Refugi Antiaeri del Jardí de la Infància

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) signalled a turning-point in the history of the centres of towns and cities in the rearguard, as they were subject to numerous air raids. That's why many had to develop and construct a specific kind of wartime architecture: air-raid shelters. It's calculated that across Catalonia, including in Girona, more than 2,000 were built (of which 1,400 were in Barcelona alone). The only Girona one that's open to the public today is the one under Jardí de la Infància. The shelter, built in 1938, takes up an underground physical space that's almost the same as the above-ground park; it provided protection for more than 600 people. To give it more security in the event of a direct impact, the whole exterior area was covered with an earth barrow in a loose pyramid shape that was almost two metres high.