Avinguda Diagonal
Coordinates: 41 ° 23 ′ 47 " N , 2 ° 9 ′ 29.3" E
The Diagonal [ əβiŋguðə ðiəɣunal ] ( Catalan for "Diagonal Avenue") is one of the most important and most famous streets of Barcelona . It got its name because its centerpiece cuts diagonally through the checkered street pattern of the Eixample district .
The Diagonal begins at the west-southwestern city limits of Barcelona as an extension of the regional motorway B23 at the level of the Jardins de Cervantes park and then leads in a straight line over a distance of around 11 kilometers east-northeast to almost the other end of the city at Plaça de Llevant . It crosses the districts of Les Corts , Eixample and Sant Martí and touches the districts of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and Gràcia .
The road was planned in 1859 as a thoroughfare to Madrid . Since the beginning of the 20th century it has been increasingly regarded as a posh residential address; The area west of the magnificent Passeig de Gràcia boulevard was particularly preferred . There are numerous commercial buildings, hotels and luxury shops.
Under the direction of Oriol Bohigas i Guardiola , urban planner in the city administration for the creation of decentralized urban focal points and member of MBM Arquitectes , the Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes was built at the intersection of Avinguda Diagonal , Avinguda Meridiana and Gran Via . For the time being, this square formed the northeastern end of the Diagonal . In 1999 the Diagonal was completed almost to the sea.
During the Franco dictatorship - and for several years afterwards - the street bore the name of the fascist dictator Francisco Franco . On February 21, 1939 - just a few days after his troops took Barcelona - Franco appeared in person on a balcony at number 508 to attend a victory parade in his honor. Since then, the street has been known (unofficially) as Avenida del Caudillo (Alley of the Leader). At the beginning of April 1939 it was officially renamed Avenida del Generalísimo Franco . It was not until 1979, four years after the death of the "Führer", that it was renamed Diagonal .
Sights (selection)
An accumulation of historical buildings - especially in the Modernisme style - can be found on the short section between Plaça cinc d'oros and Plaça de Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer in the Eixample district , e.g. B .:
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- Palau Quadras : Residential building in the style of modernism by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch , built 1904–1906 (house number 373, not open to the public - the “ institut ramon llull ” resides there ).
- Casa Comalat : Also a modernist house , built 1909–1911. Although it was designed by the rather unknown architect Salvador Valeri i Pupurull , it has many Gaudí-esque features and is therefore seen as a clear reminiscence of Antoni Gaudí (house number 442, diagonally across from the Palau Quadras ). The elements typical of Gaudí are particularly recognizable at the back of the house - on Carrer Còrsega street .
- Casa Terradas , better known by the nickname Casa de les Punxes (House of Spikes): A complex of three houses by Josep Puig i Cadafalch in the style of a medieval castle (1905). The textile manufacturer Bartomeu Terradas i Mont gave the order to build a house for each of his three sisters. The building complex got its nickname because of its clearly protruding peaks on the roofs of the towers.
- L'església de la Mare de Déu del Carme de l'Eixample (Church of Our Lady of Carmel in Eixample): Church in the neo-Byzantine style, built 1909–1917 by Josep Domènech i Estapà . Completed by his son Josep Domènech i Mansana in the years 1919–1925 (house number 422 - between Palau Quadras and Casa de les Punxes ).
- Monument a Narcís Monturiol : Monument by the avant-garde sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs from 1963 for the Catalan engineer Monturiol, who designed the first submarine with a mechanical drive. The monument shows the submarine Ictíneo II (located on the corner of Diagonal and Carrer de Provença ).
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- Monument a Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer : Monument to the popular Catalan folk poet Verdaguer in the style of Noucentisme (located in the middle of the square of the same size).
Examples outside of the above mentioned route section:
- The construction of the Diagonal divided Finca Güell , on which pavilions by Antoni Gaudí can be seen.
- Torre Glòries (formerly Torre Agbar ): A 144 meter high skyscraper directly on Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes , built 2001-2005. Originally the headquarters of the municipal water company, now a luxury hotel.
traffic
All three Trambaix tram lines run on one section of Avinguda Diagonal .
