Labyrinth: A Hidden Wonder In Barcelona

The Labyrinth of these sites is that tourists miss. A world full of vegetation, from Greek mythology sculptures, ponds and lakes ... It is a unique place where you can relax and enjoy nature walks.

Many years ago ...

The gardens began construction in 1791 with Joan Antoni Desvalls i d'Ardenne, sixth Marquess of Llupia, owner of the land, which created the neo-classical design of a garden in collaboration with the Italian architect Domenico Bagutti. Jaume and Andreu Valls, along with the French gardener Joseph Delvalet, carried out the work. In the mid nineteenth century, the descendants of the Marquis expanded the park, under the direction of the architect Elies Rogent on the side of the river d'en Pallas, with a romantic garden with parterres, plazas, tall trees and a waterfall. In addition, neoclassical garden was added to a water channel between the upper and middle terrace. With funding from the European Union underwent an extensive restoration in 1994. The park is a garden-museum with a limited number of visitors (up 750 people at a time), to preserve the natural environment and the structures of the area. The old palace houses since 1993, the Training Centre of the Labyrinth, municipal institute for training in gardening as well as a specialized library. To learn more about these gardens can approach them renting an apartment in Barcelona.

Mixture of styles: romantic gardens and neoclassical

Near the entrance to the park we can see the old family palace Desvalls, building elements and gothic neo-Arabic style. Within this group are also conserved Torre Subirana, ancient medieval tower defense.

The neoclassical garden revolves around the theme of love. This part of the park is divided into three terraces: the bottom is plant labyrinth gives name to the park, consisting of 750 meters of cypress cut. At the entrance is a marble relief of Ariadne and Theseus and the center of the labyrinth is a statue of Eros. In the intermediate terrace, which rises above the maze, are two temples of Italian style with statues of Artemis and Danae and Tuscan columns. In the third terrace stands the pavilion dedicated to the nine Muses, crowned by a sculpture of art and nature.

If you walk in the park, which has an area of ​​9.1 hectares, you will find sculptures everywhere, many with Greek mythological motifs. and a large number of sources and pools of water. The romantic garden, on the other hand, is organized into a series of beds in the shade of large trees and trek through it you can hear the sound of water falling from a waterfall. Everything indicates it was built with reference to the subject of death to the subject of death, to such an extent that he had a copy of a small medieval cemetery today is already gone. Despite its beauty, only remain a few vestiges of the old design.

Other details

Most recently, 5 years ago, the park was filmed a scene from the movie Perfume (2006) director Tom Tykwer. Also the intermediate terrace pavilions were chosen by Joan Maragall for classical theater and October 10, 1898 tragedy was released in Goethel Iphigenia in Tauris. In addition, the gardens were receptions scenarios kings Charles IV, Ferdinand VII, and Alfonso XIII (1929).