Parc de l'Espanya Industrial

the park’s origins 

Parc de l’Espanya Industrial is a fine example of urban renewal. It is also a tribute to the local community, who fought to keep the space. The company that owned the land wanted to build houses, but the city council refused permission.

Originally, it was the site of a textile factory. At the height of production in the 1880s, it employed 2500 people and was called locally the ‘Vapor Nou’ or New Steam. (The other big textile factory in Sants was called ‘Vapor Vell’ or Old Steam.)

The factory finally closed in 1969. The ‘Parc de l’Espanya Industrial‘ was completed in 1985. It was named after the company that owned the factory. The ‘la España Industrial, Sociedad Anónima Fabril y Mercantil’ was the first cotton company in the whole of Spain.

The park was designed by the Basque architect Luis Peña Ganchegui. There are nine lighthouses on the side by the Sants railway station and a green space to the south. In the centre is a boating lake, it is the second largest lake in Barcelona. 

The water is guarded by three statues built for the 1929 Expo were brought ‘out of retirement’ and placed in the park. Neptune by Manuel Fuxà. Venus by José Pérez Peresejo and the odd Oxen of Plenty by Antoni Alsina. 

A giant metal dragon that protects the entrance. Designed by fellow Basque sculptor Andrés Nagel, it was added a couple of years after the initial opening. It is a huge children’s slide!

There was one final addition made for the 1992 Olympic Games. The dull, boxlike sports centre ‘Espanya Industrial’ hosted all the weight-lifting events at the 25th Olympiad.