The site of the 1929 International Exposition

The Palau de Congressos de Barcelona is part of the International Exposition of 1929 complex, for which some fifteen palaces were built, as well as numerous national and commercial pavilions, a stadium, a swimming pool and the architectural reproductions that make up the Poble Espanyol, or Spanish Village. Six large palaces were built on the lower part of the mountain, by Plaça d’Espanya, as exhibition halls and for many years they hosted the annual multi-trade Fira de Mostres, in addition to single-trade fairs and exhibitions. And standing either side of the stone stairs are the two tall buildings designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch: the Alfons XIII and Queen Victòria Eugènia palaces. Their towers are reproductions of the ones found on the Pont Reial in Valencia.

Fira de Barcelona: an entity of public interest

The government of the Second Spanish Republic declared the Fira Internacional de Barcelona an entity of public interest in 1932, thereby helping it to establish its activities on the Montjuïc site, where there has been intense international trade-fair activity since the 1960s.