Llotja de Mar

Built in the 14th century on the initiative of the Consulate of the Sea and the Council of One Hundred, the Llotja de Mar was the meeting place for the city's merchants and quickly became the temple of business in Barcelona. Today, its architecture preserves elements of Catalan Gothic, neoclassicism and modernism, the result of the reforms it has undergone in recent centuries.

The Consuls' Hall and the Contracting Hall were built in the same period; they are the oldest part of the building, in other words, the Gothic hub of Llotja de Mar.

When the Llotja was built, more than six hundred years ago, ships would anchor off the beach in front of the land where it was decided to establish the building. The coastline at the time was not the same as now. Around two hundred metres into the sea was the Maians islet, joined to the mainland by a narrow strip of land that the people at that time called “lo Morro”.

This sheltered space acted as a port and was where ships anchored. The vessels loaded and unloaded people and goods at the beach.