CIUTADELLA PARK
In 1715, Philip V decided to build a citadel to lock up and control the city. This decision to repress the Catalans is explained by their long resistance to the siege of Philippe V. It also closed universities to drive out intellectuals, and prohibited the expansion of the city to increase its population. The construction of the citadel led to the demolition of more than a thousand houses in the Ribera district. Hated by Barcelonians, the citadel was finally destroyed in the 19th century. Among its rare remains, the former arsenal has been the seat of the Parliament of Catalonia since 1932. The architect Josep Fontserè designed a 17-hectare park with an artificial lake for boating. Inspired by the Paris Plant Garden, he built the Museu Martorell (1882) to house the collections of the Museum of Natural Sciences (now on display in the Museu Blau), as well as the Umbracle (1883) to house tropical plants. The young Antoni Gaudí participated in the construction of a monumental waterfall. The park was inaugurated in 1881 and a few years later hosted the 1888 Universal Exhibition. Several modernist buildings date from this period, including the Castell dels Tres Dragons by Lluís Domènech i Montaner (former Zoology Museum), the Hivernacle by Josep Amargós, and the monumental Arc de Triomf, inspired by Neo-Mudejar. The land left free after the exhibition allowed the creation of the Barcelona Zoo in 1892.
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