The Estació del Nord or Estación del Norte, is a former main line

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

in the city of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Originally opened in 1862, it was closed as a railway station in 1972. It is now used partly as a

bus station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is ...

, partly as a large multi-purpose

sports hall The following is a list of indoor arenas. Africa Asia Europe North America Canada United States Oceania South America See also *Arena *Stadium *Sport venue *Lists of stadiums The following are lists of stadiums t ...

, and partly as a

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, ...

. The sports hall is known as the Poliesportiu Estació del Nord, and was a

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

venue. The bus station is known as the Estació d'Autobusos Barcelona Nord, and is Barcelona's principal terminal for scheduled medium and long distance coach services. The station lies in the Fort Pienc neighbourhood of the

Eixample The Eixample (; ) is a district of Barcelona between the old city ( Ciutat Vella) and what were once surrounding small towns ( Sants, Gràcia, Sant Andreu, etc.), constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its population was 262,000 ...

district of Barcelona, some from Plaça de Catalunya. The

Arc de Triomf station Arc de Triomf is a Rodalies de Catalunya and Barcelona Metro interchange complex. It is named after the adjacent triumphal arch of the same name near which it is situated, in the Barcelona district of Eixample in Catalonia, Spain , image_flag ...

, served by

Barcelona Metro The Barcelona Metro (Catalan and Spanish: ) is an extensive network of rapid transit electrified railway lines that run mostly underground in central Barcelona and into the city's suburbs. It is part of the larger public transport s ...

line L1 and

Rodalies de Catalunya Rodalies de Catalunya (, ; "Commuter Rail of Catalonia") is the main commuter and regional rail system in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia. It is administered by the Government of Catalonia and operated by the national rail operato ...

suburban trains, has an entrance directly in front of the station on '' Plaça d'André Malraux''. The ''Parc de l'Estació del Nord'', laid out on the site of sidings associated with the station, lies to the south-east.

History

The original railway station on the site was built in phases, from 1861, on land that had previously been occupied by Fort Pienc, a fortress raised by Philip V following the fall of Barcelona during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. The original façade, by P. Andrés i Puigdoller in a

neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing sty ...

, still exists on the south-eastern side of the station facing the park. The station opened on 21 May 1862, as the terminus of the '' Compañía del Ferrocarril de Zaragoza a Barcelona'' line from

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

. In 1878, the railway from Zaragoza was absorbed into the '' Compañía de los Caminos de Hierro del Norte de España'', at which point the station adopted its current name. Between 1910 and 1915, the station was extended, with the construction of large

train shed A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...

. Across the end of this train shed and facing the '' Plaça d'André Malraux'', a new facade was constructed to a design by Demetri Ribes, comprising an enclosed glass arch flanked by wings with elements of

Catalan Modernism ''Modernisme'' (, Catalan for "modernism"), also known as Catalan modernism and Catalan art nouveau, is the historiographic denomination given to an art and literature movement associated with the search of a new entitlement of Catalan cultu ...

and

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austr ...

styles. In 1972, the railway station was closed, with the railway approach to the station placed underground and diverted to serve

, whilst longer distance trains were diverted to Estació de França. After this, the Estació del Nord was left empty. In 1983, the city bought the station with the intention of converting it into a

for long-distance buses and a

transport museum A transport museum is a museum that holds collections of transport items, which are often limited to land transport (road and rail)—including old cars, motorcycles, trucks, trains, trams/streetcars, buses, trolleybuses and coaches—but can als ...

. These plans did not come to fruition and the station was left abandoned. However, in 1987 it was announced that the

would include

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

, and Estació del Nord was selected as the venue for that competition. The architects Enric Tous and Josep Maria Fargas were selected to refurbish the station, respecting much of the original structure of the old station, whilst marquees outside the station provided ancillary facilities such as rest areas and offices. Besides the new sports arena, the remodelling included the construction of a

for the city police, a new bus station and a new park, the ''Parc de l'Estació del Nord''. The sports facilities were first used for an Olympic test event in 1991, whilst the bus station was commissioned after the completion of the games. In 2008, works were undertaken at

to improve access exchange with the bus station, including the provision of a new entrance facing the Estació del Nord.

Sports hall

The sports hall occupies the former platform area of the former station, along with part of the east wing of the station. It is managed by the Unió de Federacions Esportives de Catalunya.

Bus station

The bus station is Barcelona's principal terminal for scheduled medium and long distance coach services. It serves as either terminus or calling point for services to and from the rest of Catalonia, the whole of Spain and many international destinations. The bus station occupies the whole of the west wing of the former station, with the building housing ticket offices, waiting areas, a range of shops and restaurants, and other ancillary facilities. The coaches stop in an open area to the north-west of this building, which is surrounded by 47 angled bus stops. Two pedestrian bridges, and pedestrian crossings, link the station building to those stops that are not alongside the main building. The bus station has access to the

and

suburban trains via the adjacent

and to local bus services via stops on the adjoining streets. An underground car park is available next to the bus station, with direct pedestrian links to the bus station.

References

External links

*
Official web site of the bus station

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estacio del Nord Venues of the 1992 Summer Olympics Bus stations in Spain Defunct railway stations in Barcelona Olympic table tennis venues Sports venues in Barcelona Rail transport in Barcelona Transport in Eixample