Barcelona has finally put an end to the open conflict with the group of former legionnaires who have occupied the former Sant Andreu Barracks and its 5,000 m2 annexed land since 2013. The Town Hall reported this Friday that the Brotherhood of Former Legionary Knights, which had refused for years to leave the premises, had been evicted by court order and without incident last July.
“The old Sant Andreu Barracks will be able to continue to move forward in their transformation thanks to the vacancy of the land,” noted the municipality. On the plots belonging to the Consortium of the Free Zone of Barcelona (CZFB) and transferred to the City Hall, it has been planned for years to build free and officially protected housing.
The dispute to recover this land dates back to 2013, when the CZFB decided to transfer it free of charge, both the property and the adjoining land of 5,000 m2, to the association of former legionnaires. This agreement was signed when the consortium had PP politician Jordi Cornet as special state delegate. From that point on, neighborhood groups launched a campaign to reclaim all space in the neighborhood.
With the arrival of Ada Colau in the municipal government in 2015, and her subsequent replacement by the socialists at the head of the CZFB, work intensified to expel the entities that occupied the space. Not only the Brotherhood, but also the Brotherhoods of Provisional Sergeants, Mutilated Knights and Former Legionary Knights. These two came to accept compensation to leave the premises, but the Brotherhood of Ancient Legionary Knights refused 12,600 euros and strengthened themselves.
Finally, in 2022, the legal process to evict the occupants began. The Court of First Instance 3 of Barcelona issued a judgment in favor of the expulsion in 2023, a judgment which was executed on July 3. Since then, the Town Hall has eliminated the symbology of these brotherhoods which remained on the facade and on other elements of the property.
