Santa Maria del Mar Church in El Born in Barcelona is widely regarded as the most important and beautiful example of Catalan gothic churches.

The church used to be next to the sea when El Born in La Ribera neighbourhood of Barcelona's old city was on the sea front and indeed the earliest mention of a church of Santa Maria by the sea dates back to 998. 



Externally, it is the only perfectly-finished Catalan Gothic church. Its outer walls display the features which differentiate Catalan Gothic from European

Construction work of the church we see today by architect Berenguer de Montagut started on 25 March 1329, when the foundation stone was laid by king Alfons IV of Aragon, also know as Alfons the Kind.

This first stone was laid in commemoration of the conquest of Sardinia, the final stage of total Catalan domination in the Mediterranean that included the conquest of Mallorca 10 years earlier and eventually extended to included with the entry of Sicily and parts of Greece into the rule of the House of Barcelona.

This foundation stone was commerated by a stone tablet in Latin and Catalan which still can be seen on the facade of the church on the street Fossar de les Moreres.

The church was finished 3 November 1383 and still in use today both for services and concerts and recitals.