This great building of unpainted brick,
crowned with embattlements,
known to most as the Three Dragons Castle,
is an example of early Barcelona modernism.
The building is was built by Domènech i Montaner in 1887
as a café-restaurant for the 1888 Universal Exhibition.
Since 1920 it has housed the Zoology Museum.
It preceded the famous Amsterdam Stock Exchange by Berlage (1898)
in its use of construction materials:
exposed brick and undisguised iron structures.
The building is also important for the history of art,
because it is the site of the workshops where in the 19th century
old artisan techniques in ceramics and iron-working were studied for the first time.
This activity led to a resurgence in the decorative arts in Catalonia.
The coats of arms are all invented
and the whole building exudes a teasing, playful air.
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