The mansion that stands at number 17 on Avenida Tibidabo is currently the headquarters of the Mutua Universal. But its subsoil keeps one of the biggest secrets during the Civil War, an intact 50-square-meter bunker, a legacy from its past as the General Consulate of the Soviet Union in Barcelona. The bunker is not open to the public and, therefore, it is not planned to be able to visit it except on rare occasions, such as this one.
The building was built as a residence for the Andreu family. Dr. Salvador Andreu was an important pharmaceutical businessman from Barcelona who also stood out as a property developer. The urbanization of Tibidabo is due to him. When the Civil War broke out, the mansion was requisitioned to house the Soviet consulate, which in practice acted as an embassy once Spain and the USSR re-established in 1936 the diplomatic relations broken as a result of the 1917 revolution.
As consul, Stalin appointed a heavyweight of the revolution, Vladimir Antonov Ovseyenko, who was noted for leading the assault on the Tsar's Winter Palace. The persistent bombings registered on Barcelona in 1937, advised the construction of the bunker. With reinforced concrete walls 40 centimeters thick and two entrances through two heavy iron doors, it was designed so that the activity of the legation could be maintained for long periods of time. Thus, the refuge has several offices, latrines and, at the time, an autonomous electric generator from which part of the machinery can still be seen.
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