On its 150th anniversary, the University of Barcelona offers a new and restored panoramic view with the UB clock tower.
After a careful restoration, the Universitat opened for the whole city its most symbolic and sonorous part. It is the civil bell tower with its clock that chimes quarters and hours in the emblematic building of the Plaza Universitat.
Therefore, you can now participate in the guided tours of the west tower and with which the academic center seeks to commemorate its 150th anniversary this year. Best of all, from the top of the Clock Tower you can see the whole city.
UB’s 150th anniversary with restoration included
The restoration process of the west tower of the enclosure has been a painstaking and careful work. It had an investment of 210,000 euros, which made it possible to open it to the public and offer guided tours by reservation.
The bell tower was built in 1881 and is the work of Elies Rogent. It is very outstanding because it has an iron structure that has been preserved over the years. It is a four-armed belfry designed as an open dome in Renaissance style, which in turn, covers the bells.
This new lookout is 35 meters high and can be accessed by stairs.
In the first section, the visitor can appreciate the clockwork mechanism behind the large Roman numeral dial originally designed by the Cabanyach family of watchmakers. Years later it fell into disrepair and the one that can be seen today was made after the Civil War.
Continuing the ascent up the stairs, you reach a first balcony and finally, the roof of the tower where the 15-meter belfry and the bells are located.
On the bell is a Latin inscription: “Alumni et magistri academiae barcinonensis obtemperate sono”, which translates: “ students and professors of the academy of Barcelona, obey the sound”.
Some history
The inscription was forged in the foundry of Miquel Forcada, Vic, in 1880 during the reign of Alfonso XII.
The emblem was made to remind the academic community of the inauguration in 1872 of the first course of the new Universitat de Barcelona and that the Clock Tower would chime quarters and hours, with precision and rigor, to exalt the virtues of teaching and study.
The hour bell has a diameter of 110 centimeters and weighs 750 kg. On the other hand, the one in the quarters is 97 centimeters in diameter and weighs 500 kg.
The Vice Chancellor explained that during the 2022-23 academic year, dramatized representations of the era in which the university was born, photographic displays and thematic exhibitions will be on display on campus.
