Bellesguard tower in Barcelona, Catalonia. Designed by the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built between the years 1900 and 1909.
This was the site of a Medieval tower built for Martin the Humane, king of Catalonia-Aragon between 1396 and 1410. At the time, this was not part of the city, but a tower built in the rural countryside with a beautiful view, that's why the king named it so ("bell esguard" in Catalan means "beautiful view"). In this tower, king Martin got married to Margarida de Prades, a wedding officiated by the Anti-Pope Benedict XIII and in which one of the guests was Vicent Ferrer, who would later become a saint.
In the next centuries, the tower was gifted and sold many times, changing hands from family to family. According to the legends, the place is tied to Catalonia's most famous bandit, Serrallonga, remembered by the legends and songs (he's kind of our equivalent of Robin Hood). When Serrallonga was captured and hanged in 1634, part of his corpse was exhibited in the tower. But soon after, during the Catalan Revolt (also called Reapers' War, 1640-1652), it was left in ruins. It was soon rebuilt by a poet and member of the Academy of the Distrusting (an association that promoted the study of Catalan history, language, and poetry; and which was forced to close in 1714 with the Spanish occupation of Catalonia), but the tower was again demolished during the War of the Spanish Succession (the war in which Spain occupies Catalonia). Only some ruins were left.
Many years later, in the year 1900, the plot of land was bought by a widow called Maria Sagués i Molins, who wanted Gaudí to rebuild the tower. Since Maria didn't know how to read and write, Gaudí signed the buying contract on her behalf. He designed the new tower reusing the elements that had remained from the old tower, which is mostly the outer walls. Knowing the tower's history, Gaudí designed it as a homage to Catalonia's history, and it's full of references to it.
Photos by Nico Garcia.









