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| Francesc de
Paula Rius i Taulet |
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He was
born in Barcelona in 1833 and died in Olèrdola
in 1889; he worked as a lawyer from 1858 until
the revolution of September 1868, after which
he was elected as a councillor and deputy-mayor.
He was appointed mayor during the reign of Amadeu
I and his administration was efficient and espectacular:
he developed the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes,
the plaça Tetuan, the plaça Letamendi, and he
ordered the demolishment of the rest of the seafront
defensive wall, which made space for the passeig
de Colom to be laid down. He granted land for
the construction of the Palau de Justícia (law
courts) (1887-1908) and supervised the construction
of the cemetery onthe south-west face of Montjuïc.
He founded the Municipal Laboratory and Municipal
Hygiene Institute, he formed the Municipal Band
and the Gal·leria de Catalans Il·lustres.
Most important of all for the city, he supervised
the Universal Exhibition of 1888, which opened
Barcelona up to the outside world. The Regent
Queen, Maria Cristina of Austria, bestowed on
him the title Marquess of Olèrdola.
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Some history |
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In 1714
Barcelona fell to the army of Philip V after a
long siege. The dogged resistance of the city
meant that its new rulers wanted to keep it under
firm control.
A year later, Philip V ordered a giant new garrison
fort, the largest in Europe, to be built in order
to guard the city. The buildings of the Ribera
district were demolished and in their place, in
1716, the new fortifications began to be erected,
paid for by the city itself.
In 1841, the Junta de Vigilància (Board of the
Guard) began to dismantle it, but under the Regency
it was restored in 1843.
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After the anti-Bourbon revolution of September
1868, the Catalan general Joan Prim decideded
to turn over the garrison fort, the Ciutadella,
to the city, which from 1869 to 1888 had it pulled
down, this time definitively. All that was preserved
was the Governor's palace, the chapel and the
arsenal.
In 1888 Barcelona held a Universal Exhibition,
inspired by Mayor Rius i Taulet, and the park
was built on the grounds of the demolished Ciutadella.
This event marks the end of the old provincial
Barcelona and the establishment of a modern cosmopolitan
city.
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