The Four Columns ("Les Quatre Columnes" in Catalan) are four
Ionic columns originally created by
Josep Puig i Cadafalch
Josep Puig i Cadafalch (; Mataró, 17 October 1867 – Barcelona, 21 December 1956) was a Catalan '' Modernista'' architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona, and a politician who had a significant role in the development of ...
in Barcelona, Spain. They were erected in 1919, where the
Magic Fountain of Montjuïc now stands.
They symbolized the four stripes of the
Catalan senyera, and they were intended to become one of the main icons of
Catalanism. Because of this, they were demolished in 1928 during
Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, when all public Catalanist symbols were systematically removed in order to avoid their being noticed during the 1929
Universal Exposition, which was to take place on
Montjuïc.
Moreover, for these same political motives,
Poble Espanyol (''Spanish Village'' in Catalan), on the same hill, was the name given to the open-air museum formerly to be named ''Iberona'' – in homage to the
Iberians, the first inhabitants of what is now Catalonia, Spain. Analogously for the nearby
Plaça d'Espanya.
In 1999, the
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) commissioned the renowned
Valencian sculptor
Andreu Alfaro
Andreu Alfaro Hernández (5 August 1929 – 13 December 2012) was a Spanish sculptor.
Biography
Alfaro was born in Valencia in 1929, the son of a butcher. A self-taught artist, he was related to the Valencian artists collective Parpalló Group ...
to create four similar columns for its
Bellaterra Campus. In contrast to the original columns which were 20m high, these spiral up, in height, in red granite.
Re-erection
After eight years of campaigning by Catalanist civic bodies and the pro-independence political party
Esquerra Republicana, a replica of the columns was erected in 2010 very close to the original site and following Puig i Cadafalch's original plans.
Telenotícies TV3
accessed 10 December 2010.
Image:Catalunya-Barcelona-EnderrocamentColumnesMontjuic.jpg, Demolition
Image:Columnes_UAB.jpg, UAB Columns
Image:Catalonia-Barcelona-QuatreColumnesMontjuich.jpg, The old Four Columns
External links
Campaign for restoring The Four Columns
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Four Columns, The
Buildings and structures completed in 1919
Buildings and structures in Barcelona
History of Barcelona
Politics of Barcelona
Sants-Montjuïc
Josep Puig i Cadafalch buildings
Tourist attractions in Barcelona
Buildings and structures completed in 2010
Monumental columns in Spain
Buildings and structures demolished in 1928
Monuments and memorials in Barcelona