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City of Barcelona
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(In details) 		Coat of arms
File:Coat of arms of Barcelona.jpg
(In details)

Barcelona within Barcelonès
Province Barcelona
Country Spain
Postal code 08080
Coordinates
 - Latitude:
 - Longitude:
41°23' N
2º11' E
Altitude 12 m
Area 100.4 km²
Distances 500 km to Madrid
Population
 - Total (2005)
 - Density (2005)
1,593,075 inhab.
15,869 inhab./km²
Demonym Barceloní/barcelonina (Catalan)


barcelonés/barcelonesa (Spanish)

Rivers Llobregat
Besòs
Mayor (2003- ) Joan Clos (Partit Socialista de Catalunya)
Local council website www.bcn.cat

Barcelona is the capital city of Catalonia, an autonomous community in Spain. It is located in the comarca of Barcelonès, along the Mediterranean coast (41°23′N 2°11′E / 41.383°N 2.183°E / 41.383; 2.183) between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs. It is 160 km (100 mi) south of the Pyrenees mountain range. The population of the city proper is 1,593,075 (est. 2005), while the population of the metropolitan area is 4,686,701 (est. 2005). Population of the province of Barcelona is 5,226,354 (est. 2005), although this only covers 7,733 km² (3,000 mi²) around the city. The mayor of Barcelona is Joan Clos.

History of Barcelona

Legend attributes the Carthaginian foundation of Barcino to Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal. About 15 BC, Romans redrew the town as a castrum (a Roman military camp) centred on the "Mons Taber", a little hill nearby the contemporary city hall (Plaça de Sant Jaume). The Roman Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino was outshone by the province's capital Tarragona but some important Roman remains are exposed under the Plaça del Rei, entrance by the city museum, Museu d'Història de la Ciutat and the typically Roman grid-planning is still visible today on the map of the historical centre, the Barri Gótic ("Gothic Quarter"). Some remaining fragments of the Roman walls have been incorporated in the cathedral butted up against them [1]; the basilica La Seu is credited to have been founded in 343. The city was conquered by the Visigoths in the early 5th century, by the Moors in the early 8th century, reconquered from the emir in 801 by Charlemagne's son Louis who made Barcelona the seat of Carolingian "Spanish Marches" (Marca Hispanica), a buffer zone ruled by the Count of Barcelona. Barcelona was still a Christian frontier territory when it was sacked by Al-Mansur in 985.

File:Barcelonaharbour.jpg
Barcelona seen from the cableway over the harbour

The counts of Barcelona became increasingly independent and expanded their territory to include all of Catalonia, later formed the Crown of Aragon who conquered many overseas possessions, ruling the western Mediterranean Sea with outlying territories as far as Athens in the 13th century. The forging of a dynastic link between the Crown of Aragon and Castile marked the beginning of Barcelona's decline.

The city is home to the University of Barcelona, founded in 1450.

The city was devastated after the Catalonian Republic of 1640 - 1652, and again during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714. King Philip V of Spain demolished half of the merchants' quarter (La Ribera) to build a military citadel, as a way of both punishing and controlling the rebel city. Official use of Catalan language was forbidden, and the University withdrew.

Barcelona and the province of Catalonia were annexed by the French Empire of Napoleon after he invaded Spain and put his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. It was returned to Spain after Napoleon's downfall.

During the 19th century, Barcelona grew with the industrial revolution and the introduction of many new industries. During a period of weaker control by the Madrid authorities, the medieval walls were torn down and the citadel of La Ribera was converted into an urban park: the modern Parc de la Ciutadella, site of the 1888 "Universal Exposition" (World's Fair). The exposition also left behind the Arc de Triomf and the Museu de Zoologia (a building originally used during the fair as a cafe-restaurant). The fields that had surrounded the artificially constricted city became the Eixample ("extension"), a bustling modern city surrounding the old.

The beginning of the 20th century marked Barcelona's resurgence, while Catalan nationalists clamoured for political autonomy and greater freedom of cultural expression.

Barcelona was a stronghold for the anarchist cause -anarchist opposition to the call-up of reservists led to the city's Tragic Week in 1909- siding with the Republic's democratically elected government during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). It was overrun by Francisco Franco's forces in 1939, which ushered in a reign of cultural and political repression that lasted decades.

The protest movement of the 1970s and the demise of the dictatorship turned Barcelona into a centre of cultural vitality, enabling it to become the thriving city it is today. While it may still be the second city of Spain, it has a charm and air that is unique and prized. A decline in the inner city population and displacement towards the outskirts and beyond raises the threat of urban sprawl.

The city has been the focus of the revival of the Catalan language. Despite massive immigration of Castilian speakers from other parts of Spain in the second half of the 20th century, there has been notable success in the increased use of Catalan in everyday life.

Barcelona was the site of the 1992 Summer Olympics. The largest event held in the city since the '92 Summer Olympics was the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures that was held between May and September, lasting a marathon 141 days.

Famous people who have lived and worked in Barcelona include: Master Painters Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí, Antoni Tàpies, Enrique Tábara, Eugenio Granell, Antonio Saura, Manolo Millares, Juan Villafuerte; Architect Antoni Gaudí.

See also: List of Counts of Barcelona

Events

Demographics

Demographic evolution, 1900-2005, according to the Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadística

The second largest city in Spain, Barcelona numbers around 230,942 immigrants, many of them from Spain's former possessions in Latin America, particularly Ecuador, Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia. There are large numbers of Moroccan, Pakistani, and Eastern European immigrants, especially from Romania and the Ukraine.

Recent monthly protests by African, Indian, Latin American, Pakistani, and other immigrants demanding Spanish citizenship have created outcrys for immigration reform. Various catalan anarchist organizations like the CGT have helped organize the manifestacions or protests that might lead from Plaça Universitat through Plaça Catalunya on through La Rambla. Common chants have been "Fora la Ley la Extranjenria" meaning in catalan that the Alien is outside the law, or "Papeles Para Todo" which means papers for all. This is to raise awareness of the thousands of morrocans, pakistanis, and nigerians working and living in a shadow economy of crowded flats in immigrant neighborhoods, a sometimes accepting, sometimes hateful society devided on the controversial topic of immigration because of crime and unemployment, and constant fear of being deported back to a repressive home country. Many of the immigrants are a visible presence to the barcelona tourist, who will see them selling beer, hash, or sex late at night around la Rambla and the surrounding neighborhoods like El Raval and Barri Gotic. While catalan participation at protests for granting anmesty to immigrants is low, the Muslim association of catalunya recieved a roar of applause for their participation in the protest against the Iraq war a year after the invasion. While division through racism amoungst immigrants and catalans is visible on the beach, in the street, and in the media, they all come togather as one every sunday in park ciutadella to do capoira in the sun, dance in drum circles, and talk about culture.

Geography

Barcelona as seen from space.

To its north, the city borders the Besòs river and the municipalities of Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Sant Adrià de Besòs; to the south it borders L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Esplugues de Llobregat; to the east is the Mediterranean; and to the west are Montcada i Reixach and Sant Cugat del Vallès.

Tibidabo, a prominent peak to the northwest, is visible from much of the city.

Barcelona is divided into several districts. The following list favours Catalan-language names over Spanish-language names; as of 2004, they are the most commonly used and the only official ones:

  • Ciutat Vella (old city): El Raval (also known as the Barri Xinès), the Barri Gòtic, and the Barri de la Ribera.
  • The Eixample: Sant Antoni, Esquerra de l'Eixample ("the left side of the Eixample" with the sea at your back), Dreta de l'Eixample ("the right side of the Eixample"), Barri de la Sagrada Família
  • Sants - Montjuïc: Can Tunis, Montjuïc, Hostafrancs, Sants, Poble Sec
  • Les Corts
  • Sarrià - Sant Gervasi: Pedralbes, Sarrià, Sant Gervasi, Vallvidrera
  • Gràcia: Vallcarca, Barri de la Salut, Gràcia, El Camp d'en Grassot
  • Horta-Guinardó: Horta, El Carmel, La Teixonera, El Guinardó
  • Nou Barris: Can Peguera, Porta, Canyelles, Ciutat Meridiana, Guineueta, Prosperitat, Vallbona, Verdum, Vilapicina, Roquetes, Trinitat Vella, Trinitat Nova, Torre Baró, Torre Llobeta and Turó de la Peira.
  • Sant Andreu: Barri del Congrés, Sant Andreu de Palomar
  • Sant Martí: Fort Pius, Sant Martí de Provençals, Poble Nou, La Verneda, el Clot

Tourist attractions

Ciutat Vella

Barcelona offers a unique opportunity for the tourist on foot to walk from Roman remains to the medieval city, and then to the modern city with its open thoroughfares and grid-iron street pattern. The historic city center is fairly flat, while the modern city fans out towards the surrounding hills, bordered by steep streets that are vaguely reminiscent of those found in San Francisco.

File:RamblasPete.JPG
La Rambla near the waterfront

A notable feature is La Rambla, a boulevard that runs from the city centre to the waterfront, thronged with crowds until late at night and lined by florists, bird sellers in the higher part, craft sellers in the lowest, street entertainers, cafeterias and restaurants. Walking along La Rambla one can see the world-famous opera house El Liceu, the food market of La Boqueria and the Plaça Reial (literally Royal Square), with its arches and palm trees, amongst other interesting buildings. There's also a Wax Museum near the end. It is also worth keeping an eye out for pickpockets, for whom the boulevard is a favourite haunt.

La Rambla ends at the old harbour, where a statue of Christopher Columbus points eastwards across the Mediterranean Sea to his birth place of Genoa.

Next to it is the Museu Marítim (naval museum), which chronicles the history of life on the Mediterranean, including a full-scale model of a galley. The museum is housed in the medieval Drassanes (shipyards), where the ships that made Catalonia a great sea power in the Mediterranean were built.

The old harbour offers all kinds of other amenities, including the second largest aquarium in the Mediterranean area and an IMAX cinema.

To the north of the Gothic Quarter lie the Jardins de Fonseré i Mestre which contain modernist buildings housing zoological and geological collections. The adjacent Parc de la Ciutadella includes both the Parlament de Catalunya (Catalan Parliament) and the Parc Zoològic de Barcelona (zoo) whose most famous resident was an albino gorilla - Floquet de Neu ("Snowflake") - who shuffled off this mortal coil in 2003. The gorilla died of skin cancer, to which a contributing factor was no doubt his decades-long exposure to Barcelona's fierce Mediterranean sunshine in a small open pen. This aspect was conveniently overlooked in the wave of sentimental gush that filled the local media following the primate's demise.

Modernist architecture

The Sagrada Família church

Outstanding is the legacy of architect Antoni Gaudí, who lived and worked in Barcelona and Madrid, and who left several famous works like the Palau Güell in the city's old center, the Parc Güell at the northern tip of Gràcia, and the immense but still unfinished church of the Sagrada Família, which has been under construction since 1882, financed by popular donations like the cathedrals in the Middle Ages (However, it is not a cathedral: the cathedral of Barcelona is the Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia, a Gothic building of the late Middle Ages). The Sagrada Família is billed for completion in 2020.

Another very notable modernist building in the older part of the city is the Palau de la Música Catalana, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner and built in 1908.

In the modern districts of the city are several avenues on which most of the international merchants offering clothing, jewelry, leather goods and other items have their stores. The most elegant avenue is the Passeig de Gràcia, where two Gaudí buildings are situated, the Casa Milà (La Pedrera) and the Casa Batlló, along with buildings by other famous modernista architects: Casa Ametller by Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Casa Lleó Morera by Domènech i Montaner. Several of these buildings and indeed the Sagrada Familia church itself are threatened by Mayor Clos' plans to build a large railway tunnel for high-speed trains under the city's shaky 19th century foundations. In recent years, office developments along Passeig de Gràcia have been allowed to break up the architectural unity of the 19th and early 20th century buildings lining the avenue - a process which shows no signs of slackening. Property speculation is also blighting other areas of the city, including the 19th century Poble Nou district with its many interesting buildings dating from Catalonia's Industrial Revolution. Many of these have now been levelled to make room for the city's ill-starred "22@" project to build an area for ICT-based firms.

Museums

Art visits include the museum of the Fundació Joan Miró, where several paintings and sculptures of this artist are shown, together with guest exhibitions from other museums around the world. There is also a unique museum featuring the lesser known works of Pablo Picasso from his earlier period. The National Museum of Art of Catalonia (in the Palau Nacional left behind by the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition) possesses a well-known collection of Romanesque art, including wall-paintings of Romanesque churches and chapels around Catalonia that have been transferred to the museum. The Contemporary Art Museum (MACBA) is also worth a visit, not only because of its paintings and sculptures, but because of its architecture. The building was designed by the American architect Richard Meier. The Fundació Antoni Tàpies holds a collection of Tàpies works.

Montjuïc and Tibidabo

File:Montj.jpg
The angels at Montjuïc watching over the city

For spectacular views over the city and the coast line there are two hills. One, Montjuïc hill, is next to the harbour and perched above a large container terminal. On its top is an old fortress which used to guard the entrance to the port. Around the hill are a group of installations known as the "Olympic ring" and that were the heart of the 1992 summer Olympics: the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium (originally built in 1929 but completely refurbished for the 1992 Olympics), the Palau Sant Jordi (a multi-purpose installation designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, used primarily for all kinds of indoor sport events but also for concerts and other cultural activities) and the Bernat Picornell Pools. Also situated on Montjuïc are the Botanical Gardens and the Mossèn Costa i Llobera gardens with their unique cactus collection.

Uptown is the hill of the Tibidabo, 512 meters high, with an amusement park (which, after a long economic struggle, now belongs to the city council) and a monumental church on its summit. The church mosaics provide a curious example of the religious art style much in vogue during the dictatorship. There's also the Torre de Collserola, a telecommunications tower designed by Norman Foster which also has a windowed balcony with a great view over the city.

Sports

Barcelona is the home city of two internationally-known football teams: FC Barcelona, also known as Barça, who play at the 100,000 capacity Camp Nou stadium, and RCD Espanyol, who play at the 56,000 capacity Olympic Stadium. FC Barcelona has also internationally known basketball, handball and roller hockey teams that play at the Palau Blaugrana, situated in the same complex as the Camp Nou.

Near Barcelona, in Montmeló, the Circuit de Catalunya racetrack hosts the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix.

Also Barcelona is one of the most attractive cities for skateboarding, and thousands of skateboarders visit it each year. This overwhelming popularity of Barcelona among skateboarders lead to a new anti-skateboarding (and multiple other activities) law, which came in effect on the first day of 2006. Even though it is still possible to skateboard in the city, skateboarders are sometimes given tickets.

Academia

In addition to the University of Barcelona, the city is home to the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the Technical University of Catalonia, the Ramon Llull University and the International University of Catalonia.

Other sights

The aerial tramway connecting the port and Montjuïc.

World Heritage Sites in Barcelona

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Barcelona:

Some of the sights

File:RamblasPete.JPG
View of La Rambla
Torre Montjuïc Calatrava (Telecommunications Tower)
The two highest buildings in Barcelona, the Hotel Arts (l.) and the Torre Mapfre (each 154 m) seen from Platja de la Barceloneta
Parc Diagonal Mar
Parc Güell
Rambla de Mar in Port Vell (Old Port)

Public Transport

In addition to its port, of great historical and contemporary commercial importance, Barcelona is served by El Prat International Airport ('El Prat') in the town of El Prat de Llobregat.

Barcelona is a hub for RENFE, the Spanish state railway network, and its main suburban train station is Sants Estació (which is under renovation and enlargement at present in order to prepare for the arrival of the AVE system). The AVE high-speed rail system was recently extended from Madrid to Lleida in western Catalonia, and is expected to reach Barcelona by 2007. Renfe and the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) run Barcelona's widespread commuter train service. Barcelona's transit company, Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), runs the Barcelona Metro system and city bus. See List of Barcelona metro stations. Barcelona has recently adopted another transport option with two new tram lines known as Trambaix and Trambesòs.

Parks

Barcelona is renowned for its parks and open spaces, La Rambla, Parc Güell and the beaches being the most famous of them. See above for a description of La Rambla. See separate article on Parc Güell (1914), the large fantastical park designed by Antoni Gaudí as a private housing estate and opened to the public in 1922.

The site of the Barcelona International Exhibition in 1929 and 1930, the Parc de Montjuïc was laid out by engineer Jean C. N. Forestier and architect Nicolas M. Rubio Tuduri. It is chiefly notable now for the cultural institutions that use the former palaces and exposition buildings. The German Pavilion, a landmark of modern architecture designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for the 1929 Exhibition, was reconstructed on its original site in 1986. Montjuïc Stadium was renovated and enlarged by Vittorio Gregotti for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games.

In 1983 the Plaça dels Països Catalans in front of the Sants railway station was redesigned by Helio Piñon Pallares and Albert Vaiplana Vea in pink granite paving with an undulating metal pergola and various hard furnishings that have become popular with skateboarders. At the same time, the neighboring Vapor Nou factory, was converted into the Parc de la Espanya Industrial for public recreation. This park, designed by Luis Peña Ganchegui and Francesc Rius Camps and completed in 1985 integrated the industrial shapes of the site with a dominant water feature and displays of sculpture.

Since 1983 a formal program of park creation has been carried out by the Mancomunitat de Municipis de l'Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona. The purpose of this program has been to reclaim space for the public which is threatened either by neglect or overdevelopment. Typically these new parks are carefully designed by architects, planners and landscape architects concerned not just with functional elements, but also with the unique characteristics of the site and its position in a layered understanding of the city. Though the budgets may be small, the level of ingenuity and care in design and implementation is often very high. Some examples (note that many are in the metropolitan area, not in Barcelona itself):

  • Carrer Brasil, 1996, Olga Tarraso and Jordi Hernrich. A Rambla built over parking spaces.
  • Parc del Torrent Ballesters (Viladecans), 1997, Arturo Frediani/SOB Associates. The design recaptures the pattern of agricultural use using beds of flowering plants. Trees and a pool strengthen the sensual escape from the surrounding city.
  • Parc de Canserra (Barberà del Vallès), 1996, Studio BCQ
  • Parc de Torrent Congost (Granollers), 1996, Enric Battle and Joan Roig. A narrow linear park defined by hedge walls and a grid of trees on the bank of the Congost River.
  • Upgrading of Parc de Torreblanca, the historical site of an urban farm.
  • Fontsana, Sant Joan Despí on the site of a former refuse dump.
  • Parc del Besòs, La Mina housing estate.
  • Parc de les Planes, located at the boundary of three districts.
  • Parc del Litoral, at the mouth of the River Besòs.
  • Parc de la Creueta del Coll, 1987, Oriol Bohigas, Josep Martorell, David Mackay, architects. Once a quarry, it now boasts an artificial lake that serves as a public swimming pool in summer; it contains a magnificent statue by the Basque artist Eduardo Chillida.
  • Parc Nou del Prat, on the Llobregat delta, adjoining Sant Cosme and the airport

This program of planned parks is often among the civic improvements for which the city actively seeks international events as spurs for redevelopment. For example, the upgrades to Montjuïc and the seaside industrial areas for the 1992 Olympic Games were accompanied by the building of recreational facilities in other parts of the city lacking development. One notable site is the Vall d'Hebron, a deep ravine in the foothills of the Collserola range north of the city. The urban design by Eduard Bru created a terraced sequence of belvedere-like platforms with views of the city.

Sister cities

See also

External links

Look up barcelona in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barcelona.
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