Alt CampAlt EmpordàAlt PenedèsAlt UrgellAlta RibagorçaAnoiaAranBagesBaix CampBaix EbreBaix EmpordàBaix LlobregatBaix PenedèsBarcelonèsBerguedàCerdanyaConca de BarberàGarrafGarriguesGarrotxaGironèsLluçanèsMaresmeMoianèsMontsiàNogueraOsonaPallars JussàPallars SobiràPla d'UrgellPla de l'EstanyPrioratRibera d'EbreRipollèsSegarraSegriàSelvaSolsonèsTarragonèsTerra AltaUrgellVallès OccidentalVallès OrientalAlt CampAlt EmpordàAlt PenedèsAlt UrgellAlta RibagorçaAnoiaAranBagesBaix CampBaix EbreBaix EmpordàBaix LlobregatBaix PenedèsBarcelonèsBerguedàCerdanyaConca de BarberàGarrafGarriguesGarrotxaGironèsLluçanèsMaresmeMoianèsMontsiàNogueraOsonaPallars JussàPallars SobiràPla d'UrgellPla de l'EstanyPrioratRibera d'EbreRipollèsSegarraSegriàSelvaSolsonèsTarragonèsTerra AltaUrgellVallès OccidentalVallès Oriental
CA|ES|EN

Diari de Catalunya

The UB's Mundet Campus: From Concentration Camp to University Center

The Universitat de Barcelona's Mundet campus has a complex history, transitioning from an elite residence to a concentration camp and orphanage before its current academic function.

Image of a historic building with architectural elements from various eras, surrounded by greenery.
IA

Image of a historic building with architectural elements from various eras, surrounded by greenery.

The Universitat de Barcelona's Mundet Campus, now a vibrant academic space, conceals a little-known past that includes having been an elite residence, a war refuge, a concentration camp, and an orphanage.

Beneath the daily tranquility of the Universitat de Barcelona's Mundet Campus, where thousands of students and professors pass through daily, layers of history are hidden that few know. This space, now dedicated to education, has witnessed radical transformations over time, from its conception as an elite residence to its function as a concentration camp and orphanage.
The history of the site begins with the Les Heures palace, built at the end of the 19th century by the wealthy Gallart family. During the Civil War, the property was confiscated by the Generalitat de Catalunya and, in 1938, served as a residence for President Lluís Companys. During this period, an air-raid shelter was built under the garden, an austere 53-meter gallery.
However, one of the darkest episodes of the site took place between 1939 and 1940, when the current Llevant building housed the Horta prisoner concentration camp. It is estimated that around 115,000 people passed through this camp, many of whom were destined for forced labor or transferred to other prisons of the Franco regime. The site was fortified with barbed wire and guard posts, and the underground areas were used for interrogations.
Subsequently, in 1957, the complex changed its function with the inauguration of the Llars Anna Gironella de Mundet, known as Llars Mundet or Hogares Mundet. This reception center, a result of the generosity of entrepreneurs Artur Mundet and Anna Gironella i Llovet, housed up to 1,000 vulnerable children, many of them orphans or from low-income families, marking a period of social assistance.
The leap to academic life occurred in 1995, when the Universitat de Barcelona moved its studies in Pedagogy, Psychology, and Teacher Training there. Today, the Mundet Campus is an open space integrated into nature, still retaining elements of its original structure. Since 2014, the Universitat de Barcelona, the Diputació de Barcelona, and the Memorial Democràtic de la Generalitat de Catalunya have installed a monolith and informative panels to commemorate its complex past.

Related News