Spanish Civil War 1936–1939

Fossar de la Pedrera, Montjuïc

Barcelona · Repression & memory site

The story

This old quarry in Montjuïc cemetery was used as a common grave for people executed by the Franco regime after Barcelona fell on 26 January 1939, most of them shot at the Camp de la Bóta. Victims of the air raids and the city's poorest were also buried here. Lluís Companys, President of the Generalitat, was handed over by the Gestapo in occupied France, tried by court-martial and shot at Montjuïc castle on 15 October 1940; he lies in the mausoleum here. The site was made into a memorial in 1985, with columns listing the names of the executed. Nearby there are also memorials to the CNT dead, to the International Brigades and to Catalans who died in Nazi camps.

What you can see today

A quiet sunken garden in the old quarry, with stone columns listing the victims' names, the Companys mausoleum, the 'Pietat' sculpture and several other memorials along the paths.

Plan your visit

Inside Montjuïc cemetery (free, open daily); bus 21 to the cemetery gate, then follow the signs; allow time to walk the sloping paths.

Sources

• poblesdecatalunya.cat/element.php?e=9199
• poblesdecatalunya.cat/element.php?e=9199
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossar_de_la_Pedrera
• tracesofwar.com/sights/37155/Memorial-Murdered-Democrats-Franco-Regime-1939---1975-Cemetery-Montju%C3%AFc-Montju%C3%AFc.htm

Nearby sites

• Castell de Montjuïc · 2 km
• Refugi 307, Poble-sec (MUHBA) · 2 km
• Teatre Poliorama, La Rambla (Orwell's rooftop) · 4 km
• Plaça de Sant Felip Neri (bombing of 30 January 1938) · 4 km
• Barcelona Cathedral – the religious persecution of 1936 · 4 km
• Telefónica building & Plaça de Catalunya (May Days 1937) · 4 km

All 158 sites in Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 →