Spain · 18th century
Citadel of Barcelona ranks #5,200 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #226 of the 606 mapped in Spain. Founded 1716, it is older than 20% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 685 atlas entries founded in the 18th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,290 times in the last 60 days, more than 57% of the atlas. 12 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Barcelona, 1 km away. See how Spain compares in the castle statistics.
The Citadel of Barcelona (in Spanish, Ciudadela de Barcelona; in Catalan, Fortalesa de la Ciutadella) was a bastion fort citadel built in Barcelona. The works commenced in 1714 and, at the time of its construction, it was the largest fortress in Europe, capable of housing 8,000 troops.
It was designed by the military engineer Marquis of Verboom, who would also, in 1718, be appointed the Citadel's first governor.
Although its fortifications were dismantled in the mid-19th century, some of its original buildings still remain, including its arsenal, today the Palau del Parlament de Catalunya, the seat of the Catalan Parliament. The rest of the site was converted into the city's main central park, the Parc de la Ciutadella, by the architect Josep Fontserè in 1872.
Text adapted from “Citadel of Barcelona” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
View on the interactive castle map →