1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition

1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition


The 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition (in Catalan: Exposició Universal de Barcelona and in Spanish: Exposición Universal de Barcelona) was Spain's first International World's Fair. It ran from 8th April to 9th December 1888. The 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition was opened by King Alfonso XIII of Spain and his mother Maria Christina of Austria, former Queen of Spain as the second wife of King Alfonso XII. This was the first of the two world fairs in Barcelona; the second one was in 1929. The 1888 world fair was a convergence of human achievement, a testament to the relentless pursuit of progress that characterized the era.

Eugenio Serrano de Casanova (a journalist, writer and entrepreneur) attempted to launch an world exposition in 1886, and when that failed, the Mayor of Barcelona, Francesc Rius i Taulet, took over the planning of the project which came to fruition in 1888. The fair was hosted on the reconstructed 115-acre 47 hectar site of what is now Barcelona's biggest public park, the Parc de la Ciutadella and the entrance to the fair was the Arc de Triomf which stands to this day. There's a popular story that Barcelona was offered the Eiffel tower as the entrance, but this has not been documented.

Twenty-seven countries participated, including China, Japan and the United States. More than 2 million people from Spain, Europe, and the world visited the exhibition, which generated the equivalent of 1,737,000 United States dollars. 

The main legacy of the 1888 World Fair is the Parc de la Ciutadella: the World Fair served as the opportunity for Barcelona to rid itself of its hated military citadel and transform the fort area into a central park for the city's residents. The entire Ciutadella Park in its present layout is a product of the 1888 World Fair. It has monumental fountain, small ponds, the "Castell dels tres dracs" building (Castle of the Three Dragons) built by Domènech i Montaner to house the World Fair café and restaurant. (It later became the Zoology Museum. Also in the park you can still find Hivernacle (Glasshouse or Greenhouse), the classicist Geology Museum and the Umbracle (a remarkable shaded structure for plants).

Other structure that date back to the 1888 World Fair is theColumbus Monument (Monument a Colom), a 60 m (197 ft) tall monument to Christopher Columbus, was also built for the exposition on the site where Columbus returned to Europe after his first voyage to the Americas in 1492. The column was erected at the port end of Las Ramblas street and remains there to this day. The harbour ferries, Las Golondrinas, also began operating for the World fair and still operate from the same location today. So the impact of the Barcelona 1888 Universal Exhibition extended far beyond its ephemeral displays. It catalyzed a radical transformation of the city itself, inspiring new architectural styles and urban designs that endure to this day.

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