Shelter 307, the passive defence of a population bombarded
Guided tours of the bomb shelter from the Spanish Civil War are an experience of how the Poble-sec neighbourhood protected itself against the attacks.
Barcelona has made an effort to keep the historical memory of the Spanish Civil War alive. During the armed conflict, civilians were bombed indiscriminately in a technique that had only briefly been tried out during World War I. This led people to build more than one thousand bomb shelters all over Barcelona as a form of passive defence. Many of them no longer exist, but some remain as a way to preserve the memory of how people lived at that time. One of the most well-preserved is Shelter 307 in Poble-sec. It was dug out by many residents in the area and has three entrances from Carrer Nou de la Rambla, with nearly 400 metres of tunnels that are 2.10 metres tall and 1.5 to 2 metres wide. Thanks to the guided tours offered by the Museum of the History of Barcelona, you can wander through the various rooms, which include toilets, an infirmary, a children’s room and a fireplace, among others.
Guided tours of Shelter 307 will be held every Sunday through the end of December. They are offered in three languages: in English at 10:30 am, in Spanish at 11:30 am, and in Catalan at 12:30 pm.
Tickets for the guided tour of Shelter 307 cost €3.50 or free for members of the Gaudir Més programme. You can book your spot on the MUHBA website.