Citadel of Barcelona
The Citadel of Barcelona was a bastion fort citadel built in Barcelona. The works commenced in 1714 and, at the time of its construction, it was the largest fortress in Europe, capable of housing 8,000 troops.
It was designed by the military engineer Marquis of Verboom, who would also, in 1718, be appointed the Citadel's first governor.
Although its fortifications were dismantled in the mid-19th century, some of its original buildings still remain, including its arsenal, today the Palau del Parlament de Catalunya, the seat of the Catalan Parliament. The rest of the site was converted into the city's main central park, the Parc de la Ciutadella, by the architect Josep Fontserè in 1872.
Background
The city of Barcelona is flanked on its southwestern edge by the hill from which Montjuïc Castle takes its name. During the Catalan Revolt, the Catalans repelled the forces sent from Madrid at the Battle of Montjuïc. However, during the War of the Spanish Succession, Barcelona was bombarded from the castle in 1705 and again in 1714, when it was besieged for 13 months by the army of the Bourbon King Philip V of Spain. The city eventually fell, and in order to maintain control over it, and to prevent the Catalans from rebelling as they had in the previous century, Philip V ordered the citadel of Barcelona be built on the other side of the city from Montjuïc Castle.Construction
The Citadel was constructed in the district of La Ribera, half of which was knocked down to obtain the necessary space, leaving its inhabitants homeless.In 1718, the captain general of Catalonia, Francesco Pio di Savoia, Marquis of Castel-Rodrigo, commissioned Verboom to design a new neighbourhood for the inhabitants who had lost their houses. However, Verboom's plans were never carried out.
Barceloneta
In 1749, the captain general of Catalonia, Jaime de Guzmán-Dávalos y Spínola, 2nd Marquis de la Mina, commissioned Juan Martín Cermeño to build the Barceloneta, a quarter that was rebuilt around the fortress, in the Ciutat Vella. The project aimed to solve several issues, among which that of providing a solution for the inhabitants who had lost their homes in la Ribera was only mentioned as a secondary consideration.The works commenced in 1753 and included the construction of the Church of Sant Miquel del Port, completed in 1755. By 1757, 244 houses had been built. Two years later, the number of houses built had reached 329, for 1,570 inhabitants.
History
Siege of Barcelona (1713–1714)
The siege, part of the War of the Catalans, one of the last military campaigns of the War of the Spanish Succession, lasted from July 1713 to September 1714, with the city surrounded by Bourbon forces under the command of Restaino Cantelmo-Stuart, Duke of Popoli.Reinforcements for the Bourbons, under the command of Duke of Berwick, arrived in April–May 1714 and began the systematic bombardment of the city. With the wall breached in several places and the Conseller en cap and chief commander of the Coronela, Rafael Casanova, wounded, fighting in the streets ensued, led by Antoni de Villarroel, the general commander of the Army of Catalonia. Barcelona surrendered on 11 September 1714, commemorated as the Diada, the National Day of Catalonia.