Medieval Barcelona

Through out the Middle Ages, Barcelona was influenced by the Islamic world and Carolingian Europe. Barcelona as the capital of Catalonia, came to govern a handful of territories which included places as far away as Sicily and Athens. During the middle ages, Barcelona was an extremely important trading centre for the Mediterranean. Today, throughout El Born or La Ribera areas of the city, the remnants of these times and influences can still be seen. 
The story of medieval Barcelona is fully evident in its Romanesque and Gothic buildings. Walking through the different parts of the city, you can fully understand the various changes the city has undergone from its once walled enclosures during the M, the Palau de la Generalitat; the Royal Palace and mansions on Carrer Montcada near the now Mueso de Picasso; the Cathedral and churches, such as Santa Maria del Mar, which had close ties with the bourgeois guilds.

            The appeal of the Gothic district of Barcelona stands out even more when compared to the gird like pattern of the Eixample area. The Gothic district, composed of dozens of tiny streets, that prohibit most forms of motor vehicles, is home to some the of the city’s finest restaurants hidden on these little tiny streets. One of the most interesting differences between Barcelona’s Gothic district and the Eixample area, is the conception of space. Many of the apartments in Barcelona’s Eixample area are big and spacious, each with its own personal water closet, or even two. But the idea of space was quite different in the Gothic district. Many apartments there today share one water closet with every other apartment in the building, usually located in the basement. Another major aspect of the life of the Gothic District in the middle ages is the idea of Guilds. Guilds were groups of craftsmen that worked as both a training and apprenticeship organization as well as a labor union to protect workers rights. Throughout the Gothic District are many apartment buildings that were, at one time the residences of the workshops. The workshop and store would be on the bottom, street level. On the first floor, would be the living quarters of the owner of the guild. These floors have the biggest rooms with the highest ceilings and also the largest windows. On the floor above that would usually be the living quarters of the manager of the guild. And beyond that floor would be the living quarters of the guild workers.

            One of the biggest examples of the Midlevel Times in Barcelona, is the church of Santa Maria del Mar in Pl. del Born. Designed by the architect Berenguer de Montagut, it is a perfect example of Catalan Gothic. It is one large room, with plane looking from the outside with no spires like in traditional Gothic churches, and contains introverted, rather than flying buttresses for support.  Santa Maria del Mar was the church in which the sailors and merchants of Gothic Barcelona worshipped, not those of the upper classes.