Barcelona keeps indelible traces of the Civil War under its asphalt. Among them is an underground bunker with a critical mission: to ensure the safety of Lluís Companys. The then president of the Generalitat sought shelter in this refuge from the escalating bombings that the Catalan capital suffered from 1938 onwards .
An armored tunnel at the foot of Collserola
The president’s security prompted the construction of a 40-meter-long gallery. Just over a meter wide and two meters high, the concrete and brick structure remains virtually intact. The shelter even had rooms where the president and his team waited for the air raid sirens to end.
The design included two strategic access points: a metal door in the basement and a camouflaged exit in the gardens. The location was not chosen at random, as the palace was protected by the anti-aircraft batteries of Turó del Carmel, far from the most obvious military targets of the time.
How to visit the presidential bunker
Today, the palace is the headquarters of the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation. Although its gardens are accessible to the public during restricted hours, the bunker is not part of Barcelona’s regular tourist circuits.