A little history of Le Merce:
Mercè - the patron saint of Barcelona
Legend has it that on the night of 24 September 1218, the Virgin of Mercy appeared to King James I of Aragon, Saint Peter Nolasco and Saint Raymond of Penyafort at the same time. She gave all three of them the order to liberate the Christian monks, who were held captive by the Saracens, as the Moorish occupants were called. It was a time of religious wars.
Centuries later, in 1687, the Virgin of Mercy shielded Barcelona from a plague of locusts and freed the city of pestilence. The city council made her the patron saint of Barcelona, which was not recognized by the pope, though. The decision was only ratified two centuries later in 1868. During the Spanish Wars of Succession, she was handed the command over the city's defence in a hopeless situation in 1714. On 11 September 1714, Barcelona was taken by the Spanish and French Bourbon armies.
The image of the patron saint is now kept in the Mercè Basilica at the Plaça de la Mercè (Metro: L3, Drassanes).
The image of the patron saint is now kept in the Mercè Basilica at the Plaça de la Mercè (Metro: L3, Drassanes).
The origins of the festival
After pope Pius IX had declared the Virgin of Mercy the patron saint of the city, festivities in her honour were started each year in September. On an initiative of the politician Francesc Cambó, the festivities were turned into a major festival in 1902, which still serves as a model for almost all city or town festivals in Catalonia. The history of the festival la Mercè is full of ups and downs, from times of the Civil War and the era of Franco.
The Festes de la Mercè today
With the establishment of democracy after the time of Franco, La Mercè became the most popular festival of the city thanks to the cooperation of organisations from all parts of the city. Today, several hundred events take place in the entire city area with the general topic of Mediterranean culture. The events show that the festival Le Mercè lives up both to the tradition and modern art and culture.
Our Adventure
After the Gigantes we went to the Castellers - the human towers. This event is held in Palaca Jaume, each team tries to build the highest fastest tower. The Barcelona record is 10 stories.
There were free concerts that we attended that were held throughout the city in the evening, but the most exciting event was the Correfoc – the procession of the fire-breathing dragons. The people were dressed as devils and dragons and were running around with very large fire works and aiming them at the crowed. Christopher got 2 burns on his neck and a hole in one of his favorite shirts. We will be more prepared for this event next year!
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| Calm before the chaos |
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| Dragons en route |
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| Dragon not spitting fire yet... |
