The night watchman

Point of interest (11) Plaça de Santa Maria del Mar.

In the 14^th century, the citizens of this neighbourhood built the church of Holy Mary of the Sea. It is documented that in the 10^th century there was a small church dedicated to Holy Mary. All corporations of the neighbourhood collaborated on the construction. On the main doors of the church you can see a reproduction of porters and master builders.

The building was finished in a very short period of time, in less than fifty years, and because of that it is a very pure Gothic style. Allow your gaze to relax in this corner of the city, focusing on the walls of this construction.

The night watchman “El Sereno”.

The job of the night watchman disappeared during the last third of the 20^th century. He was a city employee in charge of keeping order on the streets and providing service to the citizens in the dark hours of the night.

Its origin in Barcelona dates back to the end of the 18^th century. Although in Roman times, was already a kind of night watchman called “night triumvirs”.

His functions were diverse, although they basically consisted of opening the doorways of the houses to the residents who did not have a key and collaborating with the other forces of order.

The first people who carried out this function in Barcelona were paid by the residents. Who established agreements with them to guarantee security at night. Subsequently, the job of night watchman became a municipal public service.

These first night watchmen carried an oil lantern, which later became carbide, a cape and a large cane. They called out every half hour, announcing the time and the weather to the neighbourhood. They worked from 10 pm until 5 am, and another characteristic element was that they carried all the keys to the area.

The name “Sereno” comes from the constant repetition of that word when they themselves announced the state of the weather and the sky, which was generally serene (serene, calm). They did it at intervals of half an hour.

The night watchmen with the usual keys hanging near the church of Santa María del Mar were so popular. They used a wooden club with a metal end that allowed them to hit the ground to alert of their presence. The first wooden whistles were later replaced by metallic ones. Their functions were to notify the fire brigade if there was a fire, call a doctor or a midwife, chase thieves or calm down people in drunken fights.