ANTI AERIAL BUNKERS: HOW TO SURVIVE TO THE HORROR

Refuge accreditation

Barcelona was the first city in the world to be inflicted with mass aerial bombing...

High above the city of Barcelona, on top of the Turó de la Rovira hill in the district of El Carmel, sits the Bunkers del Carmel, a number of old underground military bunkers that offer the best view of the city.

Built during the Spanish Civil War in 1937, the bunkers were used as part of an anti-craft battery to defend against attacks from the fascists and housed a number of guns.

When Franco came to power and the Civil War was over, the guns were retired, but the bunkers remained. Due to problems that were rising among the social classes and extreme poverty, which was experienced by many people in the city under the Franco regime, locals saw the bunkers as forms of housing and shelter.

As the years went on, during the 40s and 50s, the bunkers became somewhat of a shanty town, known as the Cannons neighborhood, and toward the end of the 50s, it provided shelter for seven percent of Barcelona’s population. During the 60s, there were over 3,000 people living in the area.

More information: Research Gate

The Turó de la Rovira hill and the Bunkers del Carmel were virtually forgotten, save for the few locals who came up to admire the views, for most of the 1990s and 2000s. In 2011, however, a new patrimonial space was inaugurated in the district, a project between the Carmelite Agency and the Museu D’Historia De Barcelona MUHBA. The project excavated the bunkers, partially restored them, and improved accessibility.

The MUHBA also installed a small museum inside one of the bunkers, detailing their role during the Spanish Civil War and as housing for the local population.

Source: The Culture Trip

In the other side of the city, in Sants, the neighbours built more than 200 refuges to protect and save themselves in case of bombing. Nowadays, lots of them are being discovered and neighbours reclaim they must be restaured as a symbol of history, memory and dignity. The City Hall, sadly, doesn't want to do anything.

More information: Memòria de Sants by Agus Giralt 

I do not want to undervalue the severity of the damage falling on you, but I trust our citizens will be capable of resisting 

as bravely as the valient people of Barcelona.

Winston Churchill