Our walking tour of Barcelona stopped here and we learned a bit more about Barcelona's more recent history. Of course, anything with an eternal flame is generally going to be poignant but this was pretty deep.
The plaza itself is mostly quiet throughout the year but it gets busy around September 11, the anniversary of the National Day of Catalonia, which was the day that Catalonia fell during the War of Spanish Succession in 1714 after over a year long siege.
The original cemetery was here where Barcelona's defenders were buried in a mass grace and then it was paved over. Today, there's a big red arch with the flame on it.
The text along the wall is in Catalan. Our tour guide said that it's more impressive that way because it rhymes. In English, "Not one traitor is buried in the Fossar de les Moreras, even when our flags are lost it will be an urn of honor." read more