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The Order of Saint John of Jerusalem was located in Catalonia and in the counties of Roussillon and Cerdagne, as well as in Majorca. It disappeared in 1851 with its dissolution in Spain.
In Barcelona, ??the monastery of San Juan de Jerusalén was located in the old Riera de San Juan, to which it gave its name. It was founded on the outskirts of the wall, on the north side, in 1205. It had the acquiescence of King Pedro II of Aragon, and the approval of the Bishop of Barcelona, ??Berenguer de Palou I, and by the knights of the royal and military order of Saint John of Jerusalem, later Saint John of Malta.
In principle, it was the Hospital of San Juan de Jerusalén, which the commanders of the order came to occupy, who reached the agreement in the general assembly to found the nuns’ convent of Nuestra Señora del Alguaire, near Lleida. Subsequently, the grand master ordered, on April 9, 1669, that they be transferred to the convent or to the house of the Commandery of the Riera de San Juan.
The church of the monastery had one nave, where the paintings of the main altar stood out, as well as a magnificent marble pantheon from Venice, on whose tomb Fray José de Villalonga Saportella, grand prior of the Order, represented a body in war dress. in Catalonia, buried in 1734.
Pau Claris Casademunt, politician and ecclesiastical man, canon of the Seu d’Urgeli and 94th president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, which in 1641 proclaimed the Catalan Republic, was also buried in a secret place in the church.
With the events that began on July 25, 1835, the nuns were forced to leave the monastery, since the building was destined for the Academy of Good Letters and Economic Society of friends of the country and the Public Library and Provincial Museum of Antiquities. .
In 1859 the nuns returned, the Academy of Good Letters moved to a room in the Ateneo and the Society of Friends of the Country was installed on the second floor of the Diputación Palace.
In 1869 the nuns were definitively expelled. The Provincial Library was then transferred, with more than 50,000 volumes, to the new University, coming from most of the convents demolished due to the confiscation decreed by the Government, which was completed on February 18.
On Friday, April 1, 1881, La Vanguardia published on its front page:
“The General Archive of Protocols of the Notarial District of Barcelona (Provincial Library), which was established on the 2nd floor of the convent of San Juan de Jerusalén, was moved to Elisabets 3 bajos street”.
On October 4, 1882, La Vanguardia, on its front page gave the following news:
“Report the opinion of the Development Commission regarding the land from the convent of San Juan de Jerusalén, so that the City Council renounces to continue the litigation that it had been holding, in which it pays the monthly amount of 6,000 pesetas as rent, without prejudging the issue, nor waiving any right”.
In 1882 the demolition of the convent began, except for the chapel that was open until 1886, when it was demolished due to the massive remodeling of streets and buildings that prevented the construction of Via Layetana.
The lintel of the portal and the coat of arms of Prior José de Villalonga are placed on the back door of the church of Santa Madrona.
