At last! My great grandmother and my mum were right! I read in a Catalan newspaper that the City Council in Barcelona has finally realised the immense value of the early XIX century architecture and sculpture of its cemeteries, especially the one in Poble Nou (see picture), which also happens to be smaller compared to Montjuic and my favourite as it was my great grandmother and my mum's. Next June there will be a guided tour in Poble Nou's graveyard and later on in the year, another guided tour at Montjuic's cemetery. Tp the first one and for years, I brought foreign and local friends, in a very humble effort to make them know the beautiful sculptures nobody is interested in anymore. This cemetery also hosted the very rare 'Protestant graveyard' unknow to many and now lost forever. It was created to separate Catholic locals and 'Protestant' foreigners, especially British and German, who came to Poble Nou at the beginning of the century to work and advice as experts in the nex machines employed in the many textile industries based in the neighbourhood. The yellow fever struck locals and foreigners and both had to be quickly buried. Both buried, yes, but not mixed together, stated the very Catholic Spanish Church! So a little graveyard for the foreigners was built close to the main cemetery. Unfortunately, in the 90s the City Council inexplicably destroyed this very rare cemetery in the very Catholic Spain so they could build some new graves and make more money for the MPs pockets.. .


Por fin!! Mi bisabuela y mi madre tenian toda la razon! Leo en un periodico catalan que Barcelona explotara el filon turistico del arte que atesoran sus cementerios. El ayuntamiento estrenara en junio una ruta por el camposanto de Poble Nou y, despues, por Montjuïc. Los recintos esconden valiosas muestras de la ebullicion arquitectonica de la ciudad en el XIX, especialmente el de Poble Nou (ver foto), al que yo he llevado a visitar a amigos extranjeros y locales y que ha sido siempre mi cementerio preferido, incluso despues de que el ayuntamiento destruyera el inusual 'cementerio de protestantes' , creado en en el siglo XIX aparte del 'Catolico', ya que catolicos y protestantes no podian ser enterrados juntos (que pecado!) por orden de la Iglesia. Debido al pasado industrial del barrio y sus numerosas empresas textiles, un alto numero de ciudadanos alemanes y britanicos se desplazaron a vivir o trabajar a Poble Nou en calidad de expertos en las innovadoras maquinas. A principios de siglo hubo un virulento episodio de fiebre amarilla y tanto catalanes como extranjeros sucumbieron por igual. Y por igual tuvieron que ser enterrados, a toda prisa, en Poble Nou. Eso si, a los protestantes se les construyo un pequenio recinto aparte, que no era cuestion de que "corrompieran" a los muy catolicos! Discriminados entonces y discriminados ahora, porque a mediados de los 90, el Ayuntamiento de Barcelona decidio destruir este inusual recinto para construir nuevas tumbas y llenarse los bolsillos unos cuantos concejales.