Barcelona
This article is about Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. See also other places called Barcelona.
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| The moon at dawn over the hill of Montjuïc and the Customs Building. |
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| The Plaça de Catalunya, at the head of La Rambla |
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| L'Ajuntament (City Hall), in the Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter) |
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| The Church of the Sagrada Família |
Barcelona is the capital and largest city of Catalonia, in Spain, situated at the Mediterranean coast. It has been the site of the Catalan Parliament since restoration of the Regional Government Generalitat de Catalunya. It is also the capital of the province of Barcelona. The city itself has a population of around 1.6 million, and its metropolitan area of around 3 million.
Barcelona was the site of the 1992 Summer Olympics.
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Districts and Quarters
- Ciutat Vella: includes El Raval, Barri Gòtic, La Ribera.
- Eixample: includes Sant Antoni, Esquerra de l'Eixample, Dreta de l'Eixample, Sagrada Família.
- Sants-Montjuïc: Can Tunis, Montjuïc, Hostafrancs, Sants.
- Les Corts: Les Corts.
- Sarrià-Sant Gervasi: Pedralbes, Sarrià, Sant Gervasi, Vallvidrera.
- Gràcia: Vallcarca, La Salut, Gràcia, Camp d'en Grassot.
- Horta-Guinardó: Horta, El Carmel, La Teixonera, Guinardó.
- Nou Barris: Trinitat Vella, Trinitat Nova.
- Sant Andreu: Congrès, Sant Andreu.
- Sant Martí: Fort Pius, Sant Martí, Poble Nou, Verneda.
History
Legend attributes the Carthaginian foundation of Barcino to Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal. Later on, Romans redrew the town as a castrum (a Roman military camp) centered on the Mons Taber, a little hill nearby the contemporary city hall (Plaça de Sant Jaume). This planning is still visible today on the map of the historical center and the remaining fragments of the Roman walls. Important Roman remains are exposed under the Plaça del Rei, entrance by the city museum, Museu d'Història de la Ciutat. The city was conquered by the Visigoths in the 5th century, by the Moors in the 8th century, reconquered in 801 by the Frankish kings, and sacked by Al-Mansur in 985. Barcelona became a Frankish County, which eventually became independent and expanded to include the Principate of Catalonia, the Kingdom of Aragon and many overseas possessions, ruling the Mediterranian Sea from Barcelona to Athens. When the Catalonia-Aragon Confederation was dynastically linked to Castile, the decadence of Barcelona began. The city was devastated after the Catalonian Republic of 1640 - 1652, and again during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714. In the beginning of the 20th century, Barcelona became again a center of culture and politics: in a resurgence of Catalan culture, Barcelona again became an important cultural center.
In the 20th century during the Spanish Civil War Barcelona was a stronghold of the Anarchist cause, but surrendered to Franco's forces in 1939. In the 1970's, once again, Barcelona started a new wave of cultural vitality, becoming the thriving city it is today, one of the most cherished cities in Spain and Europe.
Tourist Attractions
Barcelona offers a unique opportunity for the tourist on foot to walk from Roman remains to the medieval city to the modern city with its open thoroughfares with all intersections left wide open by the unique cut-off corners of the buildings.
One notable feature is La Rambla, a pedestrian parkway that runs from the city center to the waterfront, crowded with people, bird sellers, street entertainers, and restaurants, but also of con artists (trileros) and smart pickpockets. La Rambla ends at the waterfront where there is a statue of Christopher Columbus.
The historic city center is reasonably flat, but nowadays the city extends onto the surrounding hills and along the contiguous valleys of Llobregat and Besòs rivers.
Catalan nationalists encouraged printing books in Catalan with the side effect that Barcelona is now a European center of printing, particularly fine printing.
The architect Antoni Gaudí lived and worked in Barcelona, leaving many famous buildings including the Palau Güell, the Parc Güell, and the immense but still unfinished Church Sagrada Família, that has been under construction since 1882.
Other artistic attractions include the Museu Joan Miró and a unique museum featuring only works by Pablo Picasso created while he was living in Spain as a child and young man and as an old man.
The Museu Marítim chronicles the history of life on the Mediterranean, including a full-scale model of a galley.
Some other tourist attractions are the Tibidabo hill (with an amusement park at the top), the castle of Montjuïc, the large Aquarium, and a Zoo that prides itself on owning the only albino gorilla in the world.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Barcelona