Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona, Credit: Common
Petit Palau
Palau de la Música Catalana, © Photo: Antoni Bofill

Palau de la Música Catalana

Barcelona, Spain

The Concert Hall of Barcelona’s Palau de la Música Catalana is a magical space, conceived and designed as an enormous glass box crowned with a large central skylight. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, the Palau de la Música Catalana (Palace of Catalan Music) was built between 1905 and 1908.

Catalan architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner designed the building, which was primarily funded by donations from the city’s bourgeoisie. The theater's patrons encouraged Domènech i Montaner to build a uniquely Catalan building to express their national pride. The architect engaged local craftsmen and artisans, who created the vivid ornamentation and sculpture which decorates the entire building.