Sants-Montjuïc

A visit to a cemetery is always a moving experience. A stroll through Montjuïc Cemetery is like walking through a miniature city: the city of the dead and silence. Winding up the hillside, overlooking the sea, this major necropolis of Barcelona contains valuable examples of funerary art.

The vast Montjuïc Cemetery covers a surface area of 56 hectares on the seaward side of Montjuïc Hill at the gateway to Barcelona. It opened in 1883, as a result of the growth in Barcelona’s population. Indeed, a large section of this necropolis replicates the layout of Barcelona’s Eixample district. The well-to-do families who built their modernista houses in the Eixample at the turn of the 19th century, also commissioned their own mausoleums in this cemetery. Architects, sculptors, stained-glass artists and other craftsmen contributed to creating some of the most beautiful examples of funerary architecture and sculpture. This peaceful place contains works by Josep M. Jujol, Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Eusebi Arnau.

Many eminent personalities who have played a prominent role in the history of Barcelona are buried here, including the former president of the Catalan Government, Francesc Macià, the musician Isaac Albéniz and the artists Ramon Casas, Santiago Rusiñol and Joan Miró. A walk through this haven of peace, reveals valuable funerary architecture and sculpture, in a setting comprising Mediterranean plants and trees, and with magnificent sea views.