Nou Barris · 51
Verdun
Verdun is a triangle of 23.7 hectares that grew from the Cases del Governador of 1952, put up in haste to rehouse shack-dwellers, and it is still arguing over its name: Verdun, for a First World War battle, or Verdum, for a bird.[1][2][3][4][5]
Look at the street and square signs as you walk: around the neighbourhood some read Verdum and others read Verdun.[3][6]
Verdun is made mainly of two large housing developments of the 1950s. The first is the Cases del Governador: in 1952, for the Eucharistic Congress, the authorities moved the shack-dwellers of the Avinguda Diagonal into 41 isolated blocks holding 900 homes of 17 to 25 m², which needed constant repair and were inaugurated on 10 July 1953.[1][2]
The second is the Obra Sindical del Hogar estate, by the same promoter that built la Trinitat Nova. Later, in the democratic period, neighbourhood demands got the Governador blocks replaced by new housing and brought public spaces and services.[5][2][1]
Verdun (neighbourhood 51) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Nou Barris: Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta, Porta, el Turó de la Peira, Can Peguera, la Guineueta, la Prosperitat.
Where the name comes from
Etymology: disputed[3][4][1][5]
The official name, Verdun, comes from the passeig de Verdun, named in 1919 after the First World War battle. But the oldest documented name in the neighbourhood is Verdum, that of a bird common in the area: it appears in land adverts of the 1920s and in a notarial deed of 1924, and in the 1930s it gave its name to an ornithological association.[3][4][1][5]
A triangle of 0.23 km² between Via Favència (les Roquetes), Via Júlia (la Prosperitat) and Carrer de l'Artesania, which follows the gully of the old Canyelles torrent (la Guineueta).[5][2]
Before the neighbourhood
The land was forest, turned in the nineteenth century into farmland, especially vineyards, in the west of the old municipality of Sant Andreu de Palomar, annexed to Barcelona in 1897.[1][2]
In the early twentieth century the first summer houses of workers from the big Sant Andreu factories appeared, in two clusters: one around Carrer de Batllori, Carrer de Viladrosa and Carrer de Joaquim Valls, and the barriada d'en Charlot, on Carrer de Casals i Cuberó, promoted by Carmel Tusquellas, known as Charlot.[1]
How the streets were made
The remodelling of the democratic period left new public spaces: Plaça de Joan Riera, an underground car park under Plaça de Francesc Layret, a remodelled Plaça del Verdum and pedestrian streets such as Joaquim Valls and Casals i Cuberó. The neighbourhood has two main spaces: the first around the Placeta de Charlot, the second with Plaça del Verdum as its axis.[1][5]
Dates that changed it
- 1897 Sant Andreu de Palomar, which includes the land of Verdun, is annexed to Barcelona.[1][2]
- 1919 the city council approves the name passeig de Verdun, after the First World War battle.[3][4][1][5]
- 1924 a notarial deed speaks of the «barriada Verdum»: the first historical document to mention the neighbourhood.[4]
- 1952–1953 the Cases del Governador are built; they are inaugurated on 10 July 1953.[1][2]
- 1984 the land becomes part of the district of Nou Barris.[3][6]
- 2006 the neighbourhoods are delimited as they are today and the form Verdun is recovered.[3][6]
- 2026 from 8 May to 3 July, residents choose Verdum by 429 votes to 118; the municipal plenary has to decide.[3][6][4]
People and collective life
Carmel Tusquellas, «Charlot»
A comic bullfighter known on stage as Charlot. He promoted the barriada d'en Charlot around Carrer de Casals i Cuberó and brought electric power to his land there.[1]
Struggles that left a mark
Facilities and services for a dense neighbourhood
Demand: In the early 1960s Verdun was one of the densest neighbourhoods in the city and lacked many basic facilities and services.[3][1][5]
Outcome: In the democratic period the Governador blocks were replaced by new housing and the remodelling brought public spaces, facilities and services.[3][1][5]
What can still be seen
What disappeared
The neighbourhood today
In 2026 Verdun had 13,507 residents in just 23.7 hectares: 569.9 people per hectare. Mean census-section income was €16,925 in 2023, and 25.2% held non-Spanish nationality.
Outdoor space, shade, noise and home ventilation are structural issues here, not design details.
Non-Spanish nationality (2026): 25.2%
What is changing
As of October 2026 the open question is the name. Between 8 May and 3 July 2026 residents over 14 registered in Nou Barris voted on the Decidim platform: 429 votes for Verdum and 118 for Verdun. The result is not binding: the district must take the proposal to the municipal plenary, which will decide. In the latest reports, which run to 1 September 2026, the neighbourhood is still officially called Verdun and no date is set for the plenary.[3][6][4]
On its edge, Carrer de l'Artesania, the border with la Guineueta, is to get wider pavements and more trees between Via Júlia and Carrer de Ponce de León: a 2.72 million euro project approved in principle in June 2026, with works planned from early 2027.[7]
What the guides leave out
A neighbourhood named for a street that is not in it
The passeig de Verdun, from which the neighbourhood inherited its official name, lies outside the neighbourhood. And the first document to mention the neighbourhood, a notarial deed of 1924 found by a collaborator of the Arxiu Històric Roquetes-Nou Barris, speaks of the «barriada Verdum», with an m.[4]
Read it on foot
Start: Via Júlia (L4) · End: Placeta de Charlot[1][5]
Walking (excluding stop time): 6 min · 430 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.
Verdun (neighbourhood 51) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Nou Barris: Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta, Porta, el Turó de la Peira, Can Peguera, la Guineueta, la Prosperitat.
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, Districte de Nou Barris (2026). Història de Verdun. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [2] Wikipedia (2026). Verdún (Barcelona). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [3] 3Cat Info (2026-07-24). Verdum s'imposa clarament a Verdun en el procés participatiu sobre el nom del barri. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [4] El Nacional (2026-07-26). Un barri de Barcelona fixa la denominació oficial: VerduM s'imposa a VerduN. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [5] Viquipèdia (2026). Verdun (Nou Barris). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [6] Línia Nou Barris (2026-07-28). Verdun, més a prop de ser Verdum: els passos que queden per al canvi de nom. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [7] Ajuntament de Barcelona, Servei de Premsa (2026-06-14). L'Ajuntament invertirà 2,7 milions en la reforma del carrer de l'Artesania, al barri de la Guineueta. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [8] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Padró municipal d'habitants (pad_mdbas) — població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [9] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2021). Densitat de població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [10] 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 · 10 sources consulted