Sant Martí
In the north-east of Barcelona, old factory chimneys evoke the working-class, industrial past of Sant Martí district, the second most populated area of the city with 237,000 inhabitants. Spreading out across the plain of Barcelona, almost at sea-level, the ten neighbourhoods in the district occupy an area that was previously Sant Martín de Provençals, a separate village until 1897. Two events in the past two decades radically changed Sant Martí forever. First, the 1992 Olympic Games, which once again opened up the district to the sea following the construction of the Vila Olímpica (Olympic Village), a marina and a long seafront promenade. As part of this project, the old factories and warehouses were replaced by new homes, green zones and modern city facilities. The second important event was Barcelona’s Distrito 22@ initiative. This project was launched in 2000 and it has transformed the old industrial Poblenou neighbourhood into an innovation and technology district, a kind of Silicon Valley in Barcelona, where leading technology companies collaborate with universities campuses based in the area.
Sant Martí’s unusual combination of industrial past and avant-garde present can be appreciated in the contrast between its old factories—converted into design studios or museums, such as the Museu Can Framis modern art centre—and innovative constructions such as the Media-TIC building and Torre Agbar. The best examples of the district’s transformation can be seen in legendary neighbourhoods with strong working-class, anarchist roots, such as Poblenou and El Clot. On Rambla del Poblenou, Orxatería El Tío Ché has been serving horchata (tiger nut milk) since 1912, it is only the clientele that has changed: weary factory workers have been replaced by modern youngsters employed by startups. Celebrated flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya was born a short distance away in a gypsy shack settlement on Somorrostro beach, an area now popular with tourists. The old Ca l’Aranyó textile factory has become the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, while Razzmatazz, Barcelona’s most famous nightclub, is based in another old factory.
And El Clot has many more examples. Next to the Torre Agbar, visitors will now find the Disseny Hub Barcelona, a sustainable parallelepiped-shaped building that is a work of architectural art and home to the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona (Design Museum of Barcelona). Farinera del Clot is a Modernist building that was the San Jaime flour factory until 1991 and is now a modern cultural centre. Strolling through the neighbourhood there are plenty more reminders of times gone by. Passatge de Robacols feels as though it still exists in the area’s rural past; also of interest are the old Torre de Fang country house and the Pre-Modernist Mercat del Clot market, which first opened in 1889. Don’t forget to visit Parc del Clot or the Mercat dels Encants, a flea market with origins that can be traced back to the fourteenth century and now sets out its stalls near the important Plaça de les Glòries.
Sant Martí’s most modern attraction is the Parc del Fòrum, the flagship of the new Diagonal Mar i el Front Marítim del Poblenou neighbourhood, created to welcome the first Universal Forum of Cultures in 2004. The park is comprised of the Edifici Fòrum, a building that now houses the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (Museum of Natural Sciences), and the Parc dels Auditoris, a huge square and a swimming area with several saltwater pools. Some of the biggest cultural events in Barcelona are held here, such as the Primavera Sound music festival and the April Fair of Catalonia.
Nearby plans
Related plans
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