Refugi 307 — Attraction in Barcelona

You can only go inside the bomb shelter if you have booked a tour. You can book it easily on their website with a credit card for under €4 as of summer 2019. I highly recommend doing it because the shelter is one of the few in the city that is preserved very well. It has a unique history after the war that helped keep it the way it was originally (which you can hear all about on the tour). I will say the tunnels inside are not much on their own but when you hear the story behind it and other shelters in the city it is fascinating. There is also a brief intro given to the Spanish Civil War so there isn't any knowledge required beforehand. I think this is the best way to begin learning about the War and would have a really high impact on anyone learning about the bombing and shelters for the first time. Another really interesting thing was that our tour guide's grandfather was in Barcelona during the bombing so he had a close connection to the shelter and had first hand accounts from that period.

Another thing is that there is only 1 tour per language per week on Sunday morning so you really have to plan ahead to get this in your schedule. And when I went in the middle of summer there were only 3 other people on the English tour, so it is not at all crowded...

Excellent visit of this historic vaulted (typical Barcelona architectural design feature ) Air Raid Shelter. Firstly, you get a thorough account of it's history from the excellent guide of Galician roots Pau. There's a summary of this in 3 languages at the entrance on information panels. I enjoyed his summary of the Spanish Civil War & seige of Barcelona between 1936-8 which included an intense bombardment by Mussolini's forces of civilian population governed by the Republicans between 16-18 March 1938 killing 1300 people. The death rate could have been alot more were it not thanks to the subterranean network of tunnels and the Metro in the city. Air Raid Shelter 307 as the sight is known has been well preserved thanks to the work of English historian Valerie Gay Powles. Secondly, after learning all about this history you get to visit the network of tunnels which is well worth it to appreciate it how well they were constructed and to transport you back to...

Construido como base antiaérea con la solidaridad de los vecinos de Poble-Sec, dirigida por un vecino asturiano con conocimientos en minas y llevado a cabo con la mano de obra de las mujeres y niños, ya que los hombres estaban en el frente. Representa un acto de memoria donde se recuerda el horror de la guerra Civil en Barcelona durante el régimen franquista. El refugio, uno de tantos, que existían por Barcelona y que éste se le designó 307 porque se pudo inscribir en la memoria histórica del ayuntamiento, tiene una profundidad aproximada de 200 metros y una altura entre 2,10 x 1,5 mts en algunos tramos y con una capacidad para unas 2.000 personas, donde debían respetar ciertas normas, entre ellas, no hablar de política, no comer y no quedarse dormido para no consumir el poco oxígeno que se respiraba porque podían permanecer de 2 a 3 h que podía durar el ataque aéreo. Una visita indispensable, si quieres acercarte al horror y agobio que debían sentir estas personas durante su encierro. La guía, Georgina (visita de ayer domingo 25.11.18) nos hizo un resumen intenso de la situación del momento, donde se valora que la supervivencia in extremis son la ayuda y solidaridad de las personas para poder evolucionar. Me faltó, que se recreara un simulacro de alarma antiaérea para poder acercarme más al sufrimiento de estos supervivientes. Hay un video en una de las estancias que te dejarán por un momento desolada...