Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia

Pl Vila de Gràcia, 3

Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia is always packed with bar terraces, children, tourists and locals who have lived there all their lives. Castellers, capgrossos and gegants (human towers, festival big heads and giants), along with the sardana dances, weddings, concerts and rallies that are held there throughout the year, liven up a square that is the heart and soul of the neighbourhood.

Witness to turbulent times

The square has had four official names: Plaça d’Orient, de la Constitució, de Rius i Taulet and, finally, de la Vila de Gràcia. Historical events have taken place here, like the Conscripts’ Revolt in 1870 when, according to tradition, local people rebelled and refused to enrol their sons in the army. The bell in what was then Plaça d’Orient began to ring in a call to resist that became a symbol. It did not stop for six days, despite being battered by the army’s cannons. Legend has it that a local woman was able to ring the bell to warn the people that the army was coming by means of a rope that reached her roof.

The town hall and the bell tower

The legendary bell tower was built by Antoni Rovira i Trias between 1862 and 1864. It is a 33-metre-high octagonal tower with a four-sided clock and a fountain at its base.

The building that housed the town hall, and which is now home to the district council offices, was built by Francesc Berenguer in 1904, and it stands out because of its sky blue facade. A wrought-iron Gràcia coat of arms can be seen on it, as well as decorative features on the windows and balconies, real works of art also made out of wrought iron.