page_title: Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: Català: Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya Español: Palacio de la Generalitat de Cataluña English: The Palau de la Generalitat houses the offices of the Presidency of the Generalitat de Catalunya
context_page_description: The Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya is a historic palace in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It houses the offices of the Presidency of the Generalitat de Catalunya. It is one of the few buildings of medieval origin in Europe that still functions as a seat of government and houses the institution that originally built it.
  The palace is located in the district of Ciutat Vella in Barcelona. It is bounded by the Carrer del Bisbe, Carrer de Sant Sever and Carrer de Sant Honorat. Its principal façade gives onto the Plaça de Sant Jaume, across from the City Hall of Barcelona.
  The original building was purchased in 1400 by then-president Alfons de Tous. It was located on the Carrer de Sant Honorat, in the former Jewish Quarter, or Call. The first extension faced the street and was carried out by Bishop Marc Safont, who also built the chapel of St. George, in 1434.
  In 1596, Pere Blai designed the current principal façade on the Plaça de Sant Jaume, in the Renaissance style. This is the first grand façade of this architectural style in Catalonia. Thereafter, several other houses were purchased and integrated into the palace.
context_section_description: The current structure actually predates its use as a governmental headquarters, and had to be adapted to its new functions with constructions and renovations from the early 15th century to the mid-17th century. It has Gothic elements, such as its central courtyard with a grand staircase and galleries surrounding it. The original façade of the building, facing the Carrer del Bisbe, was also built in the flamboyant Gothic style, as was the chapel of Sant Jordi. The building's present main façade was built in the Renaissance, and it faces the Plaça de Sant Jaume. The four dark granite columns of the main entrance were originally sculpted in Troy and brought first, together with 45 more, to Tarragona on the occasion of Emperor Hadrian's stay in the city, which took place during the winter of 122-123 DC.
  Between 1610 and 1630, Pere Ferrer and his son Pere Pau Ferrer carried out the work on the façades on Carrer Sant Honorat and on Carrer Sant Sever. They also constructed a new gate on Carrer Bisbe in the Vignolesc style, similar to the one on the Carrer de Sant Sever.
  After the War of Spanish Succession and the Nueva Planta Decree in 1716, the Royal Audience established its headquarters at the Palau, without taking much account of the rich architecture of the building. Partitions were built to divide the various services of the Audiencia. Later, in the 19th century, the architect Miquel Garriga i Roca was commissioned to do some building repairs, mainly on the façade on the Carrer de Sant Honorat and the Gothic gallery. Between the second and fourth decade of the twentieth century, under the direction of the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch in collaboration with Josep Borí and Joan Rubió i Bellver, another great restoration was carried out  to recover the original features and spaces. Also, some new neo-Gothic creations were added, such as the famous bridge over Carrer del Bisbe that links the palace with the Casa dels Canonges (which opened on April 23, 1928) and a project to build a large fireplace in alabaster for the Board of the Presidency, made by the sculptor Josep M. i Camps Arnau, later transferred to the Maricel Museum in Sitges in 1935.
caption: Gothic gallery and inner courtyard.
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