Lost Landscapes. La Taxonera, a Neighbourhood on the Margins of Barcelona

La Taxonera is a distinctive neighbourhood in the city of Barcelona. It is a mountain neighbourhood located in the Horta-Guinardó district. Its history began in 1902, when a merchant from Gràcia bought part of an estate to build a summer colony. At the same time, the Bòbila Carmen brickworks was being built, and the factory workers, using the bricks produced there, built part of the neighbourhood with their own hands. These first houses date from 1928. La Taxonera therefore forms part of a group of peripheral neighbourhoods that emerged, in part, through self-construction.

Today, part of this highly distinctive heritage is still preserved, although the new urban plans, which have inherited the heritage constraints of their predecessor, propose the demolition of much of this heritage. It represents a different city from the one known as the Ciutat Comtal, while revealing the history of other realities and ways of living on its periphery.

Today, the Bòbila Carmen is the last complete brickworks still standing in Barcelona, and La Taxonera is one of the few neighbourhoods of self-built origin that still preserves the layout of its history. For now.

Meeting point: L5 El Coll - La Teixonera, exit: Passeig de la Mare de Déu del Coll. Estimated duration of the route: 2 h. Difficulty: moderate. Please wear comfortable shoes and bring water. Guide: Eva Serrano Canudas.