A visit to the University gardens
02/05/2007 at 08:00 h.
Text: Maria Rosa Salvadó
Photos: Dani García
The Universitat gardens
Situated in the heart of the Eixample district, these gardens are a large green semicircle around the historic buildings of Barcelona University.
Entering the gardens we enter a world of silence, tranquillity and contemplation. Filtered light penetrates the luxurious leafy vegetation, and among the eighty species in the gardens there are some of the oldest trees in the city.
When they were opened to the public in 1995, the gardens were dedicated to the historian Ferran Soldevila. With them, the city gained, as well as another green area, a place to breathe in the analytical spirit of mathematics and the beauty of philology, the two faculties in the buildings on Plaça de la Universitat, together with the Vice-Chancellor's Office of the University of Barcelona.
Entering by the main door
Even though the main door of the building is more for members of the University than visitors, when we cross the grand, majestic vestibule, we find one of the most delightful views of the gardens.
Two large clay pots, full of elegant leafy displays, guard a gentle stairway, shaded by pittosporum, so high they seem like trees. There is also a small circular pond, with a little fountain. Enchanting, hidden among the vegetation.
The fauna
In the water, the frogs, protected by aquatic plants and sharing their home with quite a few fish, make themselves heard. On both sides, the flower beds full of ivy, bracken and seasonal flowers accompany us to the highest part of the gardens. Along the path, tall trees remind us of the century-old origin of many of the plantings.
As well as the fish and the frogs, we also have the company of numerous birds, who find shelter from the noise and row of a place as central as Plaça de la Universitat. Now and again, the odd cat looks on indifferently while they sit in the sun, or wander alongside without taking any notice of anybody. Here everything is calm.
Places to rest
When we reach the top, the gardens spread out on both sides, with the tall fence which separates it from the outside world. In the middle there is the gate on Carrer de la Diputació, which is open at weekends and holidays, when the university itself is closed.
If we go to the left, towards Carrer d'Aribau or to the right, which joins Carrer de Balmes, we find benches with forged metal frames to sit and rest, or to quietly read under the shade of the trees.
The wonderful vegetation
The University gardens are very important botanically. There are exotic species from the Argentinean pampas; many groups of yucca which were planted at the end of the 19th century; yew; Himalayan cedar and laurel. There are also typical Mediterranean trees such as holm oak, cedar, carob, olive, bitter orange, fig and pine.
Palm trees, ginkgo, acacias, privet and jacaranda are also here, alongside huge trees, such as the box by the entrance on Carrer d'Aribau. By the pond, where there is the plaque dedicating the gardens to Ferran Soldevila, there are the winter hydrangeas.
The patios
By the main door we can see what the place was like at the end of the 19th century. Here, on the right, there is the science patio, and on the left the one for arts, connected by a passageway.
These patios are similar to cloisters in a monastery. Around them are the faculty buildings, in the centre, a pond, and in the four corners, stone benches covered in leafy ivy, surrounded by tall trees - bitter orange, cypress, magnolias, and more.
Did you know...
The plants in the University gardens are closely linked to the first botanic gardens in Barcelona, with many examples planted there.
In 1784, near Carrer de la Cera, on land ceded by Antoni de Meca i Cardona, Marquess of Ciutadilla, a botanic garden linked to the Royal College of Surgeons was created, to teach botany. Between 1830 and 1846, the Royal College of Pharmacy of Sant Victorià also had a small botanic garden, on Carrer d'Escudellers.
When Barcelona recovered the university in 1842 - it had been moved to Cervera by Felip V in 1717, after the War of Succession - it was provisionally installed in the unused convent of Carme until towards the end of the 19th century. During this time, the vegetable plot of the old convent was converted into a botanic garden for teaching science and pharmacy.
In 1859 construction of the building now on Plaça de la Universitat began, designed - both the building and the gardens - by Elies Rogent, and was inaugurated in 1871. Many of the plants from the botanic gardens of the Marquess of Ciutadilla were moved to the new gardens at the University of Barcelona, as such, they are the only remains of the species from the first gardens in the city dedicated to studying botany.
PARK INFORMATION
District: Eixample
Size: 1.08 ha
Location: Plaça de la Universitat
Listing: historic gardens
Design project: Elies Rogent
Opened to the public: 1995
Opening times: weekdays, when the university is open, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturdays, Sundays and official holidays, from 10 a.m. to sunset.
Entrance: weekdays, Plaça de la Universitat and from Carrer Aribau and Carrer Balmes; Saturdays, Sundays and official holidays, Carrer de la Diputació.
Special features: of great botanic interest. Dogs are not allowed.
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