Sant Andreu · 58
Baró de Viver
Baró de Viver is a tiny neighbourhood beside the Besòs: its first houses, the Cases Barates of 1929, were replaced by blocks, and residents wrote what memory remained onto a 478 m2 mural.[1][2][3][4]
Start at the Memory Mural, on the acoustic barrier of Passeig de Santa Coloma: it tells the neighbourhood's story in images and texts, from 1929 to the Nus de la Trinitat.[1][2]
Baró de Viver began as one of four Cases Barates estates built in Barcelona in the late 1920s. In 1928 the Patronato de la Habitación bought land on the Besòs bank, then in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, to rehouse people from the shacks still on Montjuïc after the 1929 International Exhibition.
Today's neighbourhood is largely a second city: the low houses disappeared and blocks replaced them; between 1982 and 1992 the ring roads and the Nus de la Trinitat were built, and in 1997-1999 the Besòs riverbed was restored environmentally.
Baró de Viver (neighbourhood 58) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Sant Andreu: la Trinitat Vella, el Bon Pastor, Sant Andreu, la Sagrera, el Congrés i els Indians, Navas.
Where the name comes from
The name honours Darius Rumeu i Freixa, second Baron of Viver and mayor of Barcelona during the Primo de Rivera dictatorship (1924-1930). It is therefore a political name, not an ancient or geographical place-name.
During the Second Republic the estate was called Pi i Margall, and Franco's regime restored the old name.
Baró de Viver is one of Barcelona's smallest neighbourhoods, in the Sant Andreu district, enclosed by the ring roads and the Nus de la Trinitat, a railway corridor, an industrial estate and the Besòs.[2][3]
Before the neighbourhood
Before 1929 this was low ground on the Besòs bank, owned by the marchioness of Castellvell and belonging to the municipality of Santa Coloma de Gramenet. The Patronato de la Habitación bought it in 1928, outside the consolidated city.
How the streets were made
The first estate had 344 single-family houses on 5.22 ha, of two types (58.6 m2 and 43 m2), isolated between the Besòs, the Renfe workshops and the industrial estate. From 1959 blocks were added for families from the Somorrostro shacks.
The PERI exhibited in 1985 replaced the low-cost houses with the Gran Salón group (1989, Emili Donato): a large semi-closed U-shaped block around an open communal space. In 2011 the Rambla Ciutat d'Asunción and the mural gave the new neighbourhood a centre and a memory.
Dates that changed it
- 1928: the Patronato de la Habitación buys 52,218.52 m2 on the Besòs bank from the marchioness of Castellvell.[3][4]
- 1929: the Baró de Viver estate of 344 low-cost houses is built.[3][2]
- 1943: flood of the Besòs, later included in the memory mural.[1][2]
- 1945: the neighbourhood is annexed to Barcelona.[1][2]
- 1959: the first flats in the new blocks go to families from the Somorrostro shacks.[2][3]
- 1983: the L1 metro reaches Baró de Viver.[2][1]
- 1985-1989: the PERI replaces the low-cost houses with the Gran Salón group.[2][3][4]
- 11 February 2011: the Memory Mural is launched.[1][2]
- 27 March 2011: the Rambla Ciutat d'Asunción opens, with a monument to the low-cost houses at one end.[2]
People and collective life
Darius Rumeu i Freixa
Second Baron of Viver and mayor of Barcelona during the Primo de Rivera dictatorship; the neighbourhood carries his title.[4][3]
Emili Donato
Architect of the Gran Salón housing group (1989), which replaced the low-cost houses.[2][3][4]
Institutions
Struggles that left a mark
Turning memory into public work
Demand: In 2004 a group of young people from the neighbourhood asked what they could do to improve it and raise its profile; a participatory process coordinated by the Polis group of the University of Barcelona followed.[1][2]
Outcome: In 2011 the Memory Mural (11 February) and the Rambla Ciutat d'Asunción with its monument to the low-cost houses (27 March) were inaugurated.[1][2]
The 1985 PERI agreed with residents
Demand: Under neighbourhood pressure the PERI took in conditions agreed with residents: no overcrowding, limited heights, green zones and facilities.[2][3][4]
Outcome: The result was the Gran Salón (1989), which residents came to judge negatively over coexistence and safety problems.[2][3][4]
What can still be seen
Mural de la Memòria de Baró de Viver
A 478 m2 mural on the acoustic barrier, made with residents' participation; it shows the 1929 foundation, the 1943 flood, the 1945 annexation, the 1983 metro and the Nus de la Trinitat.[1][2]
Rambla Ciutat d'Asunción
A rambla inaugurated on 27 March 2011, with a monument to the low-cost houses at one end.[2]
What disappeared
The neighbourhood today
In 2026 Baró de Viver had 2,668 residents, a density of 116 people per hectare, a mean census-section income of €15,242 in 2023, 23.0 hectares and 18.4% of residents holding non-Spanish nationality.
With so small a population, a few dozen people can shift the percentages noticeably.
Non-Spanish nationality (2026): 18.4%
What is changing
Pla de Barris 2025-2028 (presented June 2025). The City Council is putting EUR 14.5 million into la Trinitat Vella, el Bon Pastor and Baró de Viver. For Baró de Viver the press release keeps up teaching support at the Escola Baró de Viver and plans to improve the library and open it outside school hours. No source consulted shows how far this had been carried out by October 2026.
What the guides leave out
Read it on foot
Start: Baró de Viver (L1) · End: Centre Cívic Baró de Viver
Walking (excluding stop time): 6 min · 440 m · Estimated visit (with stops): 30 min
The geometry follows the pedestrian network between the three marked points, but it has not been verified as step-free. The approach from public transport is not included in the stated distance.
Baró de Viver (neighbourhood 58) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Sant Andreu: la Trinitat Vella, el Bon Pastor, Sant Andreu, la Sagrera, el Congrés i els Indians, Navas.
Coordinates
Coordinates
Coordinates
Sources for this page
Dates, figures and historical claims are linked to the records used for this page.
- [1] Ajuntament de Barcelona (Meet Barcelona) (2026). Baró de Viver memorial mural. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [2] Vidal, Salas, Viegas, Esparza i Padilla (Athenea Digital) (2012). El mural de la memoria y la Rambla Ciutat d'Asunción del barrio de Baró de Viver (Barcelona). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [3] Ajuntament de Barcelona, Districte de Sant Andreu (2026-03-31). Història de Baró de Viver. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [4] Viquipèdia (2026). Baró de Viver. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [5] Ajuntament de Barcelona (Guia de Barcelona) (2026). Centre Cívic Baró de Viver. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [6] Ajuntament de Barcelona, Servei de Premsa (2025-06-14). Pla de Barris de la Trinitat Vella, el Bon Pastor i Baró de Viver 2025-2028. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [7] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Padró municipal d'habitants (pad_mdbas) — població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [8] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2021). Densitat de població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [9] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2023). Renda disponible de les llars per persona. Seccions censals. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
Last reviewed: 3 October 2026 · 9 sources consulted