A park with a manufacturing history

The industrial past of the La Sagrera neighbourhood is strongly linked to the old Hispano-Suiza factory, which later became the ENASA factory. The Hispano-Suiza car factory acquired the Industrial Harinera Barcelonesa company’s buildings in 1902, extending its facilities to manufacture luxury and racing cars. Hispano-Suiza cars became the most elegant and prestigious in the first three decades of the 20th century. Spain’s Francoist government nationalised Hispano-Suiza in 1946, giving it the name ENASA. The factory continued to manufacture vehicles until 1970, under the Pegaso brand and produced the famous Pegaso lorries.
Once it closed its doors, the local people reclaimed the land for the neighbourhood and made this space, previously traversed by workers, a large park open to everyone. In Carrer de la Sagrera the doorway to the factory still remains standing, and it is now the main entrance to the neighbourhood’s green lung.

Walk and take a break

Inside, the shade of the palm trees shelters a series of brick benches that invite you to read or relax before entering the world outside. The park’s lush vegetation and a canal that begins its journey just beyond the door promise a cool, enchanting route. The paths that open up between wooded areas, esplanades surrounded by plane trees, pergolas and blooming flowerbeds are some of the surprises that the park offers.

Amongst the most unique highlights is a lake separating the two spaces which the park is divided into, the lower and the upper zones, formed by small hills that pay tribute to the gardens designed in the late nineteenth century by the architect Josep Fontserè. A sports centre and various children’s playground areas guarantee that the park is a place where everyone can enjoy their free time.

The old factory

In La Sagrera, the Hispano-Suiza company, nationalised in 1946 and converted into ENASA, left a significant mark in the history of the neighbourhood and in the lives of many residents who worked there. Luxury and racing Hispano-Suiza cars came from this factory, as did the famous Pegaso trucks later on. Only the doorway on Carrer Gran de la Sagrera, which gives access to the Parc de la Pegaso, and the old office building, currently used for local authority facilities, still stand today. In the 50s and 60s, workers from the company Empresa Nacional de Autocamiones S.A. (ENASA), known as Pegaso, staged a series of protests to demand wage increases and bet­ter working conditions. These protests were one of the strong­est oppositions against the Franco regime. In 1956, the work­ers called a new strike to demand the 8-hour workday, a living wage and unemployment benefits. Reprisals did not take long to come: Pegaso closed temporarily, salaries were suspended and layoffs took place. Workers at Pegaso demanded a collec­tive agreement in 1962, which had been requested in 1958. This demand ended up in the closure of the factory for 15 days and the dismissal of four workers. The factory moved to the Zona Franca area of Barcelona in 1971. The Parc de la Pegaso can currently be found where the factory used to be, alongside the old entrance to the factory and various public facilities. A plaque recalls the struggle of the workers who opposed the Franco regime, fighting for the freedoms and rights of workers.