Visit to the Historic Building of the University of Barcelona

On Friday, November 8, the students in our Spanish courses enjoyed a guided tour of one of Barcelona's most beautiful buildings: the historic building of the University of Barcelona.

Gathered in the square in front of the building, the students learned about the history of the University of Barcelona's founding and how the current building was constructed along the line of the old medieval wall after it was demolished. It was built between 1863 and 1872, with architect Elies Rogent leading the project.

They entered the building through the central section, visiting the grand hall, where various statues of figures associated with culture and literature can be seen. Passing through this space, one reaches the garden, one of the most important green spaces in the Eixample. This garden is one of the first botanical gardens built in the city.

After circling the garden, they viewed the Josep Carner building, an annex for philology studies inaugurated in 1994.

From there, they entered the Humanities Cloister. Although the entire building now hosts humanities studies, this was not the case initially (and until just a few years ago); it was divided into the humanities and mathematics.

Both cloisters have a small pond at their center, where colorful fish and water lilies live.

The tour continued with a visit to the first floor of the humanities area to see the General Library, an impressive library that combines its classic style with modern technological facilities and holds an impressive collection of rare books.

They crossed the hallway leading to the other cloister, at the center of which is the staircase back to the main atrium and to the offices of the University of Barcelona’s Rector and governing board, as this building is the university's central headquarters.

The visit concluded with a lovely group photo to capture this special occasion.

If you would like to join our excursions, write to us at info@dimebarcelona.com

Let's discover Barcelona together!