The courtyard or verger of the former Palau Reial Major
(Main Royal Palace)

During the first half of the 20th century the buildings around the cathedral underwent a reconstruction programme, including much of what is today the Museu Frederic Marès. Behind this reconstruction was the desire to evoke the mediaeval setting more than a precise archaeological restoration. Since then, this area has been known as the Gothic Quarter.

The Museu Frederic Marès is the sum of several buildings from different periods, and it occupies part of the former Palau Reial Major (Main Royal Palace), the Barcelona residence of the monarchs from the Crown of Catalonia-Aragon from the 10th to the 15th centuries.

With the passage of time, the royal complex gradually transformed and came to serve new purposes, such as the Tribunal of the Inquisition in the late 15th century – the coat of arms still remains on the Museum’s façade on Comtes Street – then the Santa Clara Convent starting in 1718, and finally private homes in the 19th century.

This courtyard or verger is a re-creation what the former palace’s vegetable patch-garden used to be like, and just as several architectural elements from other buildings were used in the  rest of the Museum building.