Sant Gervasi Cemetery

Cementiri de Sant Gervasi

Camí del Cementiri de Sant Gervasi, 4*8

A long set of steps lead from the main entrance to the chapel, which is located at the highest part of the cemetery. The steps divide the cemetery into two sections. On each side there are blocks of niches, monumental tombs and vaults inspired by the houses that were built in this neighbourhood during the 19th century.

A monumental cemetery

Sant Gervasi Cemetery is listed as a Cultural Asset of Local Interest (BCIL). It was built in the middle of the 19th century as the cemetery for what was then the municipality of Sant Gervasi de Cassoles. There are nearly 5,000 tombs in the 12,000 square-metre graveyard. There are a large number of monumental vaults, in keeping with the well-to-do houses that used to stand in this upper-Barcelona neighbourhood. These include the Panteó Cros, by the architect Joan Baptista Pons i Trabal, who was influenced by Modernisme.

A cemetery for the famous

Here lie the remains of illustrious Catalans such as the poet Joan Maragall. “Can Maragall” is carved into the stonework of his vault, which is built on simple lines. This is also the resting place of the publisher Víctor Seix Miralta, one of the founders of the Seix Barral publishing company, and the Modernista architects Lluís Domènech i Montaner and Cèsar Martinell. The musician Xavier Montsalvatge, the painter Josep Guinovart and the publisher Josep Maria Castellet were also laid to rest here.