Dark humour, Dark Tales and Dark History
Overview
Throughout thousands of years, Barcelona has been a city that has achieved so much in the name of Art, Architecture, Engineering, Music and Literature. But sprinkled in between all this marvel is a darker undercurrent that occasionally raises its head to sway the tides of power, keep control of the masses and bring about revenge.
The Forbidden Tour in Barcelona is a guided walking tour that explores the city's dark and often hidden history. The tour focuses on themes such as crime, poverty, and vice, and takes visitors to various sites throughout the city that have been associated with these topics. These may include former brothels, criminal hideouts, and areas that were once known for their high levels of crime and violence. The tour aims to offer a unique perspective on the city's past and present and to shed light on some of the more challenging aspects of Barcelona's history that are often overlooked in more conventional tours. The Forbidden Tour is not for the faint of heart, as it delves into some of the darker and more unsettling aspects of the city's history.
Narrated through a dark and macabre English sense of humour from your professional guide, that makes this tour one not to be missed.
Start Point
Plaza de L'Àngel. In front of Jaume 1 metro station.
Wednesday & Sunday 11 am
Tour length 2.5Hrs
This is a free tour where you tip your guide what you feel the tour was worth to you. *Average tip size €15 per person
To Join this private tour or enquire about availability please visit our website and fill out a request form. https://www.galleryofideas.net/barcelona-tours
Itinerary
Route and stops may differ depending on the group and street events.
Plaza Saint-Just (Torture and execution)
Saint-Just and Pastor were two early Christian martyrs who were venerated as saints in the Catholic Church. According to tradition, Saint-Just was a young man who was martyred during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero. He was known for his devotion to the Christian faith and for his steadfast resistance to the emperor's attempts to stamp out the religion.
Pastor, on the other hand, was a shepherd who was also martyred for his faith during the same period. Both Saint-Just and Pastor were revered as symbols of courage and devotion, and their memory has been honoured by the Catholic Church for centuries. The Plaza Saint-Just in Barcelona also has a dark history that is associated with the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). During the war, the plaza was used as a public execution site by the Nationalist forces who controlled the city. It is estimated that hundreds of people, including political prisoners and opposition fighters, were executed at the plaza and their bodies were left on display as a warning to others. The plaza has since become a symbol of the violence and repression that characterized the Spanish Civil War and serves as a reminder of the country's dark past.
Plaza Eric Arthur Blair AKA George Orwell (war)
George Orwell spent in the Spanish city of Barcelona in the late 1930s, during the Spanish Civil War. During this time, Orwell was a socialist and a supporter of the Republican side of the conflict. He observed the political and social conditions in Barcelona, including the conflict between the Communist and anarchist groups. Orwell's experiences in Barcelona and the Civil War influenced his writing and10
Los Ramblas (Prostitution)
The history of Las Ramblas in Barcelona dates back to the Middle Ages. Originally, it was a stream that ran through the city and was used as a drainage canal.
In the 18th century, the stream was covered over and the area was transformed into a promenade. The street became associated with criminal activity, including prostitution and drug trafficking. The area around Las Ramblas was also known for its high levels of poverty and social deprivation and was a source of concern for the local government. Despite efforts to improve the area in the latter half of the 20th century, crime and social problems persisted, and Las Ramblas remained associated with a darker aspect of the city's history. In recent years, the street has undergone a process of gentrification and has become a major tourist destination once again, but its dark history continues to be a part of its legacy.
Madame Petit Palace of Pleasure and Pain (Prostitution and Desires)
Madame Petit was the most luxurious and probably the most famous brothel in the city of Barcelona. Its origins date back to the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition and it was at its peak around the time of World War I until the Spanish Civil War.
Peep Show Spectacular “El Barrio Chino”(Prostitution)
Barrio Chino, also known as the "Chinese neighbourhood" in Barcelona, Spain, was a historically working-class neighbourhood that was known for its criminal underworld and association with vice and criminal activity, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The neighbourhood was a centre of prostitution, drug trafficking, and organized crime, and was largely controlled by criminal gangs. The police made frequent raids in the area, but the criminal activities persisted. In the mid-20th century, the neighbourhood underwent gentrification, and many of the brothels and criminal dens were closed. Today, the neighbourhood is a trendy residential area, but its association with the city's dark history remains.
Boqueria Market (Mercat de Sant Josep) (Serial Killer)
La Boqueria Market, also known as Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, is one of the oldest and largest markets in Europe, located in the heart of Barcelona. The market has a long history that dates back to the 13th century when it was established as a food market for local residents. Over the centuries, it grew in size and became a hub of commerce, attracting traders from all over Europe to sell their wares.
But like all famous markets, it has a dark past. the market was at times associated with criminal activities such as black market trading, smuggling and even a serial killing couple.
Hospital de saint Pau (Prostitution and Desires)
The Hospital de la Santa Creu in Barcelona, Spain has a long and complex history, including some dark aspects of the past. The hospital was founded in the 14th century as a charity hospital and was one of the first in the world to offer medical care to the poor and sick. Over the centuries, the hospital expanded and became one of the most important medical institutions in the city. During the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, the hospital was used as a detention centre for political prisoners, and many people were subjected to torture and execution there. In the decades following the war, the hospital was used as a general hospital and was a centre of medical research and treatment. However, it was also associated with several scandals and human rights abuses, including allegations of medical experimentation on prisoners and the mistreatment of patients.
Rambla de Raval (Serial Killer)
The Raval neighbourhood in Barcelona has a dark history marked by poverty, crime, and prostitution. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Raval was a densely populated and marginalized area inhabited by immigrants and marginalized groups, leading to social and health problems such as tuberculosis and other diseases. In the post-World War II period, the Raval became a hub of illegal activities such as drug trafficking and prostitution. There have been several notable serial killers in the history of Barcelona, Spain. One of the most infamous was Pedro Alonso Lopez, also known as the "Monster of the Andes," who was arrested in 1980 and confessed to killing over 300 girls in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Another was Joaquín García, known as "The Toymaker," who was active in the late 1970s and early 1980s and was convicted of killing 11 people. More recently, in 2008, Pau Perez was arrested and later convicted for the murder of three sex workers in the city. These cases, and others like them, have shocked and horrified the public and underlined the need for continued efforts to ensure public safety and bring perpetrators to justice.
To Join this private tour or enquire about availability please visit our website and fill out a request form. https://www.galleryofideas.net/barcelona-tours
Look forward to seeing you soon.
Andrew Pitt.
