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

les Corts · 19

les Corts

Les Corts was a village of farmhouses that broke away from Sarrià in 1836 and was merged into Barcelona in 1897; today it can be read in an 1884 town hall, an 18th-century farmhouse, the façade of a glassworks and a park laid out over a workers' colony.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

On Plaça de Comas, the pediment of the former town hall carries a medallion with its construction date, and a plaque on the inner staircase records its inauguration in 1884. Thirteen years later, in 1897, the municipality that sat here was merged into Barcelona.[2][3][1]

The neighbourhood of les Corts holds the core of the former municipality of the same name, which won full autonomy from Sarrià in 1836 and was merged into Barcelona by royal decree on 20 April 1897, together with Sants, Gràcia, Sant Gervasi de Cassoles, Sant Martí de Provençals and Sant Andreu de Palomar. The municipality was larger than the neighbourhood: it covered today's les Corts and la Maternitat i Sant Ramon, while Pedralbes belonged to Sarrià.[1]

Until the 20th century it was a farming village, with many farmhouses (farmhouses) built beside the streams coming down from Collserola. Cotton-printing grounds (prats d'indianes), brickworks and chemical works arrived in the 19th century, and by the 1930s the area counted nearly 300 firms. From the 1960s a rapid wave of building swept away most of the farmhouses; industry declined from the 1970s, and the factory plots became facilities and housing.[1]

les Corts (neighbourhood 19) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Les Corts: la Maternitat i Sant Ramon, Pedralbes.

Where the name comes from

Etymology: disputed[1]

The name has been explained in two ways. One derives it from the Latin curto and curtibus, forms that appear in the earliest documents naming the territory, among them one of 1066 copied in the cartulary of Sant Cugat del Vallès; they would link it to escorç and to the surnames and house names derived from it (Escorç, Cors, Corts). The other derives it from the Latin cohors, cohortis, 'rustic land and houses', and recalls that in Roman times life here was organised around villas, which medieval farmhouses later replaced.[1]

Catalan Wikipedia presents the first as the more plausible of the popular versions; the question is not settled.[1]

Before the neighbourhood

The earliest traces of human life found in the neighbourhood are Roman: in 1959, where Travessera de les Corts, Carrer del Marquès de Sentmenat and Carrer de Joan Güell meet, graves from a necropolis of the mid-1st century came to light. The first written mention of les Corts dates from 1066, in the cartulary of Sant Cugat del Vallès.[1]

In 1219 Jaume I granted the privilege of the Franqueses de Llobregat i Maresme, which les Corts kept until 1714. A first council independent of Sarrià, elected on 5 January 1823, lasted only until November; full autonomy came in 1836.[1]

How the streets were made

Three historic axes formed the neighbourhood. The Travessera, an ancient road across the Pla de Barcelona, was the first. Carrer de les Corts, the original main street, is the oldest core to have survived (les Corts Velles). In the mid-19th century the third, les Corts Noves, grew around the parish church on Plaça de la Concòrdia and the first extension; the main street then became today's Carrer d'Anglesola.[1]

Industry left little standing. Of the Cristalleries Planell, opened on Carrer d'Anglesola in 1913, nearly the whole complex was demolished in October 1985; the modernist façade on Carrer d'Anglesola, by the master builder Josep Graner i Prat, was kept and now forms part of a municipal facility by Harquitectes finished in 2016.[4][5]

Dates that changed it

  1. 1066 first written mention of les Corts, in the cartulary of Sant Cugat del Vallès.[1]
  2. 1836 les Corts wins full autonomy from Sarrià.[1]
  3. 1884 the town hall on Plaça de Comas is inaugurated.[2][3]
  4. 1897 a royal decree merges les Corts into Barcelona; the same year Josep Deu i Mata buys the plot of Can Deu.[1][9][10]
  5. 1913 the first glass furnace of the Cristalleries Planell is inaugurated on Carrer d'Anglesola.[4][5]
  6. 1922 FC Barcelona inaugurates the Camp de les Corts.[11]
  7. 1923 Colònia Castells is planned as cheap housing for workers.[12]
  8. 1957 the Camp Nou opens and the Camp de les Corts stops being the first team's stadium.[11]
  9. 1966 demolition of the Camp de les Corts begins.[11]
  10. 1985 nearly the whole Cristalleries Planell complex is demolished, except the façade on Carrer d'Anglesola.[4][5]
  11. 2010 demolition of Colònia Castells begins.[12]
  12. 2024 the Colònia Castells park opens.[7][8]

People and collective life

Leopold Planell i Porqueras

Founder of the Cristalleries Planell: in 1913 he set up Planell i Borràs with partners, and by 1943 the firm had 525 workers. Shifts around the clock strengthened the CNT union's presence, with three strikes and two stoppages between 1917 and 1921.[4][5]

Josep Deu i Mata

He bought the plot on Plaça de la Concòrdia in 1897 and had the house that is now Can Deu built, to a design by Eduard Mercader. The Deu family, spirit distillers from 1874, left sayings in everyday Catalan such as «va ser un banquet de Cal Deu».[9][10][1]

The families of Colònia Castells

Migrants mostly from Andalusia, Aragon, Castile, Murcia and Valencia, drawn by the demand for work for the 1929 International Exposition. When the 2002 plan was approved 220 families still lived there, and they were evicted.[12]

Institutions

Antic Ajuntament de les Corts

Eclectic town hall by Antoni Rovira i Rabassa, inaugurated in 1884 on Plaça de Comas on land of Can Sol de Dalt; today it is the headquarters of the Districte de les Corts (Plaça de Comas 18).[2][3]

Can Deu

House of the Deu family built from 1897; the council bought it in 1982 and in 1986 opened the district municipal archive and a public library there. Today it is a civic centre (Plaça de la Concòrdia 13).[9][10][1]

Església de Santa Maria del Remei

Parish created in 1846 on Plaça de la Concòrdia; the church was consecrated in 1850 and the bell tower blessed in 1897. The interior was almost destroyed during the Civil War and rebuilt between 1939 and 1947 and in 1968.[13]

Struggles that left a mark

Les Corts against Sarrià

Demand: In 1814 families such as the Cuyàs, Piera, Rosés, Grau, Sangés, Closes and Batllori asked for a town council separate from Sarrià's.[1]

Outcome: Full autonomy came in 1836; the merger into Barcelona in 1897 took effect against the wishes of the people of the time.[1]

What to do with Colònia Castells

Demand: In 1976 the land was rezoned as green space, but the clearance dragged on for forty years; in 2002 an urban plan affected 220 families.[12]

Outcome: A participatory process in 2018 did not prevent a platform of associations from asking for the works to be halted: pergolas on the site of the old passages, they argued, distorted the colony's memory. The park opened in 2024.[12]

What can still be seen

Cristalleries Planell

Former glass factory listed (category C) and included in the Inventari del Patrimoni Arquitectònic de Catalunya; what remains is the modernist façade on Carrer d'Anglesola, with a projecting bay window and the company sign in ceramic.[4][5]

Masia de Can Rosés

Farmhouse of the first half of the 18th century, designated as being of local interest; in 1900 a cornice, sgraffito decoration on the façade and a gallery on the first floor were added, and the threshing floor became a garden.[6]

What disappeared

The Camp de les Corts

FC Barcelona's stadium from 1922 to 1957, on the block between Carrer de Numància, Travessera de les Corts, Carrer de Vallespir and Carrer del Marquès de Sentmenat. Demolition began in 1966 and the club sold the site to the developer Hàbitat, which put up two large apartment blocks.[11]

Colònia Castells

A group of workers' houses from 1923 with narrow passages, shops and a small school. Demolition began in October 2010; nine houses were kept on Passatge de Piera.[12][7][8]

The neighbourhood today

Les Corts had 46,672 residents in 2026, 331 residents per hectare, a €32,838 mean census-section income in 2023, 141.0 hectares, and 18.1% of residents held non-Spanish nationality.

Non-Spanish nationality (2026): 18.1%

What is changing

Colònia Castells: park open, small houses pending

The Colònia Castells park (Carrer del Montnegre 32X) opened on 21 April 2024: over 9,000 m², EUR 3.64 million of works and 161 new trees. Nine houses on Passatge de Piera were kept, their uses still to be defined by planning. In May 2024 the council said restoration would start at the end of 2025 and finish in 2026, with EUR 1.2 million and a prior change to the Pla General Metropolità. As of October 2026 no later official statement has been found.[7][8][14]

What the guides leave out

The «panarres»

The people of les Corts are nicknamed «panarres», with three accounts of the origin: an annual neighbourhood festival that used up all the bread and grain, a bakers' strike, or bread cheaper in les Corts that drew neighbours from other towns. The accounts do not agree.[1]

Who modelled for Pau Farinetes

The statue of Pau Farinetes on Plaça de Comas, by an unknown sculptor, evokes the agricultural past of les Corts. By one account the model was Jaume Esteve, a councillor of the last town council; by another, the face is Pau Piera's and the body Jaume Esteve's.[1]

Read it on foot

Start: Les Corts (L3) · End: Parc de la Colònia Castells[7][8]

Walking (excluding stop time): 18 min · 1330 m · Estimated visit (with stops): 60 min

The geometry follows the pedestrian network between the five marked points, but it has not been verified as step-free. The approach from public transport is not included in the stated distance.

les Corts (neighbourhood 19) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Les Corts: la Maternitat i Sant Ramon, Pedralbes.

1
Antic Ajuntament de les Corts
Antic Ajuntament de les Corts, Plaça de Comas 18
Find the medallion crowning the triangular pediment above the porch of three round arches, then the statue of Pau Farinetes in the square.[2][3][1]
The building, by Antoni Rovira i Rabassa, was inaugurated in 1884 on land that Dolors Masferrer, of Can Sol de Dalt, leased to the council; today the district has its headquarters here. Who made the statue and who modelled for it are disputed.[2][3][1]
Coordinates
41.38560, 2.12975 · OpenStreetMap
2
Can Deu
Can Deu, Plaça de la Concòrdia 13
300 m · 4 min
Look for the iron-and-glass bay window on the corner and the small lookout tower rising above the roof, then turn to the church of the Remei on the same square.[9][10][1][13]
Josep Deu i Mata bought the plot in 1897 and the house is by Eduard Mercader. The square was laid out in 1844 as the centre of the first extension, les Corts Noves; the parish was created in 1846 and the church consecrated in 1850.[9][10][1][13]
Coordinates
41.38682, 2.13268 · OpenStreetMap
3
Cristalleries Planell
Cristalleries Planell, Carrer del Doctor Ibáñez 38
110 m · 2 min
Go to the corner with Carrer d'Anglesola and look at the old façade, with its projecting bay window and the company's ceramic sign, against the new building behind it.[4][5]
The first Planell glass furnace was inaugurated here in 1913; by 1943 525 people worked here, on round-the-clock shifts and with a strong CNT presence. Most of the factory was demolished in 1985; the present facility, by Harquitectes, dates from 2016.[4][5]
Coordinates
41.38740, 2.13196 · OpenStreetMap
4
Masia de Can Rosés
Masia de Can Rosés, Carrer de Deu i Mata 49-61
320 m · 4 min
Look at the cornice, the sgraffito on the stucco and the gallery opened on the first floor: they come from the 1900 refurbishment that made the farmhouse more residential.[6][1]
It is one of three farmhouses left in the old municipality, with Can Planes and Torre Rodona. Dating from the 18th century, it was refurbished by Joaquim Gelabert i Cuyás, who turned the threshing floor into a garden; after another renovation in 1991 it was a library until 2017.[6][1]
Coordinates
41.38818, 2.13460 · OpenStreetMap
5
Parc de la Colònia Castells
Colònia Castells, Carrer del Montnegre 32X
600 m · 8 min
Cross the round central plaza, then continue to Passatge de Piera, reached from Carrer del Montnegre, where nine of the colony's houses were kept.[12][7][8]
A workers' colony of 1923 stood here, settled by migrants who worked for the 1929 Exposition; demolition began in 2010 and the park opened on 21 April 2024. The use of the surviving houses is still to be settled.[12][7][8]
Coordinates
41.38717, 2.13979 · OpenStreetMap

Sources for this page

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

  1. [1] Viquipèdia, l'enciclopèdia lliure (2026). Barri de les Corts. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  2. [2] Viquipèdia, l'enciclopèdia lliure (2026). Antic Ajuntament de les Corts. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  3. [3] Ajuntament de Barcelona (2026). Seu del Districte de les Corts. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  4. [4] Viquipèdia, l'enciclopèdia lliure (2026). Cristalleries Planell. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  5. [5] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Districte de les Corts (2026). Cristalleries Planell (equipament). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  6. [6] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Meet Barcelona (2026). Can Rosés. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  7. [7] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Servei de Premsa (2024-04-21). Obre al públic el nou parc de la Colònia Castells (21.04.2024). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  8. [8] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Agenda 500 (2026). Àrea de Joc Infantil - Parc de la Colònia Castells. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  9. [9] Viquipèdia, l'enciclopèdia lliure (2026). Can Deu (Barcelona). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  10. [10] Ajuntament de Barcelona (2026). Centre Cívic Can Deu. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  11. [11] Viquipèdia, l'enciclopèdia lliure (2026). Camp de les Corts. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  12. [12] Viquipèdia, l'enciclopèdia lliure (2026). Colònia Castells. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  13. [13] Viquipèdia, l'enciclopèdia lliure (2026). Església de Santa Maria del Remei. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  14. [14] betevé (2024-05-17). Les Corts restaurarà i convertirà en equipaments les casetes pendents de la Colònia Castells el 2026. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  15. [15] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Padró municipal d'habitants (pad_mdbas) — població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  16. [16] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2021). Densitat de població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  17. [17] 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 · 17 sources consulted

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