Plaça Sant Jaume

Barcelona Town Hall in Plaça Sant Jaume

If there is one single place that local people consider to be the very heartbeat of Barcelona, then it is probably Plaça Sant Jaume.

This is the place where the proclamation was read in 1931 establishing a Catalan State; the place where Josep Tarradellas was emotionally welcomed back in 1977 after his exile in France; and, of course, the place where the players of FC Barcelona can often be seen on the balcony of the Generalitat, displaying their latest trophy to the thousands crammed in the square below.

The importance of Plaça Sant Jaume can be traced as far back as Roman times, when important government buildings are known to have been sited there, as the centre of the Roman Forum of the city of Barcino and today it is dominated by two large, impressive government buildings from the fifteenth century, the Palau de la Generalitat and the Ajuntament.

The Palau de la Generalitat, the seat of the Catalan government itself, is a wonderful and truly majestic building from the beginning of the century. It has so much to recommend it; for example, you can see some fabulous carved detail on the figure of Sant Jordi, Catalonia’s patron saint.

You should be able to get a look through the immense front windows to see the ornately gilded ceiling of the Saló de Sant Jordi, dedicated to the same Saint George. Unfortunately, the fine main Gothic entrance to the palace is not open for most of us; it’s only on Saint George’s Day – April 23rd – and the Festes la Mercè – September 24th – that the building is open to the public and on some Sundays there are carillon concerts held in the Saló de Sant Jordi, beginning at midday.

The Ajuntament, the Town Hall, on the southern side of the square opposite the Generalitat, is the home of the historic and extravagantly ornate Saló de Cent, an arched hall which held the Council of One Hundred. This council, founded in 1372, ruled the city until Catalonia’s autonomy was taken away in 1715; one of Europe’s first formal democratic bodies.

The building is open from 10am until 1 pm every Sunday, giving visitors the opportunity of seeing some wonderful black and gold murals created by Josep Maria Sert in 1928, some impressive art work and the delightfully cool patio, Pati dels Tarongers, with its aromatic orange trees. You might be lucky enough to see advance notice of a free concert in the Saló de Cent, especially in the summer.

Plaça Sant Juame is very easy to find. The nearest Metro stations are a couple of minutes away at Liceu (Green Line 3) and Jaume I (Yellow Line 4). If you wander this way late on a Sunday morning, you’re almost certain to see people who have come to join in the Catalan national dance, the Sardana, a strange, beguiling mixture of the melancholic and the jolly.