Security bars on windows

[JustJack]

I've always wondered about the security bars you frequently see on the windows of homes in Spain. The obvious purpose is security, but they are so ubiquitous, including on the windows of houses in the smallest villages where surely there isn't an ongoing problem of people breaking into homes via the windows.

I'm inclined to think they've simply become an architectural style, and they are put there more for stylistic reasons than the need for safety, but what do I know.

I haven't had an opportunity to discuss it with a Spaniard yet. Other Europeans didn't seem to know, but agreed they don't
do the same thing in their countries.

Anyone else notice the omnipresent barred windows and wondered why they are everywhere?

 

[SYates]

One explanation I have heard here in Spain is that they allow for safe ventilation when the weather is hot - you can leave the windows open without the danger that somebody climbs in and steals something. Also, apparently some insurance companies requiere them.
BC SY

 

[Pelegrin]

I've always wondered about the security bars you frequently see on the windows of homes in Spain. The obvious purpose is security, but they are so ubiquitous, including on the windows of houses in the smallest villages where surely there isn't an ongoing problem of people breaking into homes via the windows.

I'm inclined to think they've simply become an architectural style, and they are put there more for stylistic reasons than the need for safety, but what do I know.

I haven't had an opportunity to discuss it with a Spaniard yet. Other Europeans didn't seem to know, but agreed they don't
do the same thing in their countries.

Anyone else notice the omnipresent barred windows and wondered why they are everywhere?

No tradition of bars in Galicia. You can see on the Caminos most windows without bars in rural Galicia. In Andalucia bars are sometimes decorative and in the past had to do more with "defense of honor" than with security.

 

[SYates]

No tradition of bars in Galicia. You can see on the Caminos most windows without bars in rural Galicia. In Andalucia bars are sometimes decorative and in the past had to do more with "defense of honor" than with security.

In rural Galicia perhaps not so much, but here in Santiago there are plenty of them.
BC SY

 

[Pelegrin]

In rural Galicia perhaps not so much, but here in Santiago there are plenty of them.
BC SY

Galician cities have some traditions that are not Galicians starting with the language.

 

[Vacajoe]

The Spain of today was not the Spain of the past. Securing one’s home through various wars and hard times in the 1900s was critical.

And while it seems fairly safe now, there has always existed vagrants and criminals in search of ways to support their lifestyles. Building security is especially important when some of these homes stand semi abandoned for most of the year if not for years on end. The ones without bars often have very durable wooden shutters or doors to secure them.

 

[Pelegrin]

The Spain of today was not the Spain of the past. Securing one’s home through various wars and hard times in the 1900s was critical.

And while it seems fairly safe now, there has always existed vagrants and criminals in search of ways to support their lifestyles. Building security is especially important when some of these homes stand semi abandoned for most of the year if not for years on end. The ones without bars often have very durable wooden shutters or doors to secure them.

Fifty years ago there were stil many villages in Galicia without a road so no possibility of criminals accessing by car. People left houses open when they went out to work in their fields. And no problems with " defense of honor" like in Andalucia ( boyfriend coming in), so no bars in rural Galicia.

 

[wisepilgrim]

No tradition of bars in Galicia. You can see on the Caminos most windows without bars in rural Galicia. In Andalucia bars are sometimes decorative and in the past had to do more with "defense of honor" than with security.

I cannot speak to their purpose, but want to say that they absolutely do exist in rural Galicia. Every house in my very small village has them, down to the smallest of openings that would not allow for a human to pass through. They are often removed by renovations, but they are ubiquitous all the same.

 

[Pelegrin]

I cannot speak to their purpose, but want to say that they absolutely do exist in rural Galicia. Every house in my very small village has them, down to the smallest of openings that would not allow for a human to pass through. They are often removed by renovations, but they are ubiquitous all the same.

I am from rural Galicia (concello de Aranga Coruña). Mine and concellos around like Irixoa, Monfero, Guitiriz don' t have bars except a few ones. Don' t forget dogs.

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

I've always wondered about the security bars you frequently see on the windows of homes in Spain. The obvious purpose is security, but they are so ubiquitous, including on the windows of houses in the smallest villages where surely there isn't an ongoing problem of people breaking into homes via the windows.

I'm inclined to think they've simply become an architectural style, and they are put there more for stylistic reasons than the need for safety, but what do I know.

I haven't had an opportunity to discuss it with a Spaniard yet. Other Europeans didn't seem to know, but agreed they don't
do the same thing in their countries.

Anyone else notice the omnipresent barred windows and wondered why they are everywhere?

Another thought for all Spanish windows and doors is that the Caminos we travel are over trails over 1,000 years old. So buildings can be much older and windows and doors are usually replaced when needed. The timing of that, "need," may take a very long time.

Second, in those olden times, there was no immediate access to Garda as there is today. One's home, therefore, was not only their castle but also their fortress. This will also explain the substantial main doors we see throughout Europe. Sound logical?

 

[t2andreo]

One explanation I have heard here in Spain is that they allow for safe ventilation when the weather is hot - you can leave the windows open without the danger that somebody climbs in and steals something. Also, apparently some insurance companies requiere them.
BC SY

Further to this point, which is very good, is that mosquiteros de ventanas or "mosquiteros" or window screens are not commonly seen across Spain. So, if you wanted ventilation during periods of warm weather, and wanted to keep humans out of first-floor rooms, bars on windows would be the next best thing.

The presence of vertical bars on ground floor windows does not, in and of itself, indicate a crime problem. The architectural feature is to restrict unauthorized access to ground floor spaces from the outside. I view it as a ventilation architectural feature, in lieu of screens.

The bars, will not however, keep the neighborhood cats from hopping up and into your room. I have experienced this personally. I am a cat person, but it still scared the living (sleeping) daylights out of me.

Hope this helps.

Tom

 

[JustJack]

Another thought for all Spanish windows and doors is that the Caminos we travel are over trails over 1,000 years old. So buildings can be much older and windows and doors are usually replaced when needed. The timing of that, "need," may take a very long time.

Second, in those olden times, there was no immediate access to Garda as there is today. One's home, therefore, was not only their castle but also their fortress. This will also explain the substantial main doors we see throughout Europe. Sound logical?

I agree there's a historical element to this, but I see the bars on buildings that are relatively modern as well.

 

[JustJack]

Thanks all for your thoughts. This has reinforced my opinion that the bars are more of an architectural style feature than a safety feature in modern times. No other reason really explains it fully. I just find it interesting, because the practice of putting bars on windows didn't seem to catch on in any of the other European countries to the same degree. Wonder if it's a Moorish influence.

 

[Rick Davidson]

I've always wondered about the security bars you frequently see on the windows of homes in Spain. The obvious purpose is security, but they are so ubiquitous, including on the windows of houses in the smallest villages where surely there isn't an ongoing problem of people breaking into homes via the windows.

I'm inclined to think they've simply become an architectural style, and they are put there more for stylistic reasons than the need for safety, but what do I know.

I haven't had an opportunity to discuss it with a Spaniard yet. Other Europeans didn't seem to know, but agreed they don't
do the same thing in their countries.

Anyone else notice the omnipresent barred windows and wondered why they are everywhere?

No…never questioned security bars but much of Europe has had roll up security screens for a long time. This seems almost universal on new construction. The screens completely cover the window when rolled down. Window and even front door security is also almost universal in much of Asia.

 

[Yoyo]

My concern wouldn't be so much to keep the bad guys out but to get out myself in case of an emergency like a fire, when exiting through the door is impossible...

 

[ShoshTrvls]

Does it have anything to do with squatter rights? My understanding is that if a squatter remains in your home for more than 48 hours you need a court order to have that person removed, and it usually takes at least 6 months to obtain one. Bars on windows makes it less likely that you will lose your home because you went away for the weekend.

 

[JustOneGuy]

I've always wondered about the security bars you frequently see on the windows of homes in Spain. The obvious purpose is security, but they are so ubiquitous, including on the windows of houses in the smallest villages where surely there isn't an ongoing problem of people breaking into homes via the windows.

I'm inclined to think they've simply become an architectural style, and they are put there more for stylistic reasons than the need for safety, but what do I know.

I haven't had an opportunity to discuss it with a Spaniard yet. Other Europeans didn't seem to know, but agreed they don't
do the same thing in their countries.

Anyone else notice the omnipresent barred windows and wondered why they are everywhere?

as has already been mentioned by many, in at least most of the southern European countries and elsewhere (I would venture quais “in all Latin countries”) people use security devices on doors and windows. In Italy few people live without a security door in big cities, though the countryside is different.

The reasons may be many. The Okkupa (squatters) problem in Spain is really felt, often exaggerated if you look at the statistics: e.g. a few cases in Galicia and rural areas. Here were I live is yet unknown de facto.

In Italy, petty crime (muggings, house or car thefts) is more prevalent than in other countries, although violent attacks on random persons are extremely rarer than elsewhere (I am talking about statistics and studies. A legal friend who worked at the university as a researcher dealt with this very topic all his life).

Then there is a cultural fact. In a city where everyone has a security door few people would dare to sleep in a house where all they need to do is smash a pane of glass or kick the door in, because obviously that would become the weak link in the chain.

Either way, if you notice often in rural areas like in Galicia you see isolated houses with their shutters half up. I was told that it is customary to give the impression that the house is inhabited, even if no one is there much of the year. And you often see light bulbs randomly turned on or left on night and day.

It is another example of customs to which everyone conforms even if they are questionable. But Spain, except for big cities like Barcelona is a very safe country in general.

For me at first, when I first moved to the U.S., it was literally shocking to think that in such dangerous country it was normal to live in a house without a security door. My wife was terrified. Then we got used to it, and nothing ever happened to me there or in cities like Sydney or the UK where I lived, usually in semi-detached cottages or terraces.

I have only had two things stolen in my life: two car radios in the car parked in front of the house. In both cases in Cardiff many years ago (in one they found the thief because the daughter of the neighbor across the street had a stalker and put a camera to record everything... quite an unlucky, and stupid thief: the guy went to the police interview with the very same jumper he used that night ). Never a single problem in a city like Rome where I spent more or less 35 years. Or in Santiago de Chile, considered very dangerous (7 years).

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

I agree there's a historical element to this, but I see the bars on buildings that are relatively modern as well.

…and the requirement for them continues.

 

[JustJack]

…and the requirement for them continues.

Requirement?

 

[JustOneGuy]

Thanks all for your thoughts. This has reinforced my opinion that the bars are more of an architectural style feature than a safety feature in modern times. No other reason really explains it fully.

this is interesting. Where are you from Jack (if I may ask, of course)? I said that it looks interesting because it shows how much the native culture affects our feelings of being safe or unsafe.

 

[JustJack]

this is interesting. Where are you from Jack (if I may ask, of course)? I said that it looks interesting because it shows how much the native culture affects our feelings of being safe or unsafe.

Vancouver Canada.

And to be clear, feelings of safety was never my point. I think this is more of a discussion about architectural styles of different countries versus safety. I haven't checked, but I suspect the crime rates in Spain are comparable to Canada, which is to say it's not a pressing concern.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

I get the bars. What I don't understand is why they don't have screens to keep the bugs out.

 

[JustOneGuy]

Vancouver Canada.

And to be clear, feelings of safety was never my point. I think this is more of a discussion about architectural styles of different countries versus safety. I haven't checked, but I suspect the crime rates in Spain are comparable to Canada, which is to say it's not a pressing concern.

Thanks for the answer.

As I wrote in my other comment in this thread, as an Italian, living in a house at street level, with no fence, and WITHOUT bars and a security door in the US was quite shocking at the beginning. I have been living in many countries all over the world and learnt that feeling secure at home is a very subjective issue. I live in a safe area of Spain now (Canary Island), in a ground floor property, and leave the window open every single night of the year.

In Italy we have the same tendences. For example, I spent some of my youth in this house in the countryside, built in the XIX century:



I guess it looks like a prison to you. But for many southern europeans it's not just an embellishment, it's just they feel safer behind those bars.

p.s. Apparently Canada is much safer than Spain, on average, obviously: Barcelona and were I live are completely different in terms of security:


(lower GOCI is better). From https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/crime-rate-by-country

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

Thanks all for your thoughts. This has reinforced my opinion that the bars are more of an architectural style feature than a safety feature in modern times. No other reason really explains it fully. I just find it interesting, because the practice of putting bars on windows didn't seem to catch on in any of the other European countries to the same degree. Wonder if it's a Moorish influence.

They are very common in much of Portugal as well, and during my past travels, saw them a lot in Mexico, too! So I suspect an Iberian feature (passed along in earlier centuries to Iberian colonies) that quite likely is Islamic heritage.