Llibreria Catalònia

Llibreria Catalònia was a bookshop and publishing house in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It opened on 8 May 1924 and closed in 2013. For eighty-two of its eighty-eight years it was based at Ronda de Sant Pere, 3, where it occupied 900 m² and held a stock of some 90,000 books. It was founded by Antoni López i Llausàs, Manuel Borràs de Quadras and Josep Maria Cruzet, with its first premises at number 17 on Plaça de Catalunya, on land later used for the Banco de España building. In 1931 it moved to Ronda de Sant Pere, where it remained until closure. Beyond retail, Llibreria Catalònia was also a publisher. It took over from Editorial Catalana (Biblioteca Literària), published the Biblioteca Univers collection — focused mainly on foreign writers — and created the Biblioteca Catalònia, dedicated to Catalan authors. It also issued magazines and other publications. Its long history and continuity made the bookshop/publisher one of the centres of the Catalan literary world. During the Franco dictatorship it was forced to change its name to Casa del Libro for political reasons and could not recover its original name until 1976. In 1979 it suffered a major fire that almost completely destroyed it. In 2013 the bookshop had to close because of falling sales. A McDonald's restaurant of the American chain opened in its place. Its perseverance and publishing commitment inspired a Chilean entrepreneur in 1997 to open a bookshop (later also a publisher) with the same name, Libreria Catalonia, in Santiago de Chile.

Llibreria Catalònia opened on 8 May 1924 in Barcelona. It was founded by Antoni López i Llausàs, Manuel Borràs de Quadras and Josep Maria Cruzet. Its first location was at number 17 on Plaça de Catalunya, on land where the Banco de España building was later constructed. In 1931 the bookshop moved to Ronda de Sant Pere, 3, where it would remain for the rest of its existence — eighty-two of its eighty-eight years. The premises covered 900 m² and held a stock of 90,000 books. In addition to being a bookshop, Llibreria Catalònia was a publishing house. It took over from Editorial Catalana (Biblioteca Literària). It published the Biblioteca Univers collection, focused mainly on foreign writers, and created the Biblioteca Catalònia, dedicated to Catalan authors. It also published magazines and other publications. Over the years, the history and continuity of the enterprise made the bookshop/publisher one of the centres of the Catalan literary world. During the Franco dictatorship, the bookshop was forced to change its name to Casa del Libro for political reasons. It could not recover its original name until 1976. In 1979 it suffered a major fire that almost completely destroyed it. Finally, in 2013, the bookshop had to close due to falling sales. A McDonald's restaurant of the American chain opened in its place. Its perseverance and publishing commitment inspired a Chilean entrepreneur in 1997 to open a bookshop (later also a publisher) with the same name, Libreria Catalonia, in Santiago de Chile.

• 2013

  Closed due to falling sales; a McDonald's opened in its place.

• 1979

  Suffered a major fire that almost completely destroyed it.

• 1976

  Recovered its original name after being forced to use Casa del Libro during the Franco dictatorship.

• 1931

  Moved to Ronda de Sant Pere, 3.

• 1924

  Opened on 8 May at Plaça de Catalunya, 17, Barcelona.

A major Catalan literary bookshop and publisher, a cultural centre in Barcelona.

• Biblioteca Univers collection

  A collection focused mainly on foreign writers.

• Biblioteca Catalònia collection

  A collection dedicated to Catalan authors.

1. 1Llibreria Catalòniaca.wikipedia.org
2. 2Llibreria Catalòniawikidata.org