After years of neglect, of works that were not finished or were finished badly, Barcelona has rediscovered a forgotten gem: the Hivernacle in the Ciutadella park. Yesterday was the first Saturday since the reopening of the space, which in the past hosted weddings, bonsai exhibitions, a restaurant and a bar, among other initiatives that failed to revive it.
The penultimate restoration, announced in 2015 with great fanfare by the City Council, was a fiasco and sgraffitos and ornaments were covered up. What should have been done then (or in the previous partial works, from 1985 and 1995) has been done now. At last this winter palace shines in all its splendor. In winter and all four seasons, because it will be open all year round.
The building will be another part of the so-called Ciutadella del Coneixement, which aims to turn the park and its surroundings into an important nucleus of science and innovation. The City Council has not explained in detail the role of the Hivernacle, but sometimes the trees cover the forest. There are two treasures here: the architectural and heritage, which has been improved, and the plant, which could be improved.
Enriqueta Martínez (who almost shares a name with a black legend of the Raval) was one of the hundreds of neighbors who participated in this festive and laudatory assault. More than the Stendhal syndrome, Mrs. Martínez was moved by the integrity of a Soleirolia soleirolii with an irresistible magnetism for her grandson Oriol. Despite everything, he gives the restaurant a 10. The visitors that this newspaper spoke to share the enthusiasm…, but some verses by Antonio Machado ask: “Are you thirsty or water on my way?”. And the press is eternally thirsty.
The Hivernacle has a central nave, open, and two side ones, glazed: the Picasso (closest to the promenade of the same name) and the Magnòlies (closest to the park). Some stains have already appeared. The Magnolias ship has a problem with pigeon droppings, which accumulate on the side facade. The central nave has only six palm trees, including two very young Chrysalidocarpus serpentinus, although this heals over time, unlike the information station toilet, which loses water.
Hopefully another problem that the reborn Hivernacle has highlighted was also a minor issue: Barcelona is a city of contrasts. On the one hand, palaces of glass and iron. On the other hand, a record number of people sleeping on the streets: at least 1,384, 12% more than last year, according to Arrels. Ciutadella Park is one of the zero points of homelessness in Catalonia. Very close to the Hivernacle you can see blankets, cardboard and tents (yesterday there was one next to the works of the Martorell Museum).
The palace hit rock bottom in the 1940s. Without plants, he said goodbye to the public. Since then it alternates between openings and closings. Maybe now his luck is changing. The original building suffered a hailstorm in 1887 which destroyed the glass and the garden, so it was demolished and a new, larger greenhouse was built, which had to be inaugurated with the Universal Exposition already in leave
Parcs i Jardins counts the public every hour and estimates that between 800 and 1,000 people pass by every day, with an upward trend. Selfies and another plague, tiktokers, have arrived with groups of people of all ages. A poster reminds that the capacity is limited. There are even dancers who come there to record their videos.
Not one specimen stands out among all the species in the Hivernacle. Some unique ones coexist with vines and ivy. Potos and Plectranthus verticillatus or money plant abound. Nature is unfair when it comes to baptizing her daughters. The bland flat grass in Catalan (the Soleirolia soleirolii that was saved from the little Oriole) is transformed in Spanish into colchón de novia or lágrimas de ángel. Other plants have no fortune in any language, such as hakethorn or helecho serrucho.
