Barcelona Orders Review of Eight Municipal Cemeteries Due to Collapse Risk
Barcelona, February 15 – Barcelona City Council has initiated a comprehensive review of eight municipal cemeteries due to concerns over structural integrity and a history of maintenance issues. Cementiris de Barcelona S.A.U. (CBSA), the public company responsible for their management, will invest over half a million euros in a detailed auscultation service to detect any adverse conditions or instabilities that could lead to collapses, ensuring both public safety and the preservation of the city’s historical heritage.
The decision comes after repeated criticisms regarding the neglected state of some of Barcelona’s cemeteries, which are significant historical and patrimonial sites. CBSA, an entity within Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM), emphasized the necessity of monitoring these century-old structures. “The funerary constructions are very old, and it is necessary to control their structural state and be informed sufficiently in advance in case any of them could lead to a total collapse of the structure,” CBSA stated in the tender documents accessed by Metrópoli.
Continuity of a Vital Service
Eight years ago, Cementiris de Barcelona implemented a structural auscultation system across all nine of the city’s cemeteries to continuously monitor and ensure the safety of these ancient funerary constructions. This system provides crucial data on structural behavior, allowing for early detection of potential instabilities.
The auscultation service began in 2018 at Montjuïc Cemetery, founded in 1883, under a specific contract for that site. In subsequent years, the program was extended to the remaining eight cemeteries. “The tender that has now been launched corresponds to the continuation of the auscultation service in these enclosures, whose current contracts are about to expire,” internal sources from B:SM told Metrópoli. The program incorporates advanced auscultation techniques, instrumented measurement systems, and systematic inspection protocols to gather quantitative and verifiable data on the mechanical behavior of the structures.
Centuries-Old Enclosures Under Scrutiny
The cemeteries subject to the new contract include Collserola, Les Corts, Poblenou, Sants, Sant Andreu, Sarrià, Sant Gervasi, and Horta. With the exception of Collserola, all these facilities are over 100 years old and are undergoing an
