The works to restore the garden maze in Parc del Laberint are now under way. This project will enable the recovery of the history and landscape of the garden maze, a space featuring one and a half kilometres of paths lined with cypress trees. The restoration works will involve planting a total of 2,211 new cypress trees with a height of between 150 cm and 175 cm, throughout the maze. As well as recovering the historic garden’s plantlife, the land drainage system will be improved and the ceramic tiles will be relocated to the perimeter of the parterres to help control surface run-off. A wooden substructure will also be constructed in the central block.

The works are expected to take 12 months to complete and have a budget of 1.32 million euros, 75% of which is funded by EU Next Generation funds, and the measures are included in the Destination Barcelona Sustainable Tourism Plan, a project financed by the NGEU funds. While the works are being carried out, the garden maze will be closed to the public, but the rest of the park will be open as usual. Once the works are completed, the maze will remain closed for a further few months to allow the new plants to settle.

The restoration of the garden maze is included in the Comprehensive Maintenance Plan (PMI) within the framework of the Pla Endreça. This is just one of the projects planned for the Horta neighbourhood in 2025, when comprehensive public space maintenance is slated to take a leap forward with stepped up maintenance, renovation and transformation initiatives in the city’s neighbourhoods.

This renovation project seeks to establish a series of general guidelines that will inform future maintenance interventions for the monument site to guarantee its protection and conservation. Furthermore, it strengthens the definition of the vegetation in a way that will facilitate its historical reading to improve the visitor experience and make it more interesting, comfortable, safe and enriching for the general public. Lastly, it will also enable the integration of the garden maze into the Parc del Laberint to highlight the unity of the space as a whole, its heritage and landscape value and the relationship with elements of the territory. The renovation also fulfils UNESCO’s recommendation in the Florence Charter to conserve historical gardens. This document recognises the historical gardens as monuments and the obligation to protect them.

The Parc del Laberint is one of the oldest historical gardens in the city. Work on its construction began in 1791, when Joan Antoni Desvalls i d’Ardena began the works to excavate and level the site in the Horta neighbourhood, with a view to constructing a garden of exceptional importance. The initial phase was completed in 1808. It is a unique garden maze in the city, and one of the few in the whole of Spain to date back so far, and with such a high heritage value.

It was in 1994 when the last extensive restoration works were carried out in the park and since then it has been managed as a museum garden, with controlled access. The garden is currently classified as a cultural asset of local interest (BCIL) and is in the process of becoming a cultural asset of national interest (BCIN).