Architectural museum

Discover the architectural diversity of Spain over 49,000 m2 and full-scale replicas of 117 buildings

The Poble Espanyol, conceived as a real village, is a selection of full-scale replicas of buildings from different parts of the Peninsula.

It was conceived for visitors to enjoy an open-air Spanish architectural museum while strolling around its squares, streets and gardens.

A stroll around Spanish architecture

The Poble Espanyol was built in 1929 for the Barcelona International Exhibition as the pavilion dedicated to art. Right from the start, it was conceived as a real “village” in the heart of a city. The aim was to give an idea of what might be an “ideal model” of an Iberian village that would bring together all the characteristics of all peninsular villages.

This is why 117 buildings, streets and squares from all around Spain were reproduced to scale.

The selection of buildings to be reproduced was made in order to create a global and harmonious composition to enable the visitor to discover the architectonic diversity of Spain while enjoying a pleasant walk in a real village.

The idea was impulsed by the architect Puig i Cadafalch, and later conceived as a whole unit by the architects Francesc Folguera and Ramón Reventós, with the participation of the critic Miquel Utrillo and the painter Xavier Nogués.

It was built in thirteen months and, curiously, had an expiry date, as it was supposed to last the same time as the Universal Exhibition: six months. However, thanks to its success, the Poble Espanyol still stands to this day, and some of the buildings have outlived the original ones to become one of the few monuments built for an International Exhibition that can still be visited.