King's Square

Plaça del Rey or Plaza del Rey is a precinct within the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, surrounded by Gothic and Renaissance buildings. It is accessed via Baixada de Santa Clara and Veguer streets. It is a monumental square which is accessed through a corner and inside the rectangular complex, you can see the Tinell on which stands the Mirador del Rey Martin tower, ordered to be built by King Pedro el Ceremonioso between the years 1359 and 1362, considered the tallest in its time, also the chapel of Santa Ágata from the year 1302, the work of King Jaime II of Aragon and his wife Blanca of Naples, and the Palacio de Lloctinent from the year 1549, commissioned to be built by King Carlos I.

Formerly, the current square was part of the royal palace, where the kings of Aragon and counts of Barcelona resided. Throughout history its uses have been diverse, for several centuries it was a market open to the people and during the reign of Juan I the first Bullfight of the citadel was held there. It is also known as the place where Christopher Columbus was received after his first voyage.

Thus, on the stairs at the back to the right, the Catholic Monarchs waited for the navigator to give an account of his expedition. In the same year of Columbus' voyage, King Ferdinand II had suffered a death attack on those same stairs. By then the square did not have the same appearance as it does today, it has been renovated on several occasions, discovering ruins of the Roman city in the basement, which is why since 1943 it has been the headquarters of the Museum of History of the City of Barcelona.

You can visit the Barcelona History Museum.