Sants-Montjuïc

On 13th February 1937, Barcelona was subjected to the first of the 192 bombing raids by Franco’s army. This attack made the civilian population the unwitting protagonists of the war. The Passive Defence Board was set up in order to tackle the situation and save the lives of the local residents. The first shelters were set up in the basements of houses and in metro stations. However, as the bombings intensified, people joined together to build air-raid shelters.

More than a thousand were built during the war, and among them was Refugi 307, (shelter number 307) which has become one of the interpretation centres of the Museu d'Història de la Ciutat. This refuge consists of 400 metres of tunnel measuring 1.6 metres wide and 2 metres high. During the visit, you can discover what the living conditions were like within its walls and see the different rooms, including the toilets, a drinking fountain and an infirmary. The shelter stands at number 169, in the Poble Sec district, and bears silent witness to the cruelty of war.