Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
Els Monjos airfield – Refugi del Serral
Santa Margarida i els Monjos · Air-raid shelter
The story
The Republican air force had a military airfield near Els Monjos in the Penedès, part of a network of Catalan fields that sheltered fighters and bombers from 1937. Because the airfield made the area a bombing target, a shelter for about 120 people was dug in 1937 next to the Serral farmhouse, which was used as a barracks. Its brick-vaulted galleries and three ventilation shafts survive and can be visited as part of the municipality's airfield memory route. It is a rare surviving piece of the Republic's wartime air infrastructure in the Penedès.
What you can see today
A brick barrel-vaulted shelter with ventilation shafts beside the Serral farmhouse; remains of the airfield landscape around.
Plan your visit
The shelter is visited with CIARGA (Centre d'Interpretació de l'Aviació Republicana i la Guerra Aèria), Parc de la Memòria, Santa Margarida i els Monjos. It usually opens at weekends and on holidays, 10:00–14:00, for a small fee; check with the town before you go.
- Open
- Sat, Sun and public holidays 10:00–14:00
- Price
- €4 (reduced €2); under-13s free
- Parking
- Free car park
- Access
- Listed as fully wheelchair accessible (penedesturisme); shelter itself is ~10 m underground
Checked September 2026 from official sources: penedesturisme.cat, santamargaridaielsmonjos.cat. Things change, so check before you travel.
Sources
Nearby sites
- Crypt of the Tercio de Montserrat, Montserrat · 34 km
- Fossar de la Pedrera, Montjuïc · 42 km
- Castell de Montjuïc · 43 km
- Refugi 307, Poble-sec (MUHBA) · 43 km
- Teatre Poliorama, La Rambla (Orwell's rooftop) · 44 km
- Turó de la Rovira anti-aircraft battery (Bunkers del Carmel) · 44 km
All 158 sites in Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 →
The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
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