|
The Exposición Universal de Barcelona (Universal Exposition of Barcelona) took place between 8 April and 9 December of 1888 and was held in the Ciutadella Park area. It was the first big event that was organised in the count city.
Its inauguration was achieved on 20 of May of the same year and counted with the presence, besides the then mayor of Barcelona, Francesc Rius i Taulet, of personalities of such standing as the king Alfonso XIII, the queen María Cristina, the princess of Asturias María de las Mercedes, princess María Teresa and the president of Cabinet of Ministers Práxedes Mateo Sagasta.
The exposition, which received 400,000 visits, was developed in the areas from
Arc de Triomf (Triumph Arch), the Ciutadella Park, the Zoo and part of the Franç Estació (French Station) till the place where today sits Hospital del Mar (Sea Hospital). Numerous transformations in the city were made, especially town planning, like the construction of Ciutadella Park of the old signs that Felipe V put up the previous century.
The Arc de Triomf, the same Ciutadella Park (that was converted in to the biggest park of the city) or the
Castell dels Tres Dragons (Three Dragons Castle), are some examples of the legacy the Exposition left the city. On the contrary, other buildings disappeared from the closure of the event in the course of the years, like the Gran Hotel Internacional, designed by
Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
As well, the celebration of this event pushed the construction or finalisation of other works in different parts of the city. In the case of the Colombus Monument, the Moll de la Fusta, the Palacio de Bellas Artes – 'Art Palace' (currently delegated by Correos 'post office') or the Born Market.
The Universal Exposition of Barcelona of 1888, considered by many as the major event of importance of the Barcelonan life in that period, prompted Barcelona towards the modern and the expansion.