History of the Greenhouse | La Ciutadella Knowledge Hub| Barcelona City Council

History

The inside of the Hivernacle by Josep Amargós i Samaranch, before the inauguration of the Universal Exposition of 1888. Pau Audouard Deglaire. Photographic Archive of Barcelona

Exhibition of the canary culture competition organised by Foment de la Cria del Canari in the Hivernacle, in February 1932. Josep Maria Sagarra Plana and Pau Lluís Torrents Roig. Photographic Archive of Barcelona

Visitors contemplate the cages with birds participating in the canary culture competition of January 1934 in the Hivernacle. Carlos Pérez de Rozas. Photographic Archive of Barcelona

Display of wild mushrooms in the Hivernacle in October 1935. Carlos Pérez de Rozas. Photographic Archive of Barcelona

The Hivernacle, with the plantations by Lluís Riudor and Joan Pañella i Bonastre, in the sixties. Leopoldo Plasencia. Photographic Archive of Barcelona

The Hivernacle, ready to host the concert by Enric Hernáez, at the Festival Grec in August 1989. Albert Casanovas and Lluis Sans. Photographic Archive of Barcelona

The Greenhouse, 135 years of nature and art.

The Greenhouse (Hivernacle) in Parc de la Ciutadella has reopened this month (December 2023) following extensive restoration work which has restored it to its original state, just as it was when it was completed 135 years ago during the Universal Exposition of 1888.

It is a unique building and a prime example of cast-iron architecture in the city. The current restoration work – and this is a clear example of the care and rigour with which the work has been undertaken from a heritage viewpoint – has revealed that the decoration project was the work of Alexandre de Riquer i Ynglada, one of the leading plastic artists of Catalan Art Nouveau, or Modernisme.

A chequered history

Following the Universal Exposition, on 23 November 1893, the Barcelona Publicists’ Association, which looked after the city's literary and artistic interests, asked the City Council to transfer the Hivernacle to them so they could use it as their headquarters and give classes there. The association committed to complete the building, because the enclosure of the central part had not been done, as well as to adapt it to their needs but none of these interventions took place.

By the early 20th century, the Hivernacle had fallen into a state of disrepair. It was only used as a temporary storage space for plants. In 1907, the Barcelona Natural Sciences’ Board, a body attached to the City Council, asked for the necessary works to be carried out so the building could be used to house some animal species: birds, which lived there in semi-freedom; snakes and reptiles, making use of the areas attached to the side walls, plus other smaller reptiles and fish in the central part, where a fountain and pond would be installed.

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), as in so many other areas of everyday life in Barcelona, meant a new chapter in that of the Hivernacle. The building, now fragile and exposed, valiantly suffered the effects of the bombing of the city.

At the start of the 1960s, the Hivernacle was once again in need of extensive renovation. In 1961, the Friends of the Gardens called on the City Council to restore the building along with other landmarks and features in Parc de la Ciutadella. Two years later, in 1963, a large-scale reform of the park got under way, starting with the lake, the waterfall, and the entrance path. The Hivernacle’s turn came in 1965, together with the Umbracle building.

Following years of plenitude in the 1960s, and probably due to the impossibility of keeping up with the maintenance of the collection and the building, the 1970s saw the Hivernacle once again fall into disuse.

In 1983, the Hivernacle, which remained open to the public but in an abandoned state, was once again restored. The City Council wanted to use it to house the Urban Environment Centre but the project never took off.

The penultimate renovation project got under way in 2015, but the works were suspended in September 2016. A large part of the visible iron structure of the three naves was restored but no work was carried out on the ornamental elements of the façade. The works were never completed.

Then, in 2021, a project was commissioned to complete the renovation of this heritage asset, which had been interrupted on so many occasions. This work, which began in September 2022 and took 15 months to complete, had two key objectives. One was to restore the Hivernacle to its original state and on the other was to fix the defects that had appeared over the years.

Cast-iron architecture

The current restoration work has revealed that the decoration project was the work of Alexandre de Riquer i Ynglada, one of the leading plastic artists of Catalan Art Nouveau, or Modernisme.