Via Laietana protestors gathered in Barcelona this weekend to demand the controversial police station be converted into a historical memory centre.
Approximately 200 demonstrators, according to Urban Guard estimates, concentrated outside the National Police headquarters on Sunday to call for the building’s transformation from operational police facility to democratic memorial space.
The protest was organised by multiple civic organisations including Òmnium Cultural, Amical de Mauthausen, and the Catalan Association of Former Political Prisoners of Francoism.
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Consequently, they argue the building represents a painful legacy that should be memorialised rather than remaining in active police use.
Via Laietana Building’s Dark History Under Scrutiny
The Spanish government initiated proceedings last July to designate the police headquarters as a “site of democratic memory.” However, memorial organisations insist this doesn’t go far enough. They demand the complete removal of police operations from premises where Franco’s police systematically tortured political dissidents.
Representatives from participating groups read a manifesto declaring that “crimes against humanity were committed” within the station’s walls. Furthermore, they’re calling for the building’s transfer to Catalan institutions alongside its archival documents. This would enable transformation into what organisers term a “space of memory, documentary archives and interpretation centre about impunity and torture.”
The demonstration featured powerful testimony from survivors like Maribel Ferrándiz, a former youth member of the Communist Party of Spain. She recounted being detained at age 17 in 1971 and subjected to 32 days of torture in the station’s cells. Her personal account highlighted the building’s role during the dictatorship’s repressive regime.
Historian César Lorenzo provided striking international context during his intervention. He questioned whether anyone would accept “the German police, however democratic, occupying the same building as the Gestapo during the Third Reich.” This comparison underscores the emotional weight behind campaigners’ demands for institutional accountability and historical recognition.
The protest reflects broader tensions around historical memory in contemporary Spain. Meanwhile, similar debates about repressive architecture continue across Catalonia, as seen in ongoing investigations into surveillance of Catalan figures. The Via Laietana campaign represents another chapter in Spain’s complex relationship with its authoritarian past.
Organisers maintain their position that active police use of the building perpetuates institutional continuity with the Francoist apparatus. Therefore, they argue complete architectural repurposing represents the only appropriate response to the site’s difficult heritage. The Via Laietana protest signals continuing public demand for tangible recognition of historical injustices within Barcelona’s urban landscape.
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