Underground

The first tunnel of the underground of Barcelona, call “Gran Metro” (Big Underground) was built at Via Laietana AV. An Avenue opened in the middle of the old Barcelona between 1908 and 1913. Try to imagine, in this moment disappeared houses, palaces and convents with more than 500 years of history. They took advantage of such construction, to build the first tunnel of the underground, although the first line to be in service of the “Gran Metro” was between Lesseps Station and Plaça Catalunya (the new center of the city).

The underground of Barcelona is the second oldest of Europe, only six month after the underground of London in 1924. It tells us how the economy and industry of Barcelona at beginnings of the XX century was developed. Not all the cities could afford this cost. It would be later that with the economic politician of autarky used by Franco, it submerged the economy of Catalunya and Spain.

In this construction of the first tunnel at Via Laietana, they built a station call “Banc” where now we have the Banc “Caixa Catalunya” and before the Banc of Spain. The idea reminds us the “Money Train”, but the station never was connected with the bank. Therefore, there, we have a unused station and stairs that lead to nowhere. Not so far, in the same line IV, we can appreciate another phantom station: “Correos” (post office), that was in service until 1972.