Mercat de Santa Caterina - Santa Caterina Market in El Born

About Santa Caterina Market

Across the main road from the Barcelona Cathedral lies an interesting building with an undulating, brightly coloured roof. This cathedral like roof covers Santa Caterina market.

Santa Caterina Market History

In 1835 a convent was demolished to create space for the Market. The square of Santa Caterina was formerly called the square of the Carts, in which a pitcher fair was held on the day of Sant Domanec. The monks of Santa Caterina had a well in the cloister, the mouth of which disappeared in one of the old renovations of the Market. The water in that well was considered miraculous to cure malaria and in order to prevent the water from being polluted, a pitcher was used fetch the water, which is why the pitcher fair was set up.

The market began in 1844 and was inaugurated in 1848 after a royal decree granted the Barcelona City Council old ecclesiastical land to proceed with its construction. The architect was Josep Mas Vila. He drew up an ambitious first project that would far exceed the squares and markets that existed at the time in Plaça del Born and Plaça de Sant Josep de la Boqueria but this plan was never constructed as it required the acquisition of adjacent land.

Nevertheless, the Market began, provisionally, In 1846 with a fishmonger's shop and several stalls. During the post civil war period, in the 1940s, it was the centre of supply for the local population and neighbouring towns of Sant Adrià de Besòs, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Badalona, El Masnou, Mataró. People travelled to the market with the trams that terminated in Carrer de Trafalgar and Ronda de Sant Pere.

The last renovation project to add the roof was awarded to the team of architects of EMBT (Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliablue) and was "an ambitious proposal that goes beyond the rehabilitation and conservation of the market building, betting on a global revitalization of the market and its surroundings with a burst of colours and shapes".

Visiting Santa Caterina Market

A modernisation refurbishment was completed in 2005 by architects Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue. The renovation included the addition of an undulating roof supported by timber beams. The roof is tiles in 325,000 pieces of bright ceramic designed to represent the colours of the fruit and vegetables sold below. The old porticoed façade, rebuilt in 1988, and the side walls have been preserved from the old building, while the south façade of glass panels is from the 2005 refurbishment.

In the South corner of the market, there is a small display with exposed ruins of the former monastery (MUHBA Santa Caterina) and some information boards about the history of the area.

In this food market you can find fresh fish, poultry, seafood, meat, vegetables, nuts and legumes and pulses as well as cafeterías.

Santa Caterina Market Opening Hours

• Monday to Thursday: 07:30h to 15:30h
• Friday: 07:30h to 20:00h
• Saturday: 08:00h to 15:00h

Map for Santa Caterina Market

Weather for Santa Caterina Market