The Veger Reial Room

Point of interest (4) Plaça de Sant Iu. The Veger’s Palace. In front of the blazon of the Inquisition.

Here you can see the coat of arms of the Inquisition. The Inquisition existed in Barcelona from the 12^th to the 19^th century, it was a tribunal separate from the normal courts, with its own procedures and its particular Manichean language. Relaxation was the term applied to the maximum sentence imposed, and it was nothing more than a euphemism: being a religious authority, it could not kill, but it could demand that its prisoners be burned at the stake. In 1487 the Inquisition was located next to the royal palace.

Legend of the Veger Reial Room.

In the Royal Palace, there was a room where the walls could not resist lies. When the king doubted his subjects’ loyalty, he made them appear in this room, and he asked them to say what he believed was not true. If they lied, the walls and the roof moved; if the movement was significant, the roof was in danger of falling on top of the liar as punishment for falsehood. It is said that more than one stone from the roof fell for this reason. When the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition was established in the palace, it availed of this room, where members had the accused come to testify.