Easily accessible from the city centre, Montjuīc or the "Hill of the Jews" is among the most visited areas of Barcelona for its cultural sights, nice pine-trees, fresh gardens and incredible views over the city and its surroundings. Within this idyllic environment the 1929 International Exhibition was held. In 1992 the local stadium was reconstructed and modernized for the Olympic Games. The hill can be reached by the cable cars of Transbordador Aeri from Torre de Sant Sebastiā near the port or by the old (renovated) funicular railway from the Paral•lel metro station.

The castle on the top of the hill, dating back to the 18th century - Castell de Montjuīc houses the Military Museum (Museu Militar). The museum features a superb panorama over the city and a rich collection of weapons (from the medieval period until present day), armour, uniforms, model castles and very interesting miniature soldiers made of lead.

The Poble Espanyol or the Spanish Village features a group of beautiful buildings constructed for the 1929 International Exhibition, which aim was to show the achievements of the Spanish architecture of that time. It comprises 116 building in different architectural styles, representing all regions of Spain. Its main spacious square Plaza Mayor is wonderfully lit at night. The village has its own town hall, shops, church, monastery and residential houses. The open-air Teatre Grec was designed by Ramon Reventķs following the model of the ancient Greek theatres. It was constructed for the Expo 1929 too. Today Teatre Grec is used for various performances under open sky during the warm summer months.

The most remarkable building left from Expo 1929 is without any doubt the Palau Nacional or the Spanish National Pavilion. Its hill-top position reveals unrivalled panoramic views over Barcelona. Its extravagant architecture was designed by Enric Catalā i Catalā and Pedro Cendoya Oscoz in a style resembling the European royal palaces. Today Palau Nacional is home to the National Art Museum of Catalunya (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya) with the world's richest collection of medieval Romanesque art, a not less impressive section for Gothic art and the Cambo Collection, comprising remarkable Renaissance and Baroque paintings. The first two sections are most important. They are located respectively to the left and to the right from the entrance.

The Romanesque part of the exhibition comprises mainly reproductions of Catalan church interiors with original frescoes and different architectural fragments, taken for safe-keeping from the real churches. The excellent arrangement of the display and the informative inscription in different languages give visitors useful information about the location of each church or monastery and lead them chronologically through the exhibits. Pay attention to the exquisite altar-curtains from the 12th century.

The Gothic section of the museum's display will amaze you with gilt multi-panelled altar paintings and impressive statues of saints in natural size. Pay attention to the exquisite double portrait of St. John the Baptist and St. Steven from Santa Maria de Puigcerdā, the hall dedicated to Bernat Martorell and the wonderful paintings by Jaume Huguet.

At the base of the broad staircase to Palau Nacional, next to the Font Māgica (the Magic Fountain constructed for the Expo'29), is located the ultra modern for the time architectural structure of Pavellķ Mies van der Rohe. This is the German pavilion for the 1929 International Exhibition, designed by the modernist architect - Mies van der Rohe. When the government of Germany put the pavilion up for sell after the exhibition, nobody was interested to buy it and it was dismantled. The Foundation Mies van der Rohe decided to reconstruct it in 1983 and 3 years later the pavilion reappeared on its initial place. The water is a substantial part of its interiors where there is a very expressive marble sculpture by Georg Kolbe.

On the boulevard near the Pavellķ Mies van der Rohe is the attractively restored old factory in Art-Nouveau style. Inside it is displayed the collection of contemporary art possessed by CaixaForum - the foundation of Caixa Bank. The Art-Nouveau factory is also a popular place for concerts and various discussions.

East of Palau Nacional, up on the hill and close to the funicular station is situated Fundaciķ Joan Mirķ. This is an appealing exhibition centre, designed by the talented architect Josep Lluís Sert in a fetching Mediterranean style to honour the famous Catalan painter Joan Mirķ (1893-1983), who had been his friend for long years. The foundation was created by Joan Mirķ himself, in order to preserve a part of his oeuvre for the connoisseurs of art and to popularize modern art. The exhibition centre enjoys a constant visitors’ interest thanks to its first-class temporary displays and the splendid panoramic position with stunning city views. The permanent exhibition is on the upper floor, while a larger part of the ground floor is left for temporary displays. The inner courtyard keeps the wonderful Mercury Fountain - a modern sculpture by Alexander Calder, created for the 1937 International Exhibition in Paris. Next to it you can see splendid playful sculptures by Mirķ and a huge exhibition hall with his early works from the series "Constellations" (1930-1940). Take the elevator to the upper floor where is exhibited the main part of his works from the middle of the 20th century. The last, also worth-seeing section includes works, donated by friends of Joan Mirķ. Look around for the photo of the artist, captured by Arnold Newman in 1979. You will notice the incredible humanity reflected by the features of his face.

Find quality hotels and other accommodation solutions in Barcelona quarters of Montjuīc and Sants,
near the Trade Fair Center (Fira Barcelona, Montjuīc Fiere), the Sants railway station and Plaįa
d'Espanya:
Hotels Montjuīc-Sants
(or use the search form in the left column at the top of this page)

Look for available hotels in the neighbouring business and commercial district of Les Corts,
near Camp Nou Stadium:
Hotels Les Corts - Camp Nou
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