Can Baró

An Old Masia and Civil War Memories

The Can Baró neighbourhood is located on the slopes of the Turó de la Rovira between El Baix Guinardó, El Guinardó and El Carmel in the Horta-Guinardó District and La Salut in Gràcia.

The neighbourhood grew up around a 17th century masia of the same name, which belonged to the Baron of Sant Lluís.

Can Baró, which is pictured below, literally translates as The House of the Baron and like other Catalan farmhouses in the area was the centre of wheat production.

The urbanisation of the neighbourhood began in the early 20th century but only really took off with the arrival of mass immigration from other parts of Spain in the 1950s and 1960s.

Unfortunately, much of the building during this period was unplanned and speculative and large blocks of flats were built on narrow streets and, like other neighbourhoods on this side of Barcelona, such as neighbouring El Carmel the building of local facilities didn't keep pace with the population explosion.

Some efforts have been made to redress this in recent years but lack of funds has often been a problem, and locals quite rightly continue campaigning for more investment in the area.

At the top of the neighbourhood, between Carrer Francesc Alegre and Carrer Mariana Lavèrnia, there used to be a well-known shanty town, which lasted until the 1980s.

A few of these shacks have been conserved as part of the Parc dels Tres Turóns, which will connect three of the peaks in the area - the Turó de la Rovira, the Turó del Carmel and the Creueta del Coll.

During the Spanish Civil War, the Turó de la Rovira was used as a site for anti-aircraft guns and in 2006 the area was turned into into a local history study centre, which you can see above.

In the same area, you also find remains of a pre-Roman Celt-Iberian settlement.

Can Baró is well served by local buses and the connection with the Line 9 of the Barcelona Metro System is currently under construction.

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