2011 the flag that President Companys installed in the Bastion of Santa Amàlia in 1936 was raised once again.
Canyon defense Montjuïc Castle
Seu Vella of Lleida
The city of Lleida was also important in the War of the Spanish Succession, as it was besieged for two months by the Duke of Orleans. The city surrendered on 12 November 1707 after harsh repression. The civilians fled to the castle, currently the Seu Vella, in search of protection from the troops. Once the city fell, it was sacked and some people who had taken refuge in the convent of El Roserwere killed. Then the cathedral of Lleida, it had been turned into a blood bank during the war with the consent of Bishop Solís.
The Bourbon authorities turned the Seu Vella into a prison, then into a barracks starting in 1749.The building was divided into three floors and a few structures around it were demolished. The current fortification was built with the stones of the old constructions.
Did you know...?
The Seu Vella (Old See) forms part of a series of monuments that also include the King's Castle or La Suda, and the surrounding military fortifications. All three structures are catalogued as National Cultural Heritage sites.
At the close of the XVIII century, the See was transformed into a military barracks until 1948
Town of Cardona
Cardona was the last bastion of Catalan resistance during the War of the Spanish Succession. It finally fell on 18 September 1714, one week later than Barcelona, when the rest of the country was already controlled by Philip V's army. Cardona was one of the most important Catalan towns during the war because of its strategic and military position, which allowed it to resist the Bourbon advances on several occasions. The resistance was organised from the bastions and the castle.
The town was conquered in November 1711, but not the castle, which was battered with cannons for 34 days. In December, the siege ended thanks to the Allied army. Between 1713 and 1714, Cardona withstood two new offensives from Philip V's army and finally on 18 September Manuel Desvalls i de Vergós, the Marquis of Poal, had to accept and surrender the square, which was agreed under the conditions for rendering the city of Barcelona on 11 September 1714.
Did you know...?
In the vestibule of Cardona Town Hall there is an eternal flame in memory of the resistance of the town during the War of Succession and as a reminder of the defenders of the freedom of Catalonia.
The last city to be conquered was Cardona, on 18 September 1714
Els Prats de Rei
The tall and round Manresana tower, the sole element remaining of the old mediaeval border castle located on the city limits of Els Prats de Rei, was the scene of an important battle during the War of the Spanish Succession. For four months, pro-Austrian troops led by Marshal Guindo von Starhemberg clashed with the pro-Bourbon forces of the Duke of Vendôme.
The tower was turned into a strategic observatory for the Allied command. Once the Bourbon troops withdrew, on Christmas 1711, an Allied camp arose and the town of Els Prats de Rei was almost destroyed by the artillery.
Did you know...?
It was once surrounded by a castle. The only remains are the foundations of the walls, one room, and the tower, reconstructed in the XII century.
At a height of 21 meters, this site offers panoramic views over the surrounding area
Casa Rafael Casanova of Moià
Rafael Casanova was born in the town of Moià (Bages) and ended up being the Chief Minister of Barcelona. Casa Rafael Casanova shows visitors all aspects about this individual, from the wealthy position of the Casanova family to his personal career, the events of the War of the Spanish Succession and his role as political leader during the siege of Barcelona.
Did you know...?
The house now contains an exhibition explaining key aspects of the conflict: from the outbreak of an international war to determine the successor to the Spanish crown after the death of Charles II without an heir, to the fall of the city of Barcelona into the hands of Bourbonic troops.
Rafael Casanova was born here around 1660