CaixaForum Girona, Girona

CaixaForum Girona is a cultural center managed by the "la Caixa" Foundation.

The building that houses CaixaForum Girona is a sample of Catalan civil architecture from the medieval period. Built on Carrer de Ciutadans – an ancient artery of the city and place of residence of noble families – historians defend the hypothesis that it is a 13th century palace, owned by one of the great families of medieval Girona, the Sitjars. On the lot where the building was built, there was an old mill that dates back to 1078. Some architectural elements from these periods have been preserved, such as the porch on the ground floor or the inner courtyard, and also decorative, like the trefoil windows on the first floor.

In the 15th century, a fire caused the total destruction of the palace and the loss of important documentary data, which made it difficult to reconstruct its history. It was rebuilt with limited resources and rebuilt using the remains of the palace itself. As for the owners, no trace of the Sitjar family is lost and over the following years the building passed through several hands, until, in the 18th century, Narcís Rigau turned it into an inn, for the reason that at that time Girona was an obligatory stop for the stagecoaches and carriages that went from Barcelona to France. It is precisely at this moment when the establishment begins to be known as the Golden Fountain .

Over time, the building has had a number of uses. Declared a National Monument in 1921 , the large spaces of the old palace have become the headquarters of several institutions, such as the Schola Orpheònica Gironina, the Ateneu de Girona , the Esperanto Association, the Chamber of Commerce or the Caixa d' Savings from the Generalitat de Catalunya.

After a long period of research and seven years of historicist restoration work, led by the architect Joan Maria de Ribot i de Balle , in October 1973 the Fontana d'Or opened its doors once again, transformed into a cultural center

In the spring of 2011, the historic building began a new phase, transformed into CaixaForum Girona.