Sants-Montjuïc · 16
la Bordeta
La Bordeta began as an inn beside the Riera Blanca and grew around Can Batlló, a cotton works open from 1880 and closed in the 1960s, whose Bloc 11 the neighbours now run themselves.[1][2][3]
Start on Carrer de la Constitució, where two doors stand side by side: the church of Sant Medir at no. 17 and one of the entrances to Can Batlló at no. 19. Once inside, notice how the brick sheds are being reused as a library, workshops and a park.[4][3][5][6]
La Bordeta grew from an old building at the foot of the road to Sant Boi de Llobregat, beside the Riera Blanca, that already served as an inn in the 16th century: the hostal de la Provençana. With industrialisation the first workers from western Barcelona arrived, and in 1857 it became one of the four districts into which Sants was divided.[1][2]
Today it borders Sants-Badal, Sants, Hostafrancs, la Font de la Guatlla and la Marina de Sants, and across the Riera Blanca, Santa Eulàlia in l'Hospitalet de Llobregat.[1]
The largest complex is Can Batlló; alongside it stand the church of Sant Medir, where Comissions Obreres de Catalunya was born in 1964, and La Borda, a housing cooperative on public land.[4][7][8]
la Bordeta (neighbourhood 16) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Sants-Montjuïc: el Poble-sec, la Marina del Prat Vermell, la Marina de Port, la Font de la Guatlla, Hostafrancs, Sants - Badal.
Before the neighbourhood
The Canal de la Infanta, built between 1817 and 1819, brought irrigation water across the plain and helped the local economy recover. Around 1840 la Bordeta was still largely rural and made use of the canal's water.[1][2][9]
Sants was an independent municipality until 1897, when the whole of Santa Maria de Sants was annexed to Barcelona.[1][2][9]
How the streets were made
Can Batlló is the neighbourhood's main industrial complex. In 1878 Joan Batlló i Barrera bought land of the Can Mangala estate beside the Canal de la Infanta, and the cotton works, designed by engineer Juan Antonio Molinero, opened in 1880: 19,000 m² built on a single floor within a 26,000 m² site, with 722 looms and 950 workers.[3]
In 1964 500 workers were dismissed and production stopped soon after. From 1966 the sheds were let as warehouses and workshops, a kind of “city of trades”. In 2013 the City Council began demolishing two walls, on Carrer de la Constitució and Carrer de Parcerisa, to open the compound to the rest of the neighbourhood.[3][10]
Dates that changed it
- 1817-1819 the Canal de la Infanta is built, bringing irrigation water to the plain.[1][2][9]
- 1857 la Bordeta becomes one of the four districts into which Sants is divided.[1][2]
- 1880 Joan Batlló's cotton works, Can Batlló, opens.[3]
- 1897 the whole municipality of Santa Maria de Sants is annexed to Barcelona.[1][2][9]
- 1960 on 4 September, first mass in the present church of Sant Medir at Carrer de la Constitució 17.[4]
- 1964 on 20 November Comissions Obreres de Catalunya is born at Sant Medir; the Batlló works dismisses 500 workers.[3][4]
- 1976 the metropolitan plan assigns Can Batlló's 81,000 m² to facilities and green space.[3]
- 2006 the plan is modified: the industrial complex is kept, with a 4.7 ha park, facilities and homes.[3]
- 11 June 2011 the date the neighbours set to begin transforming Can Batlló; Bloc 11 becomes self-managed.[3]
- 2024 the Parc de Can Batlló opens.[5][6]
People and collective life
Joan Batlló i Barrera
Cotton industrialist who bought the Can Batlló land in 1878; he died childless in 1892 and was succeeded by his nephews Romà and Domènec.[3]
Mossèn Amadeu Oller
Rector of Sant Medir from November 1948; in 1949 he opened the first provisional church at Carrer de la Constitució 52, next to Can Batlló.[4]
Institutions
Església de Sant Medir
Parish created in 1945 and present church by Jordi Bonet i Armengol, from 1960; today it hosts groups such as the Colla Sant Medir, the Coral Sant Medir and the Esplai Sant Medir.[4]
Biblioteca Popular Josep Pons
Library self-managed by neighbours in Bloc 11 of Can Batlló, which also holds a meeting space, an auditorium and workshops in visual, performing and audiovisual arts.[3]
Struggles that left a mark
Can Batlló for the neighbourhood
Demand: The 1976 metropolitan plan reserved the compound for facilities and green space, but for decades nothing was built. In 2009 the platform “Can Batlló és pel barri” set 11 June 2011 as the start of the transformation.[3][10]
Outcome: The City Council obtained the cession of Bloc 11, self-managed by neighbours; walls were opened in 2013 and the park opened in 2024.[3][10]
What can still be seen
What disappeared
The city of trades
After the works closed, the sheds housed firms and workshops of every kind; in July 2007 75 remained and agreed to move to the Zona Franca, and the compound emptied.[3]
The neighbourhood today
La Bordeta had 21,153 residents in 2026, a density of 369.8 people per hectare, average census-section income of €23,278 in 2023, an area of 57.2 hectares, and 22.5% of residents held non-Spanish nationality.[11][12][13][14]
Non-Spanish nationality (2026): 22.5%
What is changing
Can Batlló: the archive and the phases
As of October 2026: the Parc de Can Batlló opened in 2024, and the central shed, block 8, is to house the Arxiu de la Ciutat, which will bring together 23 municipal archives. According to betevé, the City Council wants to start works in early 2027, in phases until 2034; they have not begun.[5][6]
What the guides leave out
A factory with its own church
Beside the gate at Carrer de la Constitució 19, inside the compound, stand a farmhouse and the factory's own church, with a white Gothic-inspired façade.[3]
Read it on foot
Start: Hostafrancs (L1) · End: La Borda[7][8]
Walking (excluding stop time): 7 min · 560 m · Estimated visit (with stops): 52 min
The geometry follows the pedestrian network between the four marked points, but it has not been verified as step-free. The approach from public transport is not included in the stated distance.
la Bordeta (neighbourhood 16) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Sants-Montjuïc: el Poble-sec, la Marina del Prat Vermell, la Marina de Port, la Font de la Guatlla, Hostafrancs, Sants - Badal.
Coordinates
Coordinates
Coordinates
Coordinates
Sources for this page
Dates, figures and historical claims are linked to the records used for this page.
- [1] Viquipèdia (2026). La Bordeta (Sants-Montjuïc). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [2] Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana (2026). la Bordeta. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [3] Viquipèdia (2026). Can Batlló (la Bordeta). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [4] Viquipèdia (2026). Església de Sant Medir. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [5] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Meet Barcelona (2026). Can Batlló. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [6] betevé (2026-07-01). El nou Arxiu de Barcelona començarà les obres el primer trimestre del 2027. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [7] betevé (2016-03-12). Cooperatives d'habitatge en cessió d'ús, l'alternativa al lloguer o la compra. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [8] Fundació Mies van der Rohe — Catalan Architects (2022). La Borda - Cooperative Housing. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [9] Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana (n.d.). Canal de la Infanta. Accessed: 2026-10-09.
- [10] betevé (2013-04-16). Comencen els treballs d'obertura de Can Batlló a la resta del barri de la Bordeta. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [11] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Padró municipal d'habitants (pad_mdbas) — població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [12] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2023). Renda disponible de les llars per persona. Seccions censals. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [13] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2021). Densitat de població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [14] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Població per nacionalitat i sexe. Barris. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
Last reviewed: 3 October 2026 · 14 sources consulted