Montjuïc: Castle to Culture

Montjuïc is the hill that watches over Barcelona, and Barcelona has never quite decided what to do with it. Fortress, execution ground, Olympic venue, sculpture garden, picnic spot — it has been all of these, sometimes simultaneously. The name either comes from “Jewish mountain” or “mountain of Jove,” and nobody agrees which, which feels appropriate for a place that resists simple explanations.

The castle at the top has the best view and the worst history. From the 17th century through the Franco era, it served as a military prison where political prisoners were held, interrogated, and in many cases executed. The walls are thick and the views are panoramic, which is a combination that makes you feel two things at once. The city handed it back to the public in 2007. Today, children play on the ramparts where soldiers once stood guard.

Below the castle, the Olympic Ring from 1992 still functions. The diving pool — the one from the photographs, the one with the city skyline behind it — is open, and the view is exactly as dramatic as you remember from television. Santiago Calatrava’s communications tower leans at an angle, casting a shadow that works as a sundial. The whole complex has the feeling of a party venue the morning after, grand and slightly empty.

The Fundació Joan Miró sits on the hillside in a building designed by Josep Lluís Sert, a friend of Miró’s who positioned the galleries to catch the specific quality of Mediterranean light that Miró painted by. The rooftop terrace has sculptures against the sky, and from certain angles the building itself becomes part of the artwork.

Lower down, the Jardí Botànic collects plants from five Mediterranean climate zones — California, South Africa, Australia, Chile, and the actual Mediterranean — arranged on terraces that follow the natural slope. In spring, it smells like rosemary and eucalyptus at the same time.

At the base of the hill, the Magic Fountain sends 3,620 jets of water into choreographed patterns set to music, a spectacle that has been running since the 1929 International Exposition and still draws crowds every weekend evening.

Ten stops from the top of the mountain to its base, tracing a hill that contains three centuries of Barcelona’s complicated memory.