Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya
Encyclopedia
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, northern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It houses the offices of the Presidency of the Generalitat de Catalunya
Generalitat de Catalunya
The Generalitat of Catalonia is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Catalonia....
. It is one of the few buildings of medieval origin in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
that still functions as a seat of government and houses the institution that originally built it.
The palace is located in the district of Ciutat Vella
Ciutat Vella
Ciutat Vella is a district of Barcelona, numbered District 1. The name means "old city" in Catalan and refers to the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Barcelona, Spain. Ciutat Vella is nestled between the Mediterranean Sea and the neighborhood called l'Eixample...
in Barcelona. It is bounded by the Carrer del Bisbe, Carrer de Sant Sever and Carrer de Sant Honorat . Its principal façade fronts on the Plaça de Sant Jaume, across from the City Hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
of Barcelona.
The first building was purchased in 1400 by then President Alfonso de Tous. It was located on the Carrer de Sant Honorat, in the former Jewish Quarter, or Call. The first extension (in the year 1416) faced the street and was carried out by Bishop Marc Safont, who also built the Chapel of St. George, in 1434.
In 1596, Pere Blai
Pere Blai
Pere Blai was a Spanish architect.He probably studied under his father, master of the fountains in Barcelona, and his brother. He was in relationship with Jaume Amigó, influenced Blai's knowledge of Renaissance architecture and led to his appointment as building master of the diocese of...
designed the current principal façade on the Plaça de Sant Jaume, in the Renaissance
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
style. This is the first grand façade of this architectural style in Catalonia. Thereafter, several other houses were purchased and integrated into the palace.
History
The Palau de la Generalitat today is not just a public building with historical associations. It is also the seat of the Government of Catalonia and the Presidency of the Generalitat.One hundred and twenty-eight Presidents have governed from this house, from Berenguer de Cruïlles
Berenguer de Cruïlles
Berenguer de Cruïlles was bishop of Girona, , and first President of the Generalitat de Catalunya in the 14th century....
(1359) to the current President, Artur Mas i Gavarró
Artur Mas i Gavarró
Artur Mas i Gavarró is a Spanish politician. He is the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, having assumed office on December 27, 2010 after winning the November 2010 election...
.
Origins
In 1289, the Catalan 'Corts' or Parliament - considered as of the year 1300 as representing the totality or 'generality' (Generalitat) of Catalonia - formed a commission to collect the taxes that the Corts granted the King. The Corts - or 'General Assembly' of Catalonia, meeting at CerveraCervera
Cervera is the capital of the comarca of Segarra, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. The title Compte de Cervera is a courtesy title, formerly part of the Crown of Aragon, that has been revived for Felipe, Prince of Asturias....
in 1359, formalised that commission or Deputation (Diputació) of the General. It consisted of deputies from the three estates: military or noble, ecclesiastical, and popular or royal (representatives of the guilds and citizens of towns directly subject to the King).
15th century
At the start of the 15th century, that Diputació del General, or Generalitat, replaced to some degree royal power by implementing the decisions of the Catalan Corts. The exercise of these functions gave rise to the oldest part of the current Palau de la Generalitat (1403), one of the few mediaeval buildings in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
that is still today the seat of the institution that originally built it.
First abolition
Centuries later, at the start of the 18th century, King Philip V of SpainPhilip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
fought against Catalonia, as the region had decided to defend the Arch-duke Charles of Austria
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
as pretender to the Spanish throne. This conflict, part of the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, ended on September 11, 1714, when Barcelona fell into the hands of the absolutists of Philip V. The Generalitat and the Corts Catalanes
Parliament of Catalonia
The Parliament of Catalonia is the unicameral legislature of Catalonia. It is formed by 135 members , who are elected every four years in ordinary period, or extraordinarily upon dissolution and call of elections by the President of Catalonia, by universal suffrage in proportional lists with four...
were abolished. Catalonia suffered harsh repression and the Palau de la Generalitat became the King's Court in Barcelona.
First restoration
The institutions of the Generalitat were not restored until the 20th century, when, as a result of their sweeping victory of the 1931 municipal elections, Francesc Macià formed a pact with the Spanish central government for the re-establishment of the Generalitat, Government of Catalonia. He later became its President (1931-1933). Macià abolished the four ProvincialProvinces of Spain
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. província.*Galician , sing. provincia.*Basque |Galicia]] — are not also the capitals of provinces...
Councils (Diputaciones) and this Palau (palace) became once more the seat of the Generalitat and its Government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
. The Statute of Autonomy of 1932 granted Catalonia a Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
, its own Justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
system (with the Tribunal de Cassació
Tribunal de Cassació
Tribunal de Cassació was the Generalitat de Catalunya's judicial organization founded in 1934.Its first President was Santiago Gubern i Fàbregas ....
or High Court), and its own police force. In 1934, his successor, President Lluís Companys, completed the unification of autonomous political power through the suppression of the provincial Civil Governors, a role created by the Madrid Government in the 19th century.
Second abolition
After the 1936-39 Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, the Generalitat went into exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
. Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's new regime repeated the repression
Political repression
Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
of Philip V
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
and also abolished the institutions of the Generalitat. Its President, Lluís Companys, defender of Republican constitutional legality, was tried by a court martial, sentenced to death and shot at Montjuïc
Montjuïc
Montjuïc is a hill located in Barcelona, Catalonia.-Etymology:Montjuïc is translated as 'Jew Hill' in medieval Catalan, or is perhaps related to the Latin phrase Mons Jovicus . The name is found in several locations in the Catalan Countries: the Catalan cities of Girona and Barcelona both have a...
Castle (1940).
After Companys' death, Josep Irla, last President of the Catalan parliament, took charge of the Presidency of the Generalitat in exile until in 1954 Josep Tarradellas succeeded him, also in exile.
Centralism once again imposed its Civil Governors and Provincial Councils, and the Diputación de Barcelona was once again installed in this palace. The division of Catalonia into four provinces ignored the traditional division of Catalonia into comarques
Comarques of Catalonia
This is a list of the comarques of Catalonia . A comarca is roughly equivalent to a US "county" or a UK "district". However, in the context of Catalonia, the term "county" can be a bit misleading, because in medieval Catalonia, the most important rulers were counts, notably the Counts of Barcelona...
.
Second restoration
After democracy was restored to Spain and after the 1977 Spanish General Election, the Palau became once again the seat of the Generalitat, which was restored on September 29, 1977, before the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978Spanish Constitution of 1978
-Structure of the State:The Constitution recognizes the existence of nationalities and regions . Preliminary Title As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution...
. A new Statute of Autonomy was passed as law in December 1979, and the elections of March 20, 1980 appointed 135 deputies to the Parliament of Catalonia
Parliament of Catalonia
The Parliament of Catalonia is the unicameral legislature of Catalonia. It is formed by 135 members , who are elected every four years in ordinary period, or extraordinarily upon dissolution and call of elections by the President of Catalonia, by universal suffrage in proportional lists with four...
. The Parliament was convened on April 10. Finally, with the election of the President of the Parliament and the President of the Generalitat, so forming the first Government under the Statute, the Generalitat was basically re-established.
Present day
The Palau de la Generalitat is one of the Catalonia's most valued symbols, among other reasons because it has managed to survive so many historical and political disasters. Also, it has come to represent, along with the Palau del Parlament, a bastion of democracyDemocracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
in Catalonia