Mercat del Born

Mercat del Born
Mercat del Born seen from Passatge de Mercantil
General information
Status	Under renovation
Type	Modernisme
Location	La Ribera, (Barcelona)
Coordinates	41°23′7.43″N 2°11′2.76″E / 41.3853972°N 2.1841000°E / 41.3853972; 2.1841000
Construction started	1873
Opening	1878
Owner	Ajuntament de Barcelona
Technical details
Floor area	8,000 m2 (86,111 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect	Antoni Rovira i Trias
Developer	Josep Fontserè i Mestre
Structural engineer	Josep Cornet i Mas

Mercat del Born is a former public market and one of the most important buildings in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain constructed with iron. Located in the lower and eastern side of the la Ribera neighborhood, it is the largest covered square in all of Europe and marked the start of Modernisme in Catalan architecture.

The market is rectangular, with two large domed, intersecting buildings, and 4 smaller naves. The structure is supported on cast iron columns with a flat roof covered in glazed tile.

The market was designed in 1873 by the municipal architect Antoni Rovira i Trias (who also designed the Mercat de Sant Antoni) and built between 1874 and 1878 by master builder Josep Fontserè i Mestre and engineer Josep Maria Cornet i Mas. The structure of cast iron columns and metallic horses was fabricated by La Maquinista Terrestre i Marítima.

The market came into operation in 1878 and was in use as the central market in town until 1971. At its closure, it was functioning as a wholesale market, but was replaced with the opening of Mercabarna in Zona Franca.

In recent years, the area immediately surrounding the market has been referred to as "el Born" or the Castilian variant "el Borne". A heavily gentrified area considered to be south of Carrer de la Princesa, it is full of restaurants, bar, and some small shops with many expatriates both living and socializing there. Despite this colloquial name given to the area (which is often applied to the entire district), it is still officially called la Ribera or Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera.

Restoration work started and stopped several times since the closure of market. Each successive city government had a different plan for the very large space. At some points, there were even plans to lease it to a retail establishment such as FNAC who had expressed interest.

After closure, it fell into a state of disrepair and was restored 1977 to 1981 under the direction of Pere Espinosa.

In 2002 work was started to install the Biblioteca Provincial de Barcelona, but during excavations, extensive ruins of the medieval city were discovered. It was then decided to preserve the ruins and move the library project to another location.