La Llagosta city council

The La Llagosta City Council (Ajuntament de la Llagosta) occupies a building whose history stretches far beyond its current role as the town hall. Standing at Plaça Antoni Baqué 1, the seat of local government began life as an old farmhouse known as Can Vaquer, or Can Baqué, with roots that go back to the early 14th century.

How do you get there?

La Llagosta sits in the Vallès Oriental region, in the province of Barcelona, and is one of the smallest municipalities in the area — the whole town covers barely 3 square kilometres. The easiest way in is by train: La Llagosta's Rodalies station is served by lines R2, R2N and R8, and the town hall itself is only a short walk from the platform. Local bus lines 201, 295, 320, 360 and N71 also stop near the station, making it a practical day trip from Barcelona or the surrounding Vallès towns.

What will you see?

Behind its administrative facade, the building carries a long and colourful past. Records trace it back to 1305, when it operated as a farmhouse called Mas Jover (some sources push the date to 1256). In 1440, Cebrià Jover sold the property to Guillem Vaquer, and it's from this family that the building takes its lasting name, Can Vaquer or Can Baqué. The first major expansion came in 1511, when a north wing was added and the farmhouse well was brought inside the building itself.

Over the centuries the house picked up a few nicknames of its own. In the 18th century it was known as "Casa dels frares" (House of the Friars), a nod to its ties with a nearby Franciscan convent. Later, during the Napoleonic Wars, it earned the name "Casa dels dimonis" (House of the Demons) — local legend holds that a grandmother living there fought off French cavalry using beehives, an episode still repeated around town.

Renovations in 1906 and 1960 gave the building the layout that survives today. The real turning point came in 1984, when the municipality of La Llagosta took ownership of the property under an urban planning agreement: later additions were cleared away, leaving the farmhouse standing alone, eventually surrounded by a green space. In 2011 it was listed as a Bé Cultural d'Interès Local (a site of local cultural interest), and in 2019 the façade was restored and structural safety work was carried out.

Today the building houses most of the town's municipal departments — culture, sports, education, equality, public health, employment and social services — along with the mayor's office, the finance department, the secretariat, and the local police.

When should you visit?

As a working town hall, the building isn't set up for indoor tours; visits are really about the façade and the surrounding square, best enjoyed on a weekday when the town's daily business is in full swing. The green area around the building makes for a quick, pleasant stop if you're exploring La Llagosta or the wider Vallès Oriental on a day out.

Frequently asked questions

Can you go inside La Llagosta's town hall? It's a working administrative office, not a museum, so interior access is limited to official business during opening hours. The façade and the square around it can be viewed freely at any time.

Where does the name Can Vaquer come from? From the Vaquer family, who bought the farmhouse in 1440 from its previous owners, the Jover family. The name has stuck ever since, even though the building now serves a completely different purpose.

Is the building officially protected as heritage? Yes — since 2011 it has been listed as a Bé Cultural d'Interès Local, a designation that recognises and protects its historical and architectural value.

How do you reach La Llagosta by public transport? The simplest option is the Rodalies train (lines R2, R2N and R8) to La Llagosta station, just a few minutes' walk from the town hall; several local bus routes also serve the area.