Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona


World Heritage Identification Number: 804

World Heritage since: 1997

Category: Cultural Heritage

Transboundary Heritage: No

Endangered Heritage: No

Country: 🇪🇸 Spain

Continent: Europe

UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America

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A Symphony of Architecture and Culture: Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona

The Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, both located in Barcelona, Spain, stand as testaments to the artistic vision and architectural prowess of Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997, these structures embody the spirit of the Catalan Modernism movement and offer a unique blend of aesthetics, functionality, and historical significance.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

These are two of the finest contributions to Barcelona's architecture by the Catalan art nouveau architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The Palau de la Música Catalana is an exuberant steel-framed structure full of light and space, and decorated by many of the leading designers of the day. The Hospital de Sant Pau is equally bold in its design and decoration, while at the same time perfectly adapted to the needs of the sick.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

The Committee decided to inscribe these two properties on the basis of criteria (i), (ii) and (iv), considering that the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona are masterpieces of the imaginative and exuberant Art Nouveau that flowered in early 20th century Barcelona.

Encyclopedia Record: Palau de la Música Catalana

Palau de la Música Catalana is a concert hall in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed in the Catalan modernista style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for Orfeó Català, a choral society founded in 1891 that was a leading force in the Catalan cultural movement that came to be known as the Renaixença. It was inaugurated on 9 February 1908.

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Additional Site Details

Area: 6.87 hectares

UNESCO Criteria: (i) — Masterpiece of human creative genius
(ii) — Significant interchange of human values
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape

Coordinates: 41.38778 , 2.175

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Image of Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona

© Doomuu, CC BY-SA 4.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)

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Nearby World Heritage Sites

Works of Antoni Gaudí
3 km — Spain
Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco
82 km — Spain
Poblet Monastery
91 km — Spain
Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley
132 km — Andorra
Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí
168 km — Spain

Country Information: Spain

Flag of Spain

Official Name: Kingdom of Spain

Capital: Madrid

Continent: Europe

Population (2024): 48,807,137

Population (2023): 48,347,910

Population (2022): 47,786,102

Land Area: 499,730 sq km

Currency: Euro (EUR)

Country Data Sources

Last updated: January 18, 2026

Portions of the page Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona are based on data from UNESCO — World Heritage List Dataset and on text from the Wikipedia article Palau de la Música Catalana, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes made. Additional original content by World Heritage Explorer (WHE), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. WHE is not affiliated with UNESCO or the World Heritage Committee. Legal Notice. Privacy Policy.

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