Barcelona Town Hall & Plaça Sant Jaume

About Barcelona Town Hall & Plaça Sant Jaume

Plaça Sant Jaume is a prominent square at the centre of the Old City of Barcelona and considered the administrative heart of Barcelona and Catalonia. Two Important governmental buildings are on opposite sides of this square: the Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Palacio de la Generalidad and the Barcelona City Hall, Ayuntamiento de Barcelona.

In Roman times the area of Plaça Sant Jaume was the Forum of the town, an open public space used for meetings.

About Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia

The Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia is one of only a few remaining medieval buildings in Europe that is still used as a seat of government. The building was purchased in 1400 by the Catalan president Alfons de Tous to serve as a presidential palace.

The Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia can be found in the Jewish Quarter, El Call, and is bounded by Carrer de Sant Honorat and Carrer del Bisbe which has a famous gothic bridge, Pont del Bisbe linking the palace to Casa dels Canonges which is presidential offices.

The current façade of the Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia in Plaça Sant Jaume dates from 1596 and was designed in the Renaissance style by architect Pere Blai.

The Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia does not open for visits to the general public.

About Barcelona City Hall

Barcelona City Council, Ajuntament de Barcelona, is the administrative and governing body of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and consists of the Mayor of Barcelona, the Government Commission, and an elected 41-member deliberative Plenary (Consell Municipal) with scrutiny powers and it's governmental building is Barcelona City hall in Plaça Sant Jaume.

Note: It is not the Generalitat which is the Catalan Government and has its Catalan Parliament Building inside the grounds of Parc Cuitadella.

The mayor of the Barcelona City Council serves 4-year terms between local elections and is inaugurated in an opening session traditionally held at the Saló de Cent of Barcelona Town Hall.

The municipal council, Consell Municipal, is the body formed by the elected councillors of the Ajuntament. The plenary meetings, Ple are held in the Carles Pi i Sunyer Hall. It is formed by the municipal councillors that are elected through proportional representation. 41 councillors are currently elected. However. in the past there have been 43 councillors.

Barcelona City Hall building is much older than it looks and contains many large halls that have been used for governance of the city over the centuries such as Saló de Cent and Carles Pi i Sunyer Hall. Saló de Cent takes it's name from the 100 counts that ruled Catalonia from 1373 till its dissolution in 1714 after the War of Spanish Succession.

The building is by architect Pere Llobet (B.1300 - D.1400) and built in the 14th Century. However the façade contains features such as statues of King Jaume I and Joan Fivaller in the vaulted niches. They were sculpted by Josep Bover i Mas in 1847.

Visiting Barcelona Town Hall & Plaça Sant Jaume

Plaça Sant Jaume is a public square that hosts important events in Barcelona such as the Castellers de Barcelona, Human towers, that act in the square during public holidays such as La Merce.

Plaza Sant Jaume is also the starting point for the Barcelona to Sitges classic car rally held in March.

Interior Visits to Barcelona City Hall

The Townhall is open to the public on Sunday's for guided tours with set times.

Also The palace offers visits on the National day of Catalunya, 11th September.

• Catalan: 10:30h, 11:30h & 12:30h
• Spanish: 11:00h & 12:00h
• English: 10:00h

The visit is FREE and starts from the entrance in Carrer de la Font de Sant Miquel and are limited to 25 people per timeslot.

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