Pl. Diamant Refugi Antiaeri - Gràcia air raid shelter
One of only two surviving underground air raid shelters from the Spanish Civil War. Located in the Gràcia Neighbourhood. Guided visits on Sunday's
About Pl. Diamant Refugi Antiaeri - Gràcia air raid shelter
During the Spanish Civil War, Barcelona constructed over 1400 underground air raid shelters to protect the citizens of Barcelona from the arial bombardment campaign carried out by the Italian Air Force at the request of General Francisco Franco. Today Only two of these shelters survive and are open to the general public for visits. Both offer guided tours.
History of the Plaça del Diament Refugi Antiaeri
In 1992, during some civil works, the anti-aerial bombardment bunker, refugi 0232, was discovered underneath the sub-soil of Plaça del Diament in Gràcia. It was constructed to a depth of 12 metres below surface to provide shelter for 200 residents of Gracia during the aerial bombardment of the civil war.
The shelter has a total of 69m in length of tunnels with the tunnel width being 1.1 metres wide by 2 metres high and a total area of 75.90 square metres. the air raid shelter has two ventilation shafts, an infirmary and electrical installation. Plans reveal proposals to increase the tunnels into surrounding streets to link up with other shelters in the Gracia neighbourhood.
The aerial bombardment was principally performed by the Italian air force at the request of General Franco to try and destroy the industrial factories of Barcelona. This shelter is one of 90 that formed the civil defence of Gràcia. Barcelona had some 1400 Shelters to protect the residents from Arial and sometimes naval bombardment. Noteworthy is that Barcelona was the first city in history to suffer from systematic aerial bombardment, This is before London and other UK cities during World War Two.
The shelter was built not by the Catalan Government but by a local committee of residents. Later, the Catalan Government published guidelines and provided technical support so that communities/committee's of residents could build shelters.
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