On Catalonia’s National Day, Thursday, 11 September, one of Barcelona’s most storied buildings opens its doors for free guided visits. La Llotja de Mar, now home to the city’s Chamber of Commerce, will welcome the public to explore its grand halls and discover the layers of history that have unfolded within its walls.
Raised in the 14th century on Pla de Palau, the site was once the place of the gallows before Barcelona’s mercantile boom demanded a grand exchange. It later served as a meeting point for the Consulate of the Sea and the historic Council of One Hundred.
After the fall of Barcelona on 11 September 1714, Philip V turned the building into a military barracks; in time, the Junta de Comerç restored its economic role, ushering in neoclassical reforms and founding the Escola Gratuïta de Disseny, a precursor to the School of Arts and Crafts where figures such as Antoni Gaudí studied and Pablo Picasso’s father taught.
In the 19th century it housed the Barcelona Stock Exchange; since 1886 it has been the official seat of the Cambra de Comerç, today hosting congresses, ceremonies and exhibitions.
The building is both familiar and, paradoxically, overlooked. The Diada opening offers a timely invitation to rediscover a space that has shaped the city’s commercial and artistic story for more than seven centuries.
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