Since 2000, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area has managed the maintenance of the Garden. Their goal is to make it a model and reference point for the entire network of metropolitan parks. The Association is currently investigating new park maintenance technologies and conducting research on plants that would be suitable for sustainable Mediterranean gardens. MAP IT
Barcelona's first botanic garden was created in the late 16th century on property belonging to the Capuchin monks, near Plaça Reial. The first garden with a truly scientific vocation, however, was planted in Sant Joan Despí in the late 17th century by Jaume Salvador i Pedrol. The Salvador family were prominent botanists in Catalonia from the 17th to the 19th century. Today, their valuable collections are conserved and exhibited at Barcelona's Botanical Institute.
But the most recent reference point is the Historic Botanical Garden that was established near the Foixarda quarry on Montjuïc by Dr. Pius Font i Quer in 1930. In 1986, this Garden was extensively damaged when access roads were built for the new Olympic facilities. This misfortune, however, accelerated plans to create a new botanical garden and construct a new building for the Botanical Institute and its collections, a facility that would be a reference centre for the conservation of Mediterranean flora. The new Botanic Garden of Barcelona was opened on April 18th, 1999.
The new Garden was designed by a team of architects, Carles Ferrater and Josep Lluís Canosa, landscape architect Bet Figueras, horticulturalist Artur Bossy, and biologist Joan Pedrola. Two fundamental considerations were taken into account:
- The first was landscaping. The plants were to be arranged geographically into the five Mediterranean regions of the world, and within each area, they would be grouped by ecological affinity to represent natural landscapes.
- The second was to design the Garden in such a way that the mountain itself would provide the topographical layout for each group of plants. This meant taking advantage of the natural relief to design the network of pathways, avoiding major earthworks as far as possible.
Back : Montjuic Tour
Source : Garden web site Brochure
