Barcelona, barri a barri A living atlas of the 73 neighbourhoods

Sants-Montjuïc · 11

el Poble-sec

El Poble-sec was built from 1858 on the north slope of Montjuïc, outside the Eixample plan, as three working-class districts — França Xica, Santa Madrona and Hortes de Sant Bertran — below the theatres of the Paral·lel.[1]

From the Avinguda del Paral·lel, the three red-brick chimneys, 72 m tall, mark the way into the neighbourhood; a few streets up, on Carrer Nou de la Rambla, are the tunnels of Refugi 307.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

El Poble-sec occupies the narrow urban strip between Montjuïc and the Avinguda del Paral·lel. Until the 18th century it was farmland; the calico-printing fields of the Hortes de Sant Bertran and the Montjuïc quarries brought the first changes.[1]

After the walls came down in 1854, owners parcelled the land from 1858 and put up simple houses for working families. Three districts — França Xica, Santa Madrona and Hortes de Sant Bertran — and the small nucleus of la Satalia remain distinct within the neighbourhood.[1]

el Poble-sec (neighbourhood 11) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Sants-Montjuïc: la Marina del Prat Vermell, la Marina de Port, la Font de la Guatlla, Hostafrancs, la Bordeta, Sants - Badal.

Where the name comes from

Etymology: disputed[8]

“Poble Sec” literally means “dry village”. Catalan Viquipèdia quotes the historian Miquel Badenas, for whom the name arises because the activity of the factories installed in the mid-19th century dried up the water wells.[8]

The narrow urban strip between Montjuïc and the Avinguda del Paral·lel.[8]

Before the neighbourhood

In the Middle Ages the land outside the wall was farmland, and military law forbade building near the walls; in 1751 the present Montjuïc castle was commissioned.[1]

The north slope of Montjuïc, very close to the centre but little valued for its steep gradients, was left out of the Eixample plan approved in 1859, and owners could develop it without the plan's strict rules.[1]

How the streets were made

The Tres Xemeneies, at Avinguda del Paral·lel 39-49, are what remains of the Mata thermal power station: 72 m of red brick raised in 1896, 1908 and the 1910s. The plant was dismantled in the late 1980s and public gardens were laid out around the chimneys in the mid-1990s.[2][3][4]

The neighbourhood is made of three districts — França Xica, Santa Madrona and Hortes de Sant Bertran — plus the small nucleus of la Satalia, all arising from the parcelling of land from 1858.[1]

Dates that changed it

  1. Late 18th century calico-printing fields in the Hortes de Sant Bertran and quarries on Montjuïc bring the first changes to the area.[1]
  2. 1854 Barcelona's medieval walls are demolished.[1]
  3. 1858 land is parcelled and houses for working families begin to be built; França Xica, Santa Madrona and Hortes de Sant Bertran are born.[1]
  4. 1896 the first of the Tres Xemeneies of the Mata thermal power station is raised; the other two follow in 1908 and in the 1910s.[2][3][4]
  5. 1898 La Pajarera, the tavern that will become El Molino, opens.[9]
  6. 1937 neighbours begin digging Refugi 307 into the hill of Montjuïc.[5][6][7]
  7. 1987-89 the thermal power station is dismantled; the three chimneys remain standing.[2][3][4]
  8. 2010 on 18 October El Molino reopens after thirteen years closed.[9]
  9. 2026 the city presents Millorem Paral·lel, a plan of 22 interventions through 2028.[10]

People and collective life

Joan Manuel Serrat

Singer-songwriter known as “el noi del Poble-sec”.[8]

Francesc Boix

A photographer from the neighbourhood, whose testimony proved crucial at the Nuremberg trials.[8]

People behind the buildings

Manuel Joaquim Raspall i Josep Alemany i Juvé

Raspall redesigned El Molino in 1910 and Alemany i Juvé added the façade with the rotating windmill in 1929; the 2006-2010 renovation kept only Raspall's original façade.[9]

Residents of Poble-sec and Refugi 307

Refugi 307 was dug through the work of many neighbours from 1937 to shelter from the bombing.[5][6][7]

Institutions

MUHBA Refugi 307

A Museu d'Història de Barcelona site at Carrer Nou de la Rambla 175. It is visited only on guided tours with prior booking, at times set by MUHBA (check the museum's website).[5][6][7]

El Molino

A Paral·lel theatre and café-concert at Vila i Vilà 99. It closed in 1997 and reopened in 2010; the city council bought it in 2021.[9]

Struggles that left a mark

Residents mobilise against tourism-driven change

Demand: According to Viquipèdia, tourism-driven urban changes affect the architecture and residents' lives, and residents have mobilised in protest since 2013.[8]

Outcome: Mobilisations began in 2013

What can still be seen

Les Tres Xemeneies

The three 72 m brick chimneys of the Mata power station are catalogued as cultural heritage and now stand amid public gardens.[2][3][4]

What disappeared

The Mata power station

The Mata thermal power station, later the Canadenca power station, was dismantled in the late 1980s for environmental and safety reasons. Only the three chimneys remain.[2][3][4]

The neighbourhood today

El Poble-sec had 40,136 residents in 2026, an official density of 87.5 inhabitants per hectare, a €20,890 mean census-section income in 2023, an area of 458.5 hectares, and 37.5% of residents held non-Spanish nationality. The apparently low density is misleading because the polygon includes a large part of Montjuïc; the built strip is much more compact.[11][12]

Non-Spanish nationality (2026): 37.5%

What is changing

Millorem Paral·lel

On 18 March 2026, according to Betevé, the city presented a plan of 22 interventions and 22 million euros through 2028 to make the Avinguda del Paral·lel a cultural and community stage. It includes transforming the gardens of the Tres Xemeneies.[10]

A new sports centre in Pavilion 2

On 15 June 2026, according to Ara, the city council gave initial approval to phase 1, worth 3 million euros, of converting Pavilion 2 of the Fira de Montjuïc, at the corner of the Paral·lel and Carrer de Lleida, into a sports centre. Works were scheduled from September 2026 to spring 2027.[13]

What the guides leave out

A shelter designed for 2,000 people

The Refugi 307 project foresaw about 400 m of tunnel for 2,000 people, more than official recommendations; by the end of the war 200 m had been excavated.[5][6][7]

Read it on foot

Start: Poble Sec (L3) · End: Refugi 307[5][6][7]

Walking (excluding stop time): 12 min · 920 m · Estimated visit (with stops): 43 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.

el Poble-sec (neighbourhood 11) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Sants-Montjuïc: la Marina del Prat Vermell, la Marina de Port, la Font de la Guatlla, Hostafrancs, la Bordeta, Sants - Badal.

1
Les Tres Xemeneies
Les Tres Xemeneies, Avinguda del Paral·lel 39-49
Look up at the three red-brick chimneys, up to 72 m tall, and at the public gardens around them.[2][3][4]
They belonged to the Mata thermal power station, later the Canadenca power station; they were raised in 1896, 1908 and the 1910s; the plant was dismantled in the late 1980s and the gardens date from the mid-1990s.[2][3][4]
Coordinates
41.37410, 2.17100 · OpenStreetMap
2
El Molino
El Molino, Carrer de Vila i Vilà 99
480 m · 6 min
Find the red windmill on the façade, whose blades turn above the theatre entrance.[9]
It began in 1898 as the tavern La Pajarera and became the Petit Moulin Rouge; the windmill façade dates from 1929. It closed in 1997, reopened in 2010 and was bought by the city council in 2021.[9]
Coordinates
41.37455, 2.16724 · OpenStreetMap
3
Refugi 307
Refugi 307, Carrer Nou de la Rambla 175
440 m · 6 min
The entrance is on Carrer Nou de la Rambla; inside, the guided visit walks galleries with zigzag turns, an infirmary and a children's room.[5][6][7]
Neighbours dug it from 1937; the project foresaw about 400 m for 2,000 people and 200 m had been dug by the end of the war. The MUHBA runs it and it can only be visited on a guided tour.[5][6][7]
Coordinates
41.37144, 2.16663 · OpenStreetMap

Sources for this page

Dates, figures and historical claims are linked to the records used for this page.

  1. [1] Ajuntament de Barcelona, Districte de Sants-Montjuïc (2026). Història del Poble-sec. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  2. [2] Viquipèdia (2026). Les Tres Xemeneies. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  3. [3] Ajuntament de Barcelona (Meet Barcelona) (n.d.). Jardins de les Tres Xemeneies. Accessed: 2026-10-09.
  4. [4] Turisme de Barcelona (n.d.). Tres Xemeneies de Barcelona. Accessed: 2026-10-09.
  5. [5] Museu d'Història de Barcelona (MUHBA) (2026). MUHBA Refugi 307. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  6. [6] Viquipèdia (2026). Refugi 307. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  7. [7] MUHBA — Museu d'Història de Barcelona (n.d.). MUHBA Refugi 307 (visitor information). Accessed: 2026-10-09.
  8. [8] Viquipèdia (2026). El Poble-sec. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  9. [9] Viquipèdia (2026). El Molino. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  10. [10] Betevé (2026-03-18). Millorem Paral·lel: injecció de 22 milions d'euros. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  11. [11] Open Data BCN (2026). Padró municipal. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  12. [12] CartoBCN (2006+). Límits de barris. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  13. [13] Ara (2026-06-15). Barcelona invests three million in the first phase of the new Poble-sec sports complex. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  14. [14] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Padró municipal d'habitants (pad_mdbas) — població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  15. [15] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2021). Densitat de població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  16. [16] 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 · 16 sources consulted

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