Jardins de Jaume Vicens Vives

Av Diagonal, 635

A stroll through these gardens allows you to escape from the hustle and bustle of Av Diagonal.

History

The Jaume Vicens Vives Gardens were created as private gardens towards the end of the 1960s, when the economic boom was at its height, as part of a property promotion in the Diagonal area, known at the time as Barcelona 2.
Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí was commissioned with the garden design and the veteran artist Frederic Marès with the sculptural decoration. Two black towers were built in 1974, designed by Josep Antoni Coderch i Francesc Mitjans, which are today the headquarters of a bank. The private garden spaces were gradually brought into public management and ownership.
The gardens were dedicated to the historian Jaume Vicens Vives. They were remodelled in 2010 to provide better accessibility and the old path steps replaced by the ramp there today.

Biodiversity

The access ramp takes visitors to the various parts of the gardens. These are small squares with several species of trees. With the notable exception of the conifers and pines (Pinus pinea and Pinus halepensis) and a few Himalayan cedars (Cedrus deodara) these are deciduous trees. That means the gardens, shaded by their location between buildings, make the most of the sun during the autumn and winter months. Shade is always guaranteed during spring and summer. Some of the squares have tipus (Tipuana tipu) and acacias (Shopora japonica) next to holm oaks (Quercus ilex).
In the shrubby areas there are some very old and very large cheesewoods (Pittosporum heterophyllum), next to firethorns (Pyracantha coccinea), which reproduce the structure of a Mediterranean understorey and combine with aromatic species such as sage (Salvia officinalis) and lavender (Lavandula dentata).
The remaining little squares, encircled by benches, contain tamarisks (Tamarix gallica), elms (Ulmus pumila), small-leaved lime trees (Tilia tomentosa), glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum) and a few olive trees (Olea europaea) too. The shadiest part of the gardens has a palm tree, a large yucca (Yucca elephantipes), three poplars (Populus alba) and two large pine trees.

Art and Architecture

The atrium entrance is a small square with central and lateral parterres, which cut a zigzag shape along the pavement on one side and lead visitors to the garden entrance. Close to the lateral spaces and the central space, which displayed the bank’s popular logo in topiary format for many years, there are some cast-iron, lyre-shaped street lamps, typical of the ones along Av Diagonal . The restoration of the cast-iron posts and remodelling of the lighting in 2010, to make it more efficient, has enabled these lamps to be reclaimed for street lighting.
On the left, in the middle of a parterre packed with Mediterranean shrubs, we are welcomed by the first sculpture, created by Frederic Marès. It represents a hunting scene with a stag being pursued and taken down by a pack of dogs. This bronze work can be seen from Av Diagonal. It embodies considerable dynamism and drama, in contrast to the other sculptures (as many as 30) scattered around the gardens.
Hunting provided Marès with the inspiration to make this sculptural group and for the design he turned to an expert hunter, the Count of Yebes, for advice. The reason for paying such an unusual homage to hunting lies in the fact that the then chairman of the bank promoting the development was a keen hunter.

  • Titularity
    Public center
Address:
Av Diagonal, 635
Districte:
Les Corts
Neighborhood:
la Maternitat i Sant Ramon
City:
Barcelona
Others
Sections of this equipment
Àrea de joc infantil

Espai obert.Altes accessos: c. Sabino de Arana i Gran Via de Carles III