Refugi Antiaeri de la Guerra Civil in Sant Adrià de Besòs

The air raid shelter of Sant Adrià del Besòs was built in Sant Adrià de Besòs (Province of Barcelona) during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. To partially avoid the massacre of the bombings, the council of Sant Adrià decided to begin the construction of the shelter at Placeta Macià. The work was directed by the architect Juan Maymó, and the works were finished in 1938, the year that Barcelona suffered air attacks.

Finally, with the entrance of the national side, the shelter was closed during March 1939. Almost sixty years later, in 2006, the shelter reopened with the rehabilitation carried out by the architect Judit Bellostes. It has a capacity for 80 or 100 people and can be visited.

In Sant Adrià de Besòs, the air raid shelter of Placeta Macià has been recovered and museumized, offering guided visits and audiovisual means. The shelter is the nucleus of a pedagogical project that includes other spaces in the city related to the Civil War, marked with signs and information stands. The objective is to promote reflection on the war, foster active learning, and give a voice to those who lived the bombings of 1938.

The Civil War meant that for the urban nuclei close to Barcelona, especially those that had industry and were close to the sea (such as Sant Adrià), they had to endure repeated bombings as early as 1937. The Italian Aviazione Legionaria, with a base in Mallorca, was in charge of permanently punishing the strategic points of the Catalan coast. The Besòs plan was bombed since the beginning of 1937, but received the worst bombings in 1938. In July 1937, the mayor of Sant Adrià requested help for the construction of shelters like the one at Placeta Macià.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons