The Barcelona we know today, that of the Montjuïc mountain transformed into a cultural hub, that of National PalaceTHE Magic Fountain or the rationalism of Flag of Germany– would not exist without Barcelona International Exhibition 1929. This event, designed to project Catalan industry abroad, ended up causing an urban metamorphosis of considerable magnitude. For eight months, between May 1929 and January 1930, Montjuïc was a world showcase that placed Barcelona at a point of architectural advancement that still structures its identity today.
The city had experienced a first great boost with the Universal Exhibition of 1888, but that of 1929 found itself faced with a much more ambitious objective: to present new architectural languages, from the classicism of Noucentisme to the rationalist avant-garde. The result was a mosaic of styles which, far from being diluted, ended up consolidating as one of the characteristics of the Catalan capital.
A project that took decades to define
The idea of organizing a Barcelona International Exhibition It had existed since 1905, promoted by Josep Puig i Cadafalch as part of the great urban planning debate of the moment. The final site – the Montjuïc mountain – was decided in 1913, but the work dragged on between expropriations, political debates, budgetary delays and the arrival of the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera.
The venue was initially intended as an exhibition dedicated to the electrical industries, but the outbreak of the First World War forced its postponement. When the project was reactivated, it no longer responded to a single sector: industry, sport and art shared space and shaped a much more transversal program.
Between 1917 and 1923, Montjuïc was urbanized, the Mediterranean gardens of Forestier and Rubió i Tudurí were designed and the funicular was built. From then on, the transformation progressed without interruption until 1929. The official inauguration was chaired by Alfonso XIII and brought together 200,000 people.
The buildings that forever changed the skyline of Montjuïc
The competition left a monumental legacy that today defines the upper area of the city. The most recognizable is the National Palacea monumental classical-style building believed to house over 5,000 Spanish works of art. Its central dome and side towers were designed to express grandeur, although the speed with which its construction ended up generating serious structural problems years later.
In front of the palace, the Magic Fountainwork of Carles Buïgas, which has become a technological milestone: a choreography of light, water and color which remains one of the most popular attractions in Barcelona. This entire monumental axis was completed by Avenida de la Reina Maria Cristina, presided over by towers inspired by the Venetian campanile.
But the building that would mark a before and after in international architecture was the Flag of Germanydesigned by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. There, for the first time in Spain, the principles of rationalism were presented: pure lines, noble materials, fluid spaces. Although the original pavilion was dismantled at the end of the exhibition, its reconstruction in the 1980s made it a place of pilgrimage for architecture students from around the world.
The Barcelona that began in 1929
Despite the economic deficit left by the exhibition, the social and urban impact was enormous. The renovation of Montjuïc consolidated the birth of the large cultural park which today brings together museums, theaters and sports facilities, a transformation which would be decisive decades later for the 1992 Olympic Games.
The exhibition also marks the transition between modernism and noucentism, and opens the doors to the avant-garde which will arrive with more force in the 1930s. Many of its buildings are still used: the National Palace Today it is the headquarters of the MNAC; THE Magic Fountain continues to light up the nights of Barcelona; and the Flag of Germany It remains a symbol of a moment when Barcelona dared to look to the future.
A century later, this event organized at the top of Montjuïc reveals its true dimension: it was not just an event, but the origin of a new urban scene. THE Barcelona International Exhibition Not only did he modernize the city, but he projected it to the world with an architectural identity that continues to mark its horizon today.
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