La Boqueria is the oldest market in Barcelona (the first historical reference is in 1217). It started when some merchants settled at the gates of the old town of Barcelona in order to avoid paying taxes. Most of them where Jewish butchers and sold “boc” meat (goat).
In 1470 a pig market was held at the market which was called “Mercadi Bornet” at that time. Later it was until 1794 just known as Mercat de la Palla (straw market).
The market was moved several times and in the end it was moved to Las Ramblas and in 1826 legally recognized. In 1835 they decided to build an official structure for the market. On 19th of March 1840 the local market was opened, which is also the Saint Joseph´s day, and that’s why the market is also called Mercat de Sant Josep. The roof we can see today was build in 1914 for the fish market which started in 1911.
The today’s name “La Boqueria” probably evolved from “boc“.
Nowadays the people visit the market because of its high-quality food and the diversity of the products. It is one of the largest and most famous markets in Europe.
feelfreetours 