El Born Centre Cultural. Siege of Barcelona in 1714

El Born Centre Cultural


Archaeological site and permanent exhibition about the Barcelona Siege of 1714 in El Born Centre Cultural in the Born area of Barcelona's old medieval city centre. El Born Centre Cultural is housed in the former Mercat del Born, which is a iron construction from 1876. It was previously Barcelona's wholesale food market.

It has been renovated and transformed into an impressive multipurpose cultural facility which gives Barcelona visitors and locals a glimpse of life in early 18th century Barcelona bringing together three centuries of Barcelona's history.

After the Siege of Barcelona in 1714 the city fell following an 14 month siege to end the Spanish War of Succession. In 1714 Catalonia formed part of the Crown of Aragon as the Principality of Catalonia. The Crown of Aragon was an alliance with the Crown of Castille dating back to 1469.

The Crown of Aragon, which included the Principality of Catalonia, was abolished by the Nueva Planta decree issued by King Philip V in 1716 as a consequence of his victory in the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714. This was a conflict over the disputed succession to the Spanish throne following the death of the childless Charles II in 1700 which left the Spanish throne vacant. The Pricipality of Catalonia supported the claim to the Spanish throne of the Archduke Charles of Austria of the Habsburg dynasty. The other contender was Philip Duke of Anjou of the French Bourbon dynasty. Charles arrived in Spain in 1705 to make his claim and stayed for six years ruling as Charles III but he was only able to rule over Catalonia. When Charles' brother, Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, died in 1711, Charles returned to Austria to assume the Austrian imperial crown and the title of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI.

This caused 'the Grand Alliance' for Charles' claim to the Spanish throne to fall apart and the Bourbon contender for the crown, Philip of Anjou became Philip V of Spain. Philip was the first member of the French House of Bourbon to rule as king of Spain.The conflict ended after a 13 month siege of Barcelona which ended in 9th September 1714. The assault on Barcelona on 11 September started at 4:30 in the morning and succesfully breached the city wall in several places and Barcelona's chief councilor "Conseller en cap" and chief commander of the Coronela (the urban militia of Barcelona), Rafael Casanova i Comes, was wounded during the fight. The day was marked by fighting in the streets, led by Antoni de Villarroel, the general commander of the Army of Catalonia, who was also wounded and it ended in surrender. There is a monument to Rafael Casanova i Comes in Barcelona near the place, where it is believed he was wounded in battle on the last day of fighting in 1714. The defenders of the city were buried in a mass grave, now a square called 'Fossar de les Moreres' by the gothic church Santa Maria del Mar.

The war ended with the Peace of Utrecht which is a series of individual peace treaties signed in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. In 1714 Barcelona was defeated after the Siege of Barcelona siege that ended the 14-year War of the Spanish Succession, (1701–14). After the 1714 defeat, the Nueva Planta decree of 1716 was imposed by Philip V. King Philip V of Spain. Inspired by the model of French rule Philip imposed a unifying central government and administration across Spain, suppressing the Crown of Aragon, banning Catalan political institutions and rights and merging Catalonia into the Crown of Castile as a province. During his reign Spain evolved from a personal union of different states to a centralized kingdom.

Following Dictactor Franco's death in 1975 and the transition to full democracy, the Catalan autonomous community government was created and the  Diada Nacional de Catalunya celebration was reinstated in 1980.

Barcelona recently opened a new archaeological site and permanent exhibition about the Barcelona Siege of 1714 in El Born Centre Cultural in the Born area of Barcelona's old medieval city centre.

El Born Centre Cultural is housed in the former Mercat del Born, which is a iron construction from 1876. It was previously Barcelona's wholesale food market.

It has been renovated and transformed into an impressive multipurpose cultural facility which gives Barcelona visitors and locals a glimpse of life in early 18th century Barcelona bringing together three centuries of Barcelona's history.

Below this19th century marketplace you can see ruins of streets and house of early 18th century Barcelona that suffered the siege of 1714 falling to the Spanish after heroic resistance and a lengthy siege.

After the siege all of Catalonia's national liberties were lost following the Nueva Planta decree.

Visitors can enjoy the archaeological site known as the Ciutat del Born; a permanent exhibition on the Barcelona of the year 1700; an exhibition on the Siege of 1714, and a programme of arts and cultural events and more.

Visitor info El Born Centre Cultural

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 September 2024 09:03
 

Friday, 20 September 2024


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