Parc de la Ciutadella

The Citadel Park is now home to a zoo, lake, waterfall, museum of natural science, and a few of the buildings that remain from the destruction of the original Citadel. In the 1700s King Phillip V constructed what was at the time the largest fortress in Europe after Barcelona’s defiance during the War of the Spanish Succession. This fortress was despised by Barcelona’s citizens, who had to build it, pay for it, and live by this reminder of the Spanish central government. Finally, in 1869 most of the buildings were destroyed, and a park was built in its place. For a long time it was the greenest place in Barcelona.