Barcelona's amazing history is still very visible in and around the city centre or "Cuitat Vella" (old town), the old boundary walls of Sant Madrona on Parallel and the Gothic architecture around the city, but perhaps the greatest sign of the age of "Barcino" as the Roman's named the city, is the church of "Sant Pau del Camp" - Saint Paul of the countryside - which is the oldest church in Barcelona and the only one to have survived (more or less) in tact after the Spanish civil war.
Visitors to Barcelona will be more than familiar with the famous Las Ramblas street - the heartbeat of the centre of the city and one of the un-missable attractions. This used to be a river and separated the Gothic Quarter from the rest of the countryside, now the multi-cultural Raval district. A wander into the Raval offers some great attractions with Gaudi's Palau Güell just off las ramblas on Nou de la Rambla, and the Modern art museums in the north, but the real beauty is the Sant Pau del Camp church. Part of the beauty id the simplicity - the church is a typical Roman stone walled church and looks exactly the same on the inside as on the outside. No gold, no icons, no stained glass windows - Sant Pau del Camp takes you back a couple of centuries. A visit to the cloister gives even more history with the damp smell and the imposing square shaped patio - built soon after the main structure.
Details of the origins of Sant Pau del Camp are sketchy at best. According to the official pamphlet given to visitors, Earl Guifrë Borell founded the church between 879 and 911 according to his gravestone found early 1596 - currently attached to the left had wall of the church. The church suffered looting in 985 by Al-Mansur's troops and has also seen the administration change hands various times until been declared a national monument in 1879.
What is however plain to see is that Sant Pau del Camp is one of the most simple yet most beautiful churches that Barcelona has to offer.
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