Barcelona

I

Introduction

Barcelona, second largest city in Spain and the country’s principal industrial center. Although local legends link the name Barcelona to Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca, it can be more firmly traced to Barcino, the name the Romans gave to the original nucleus of the city. Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, Spain's autonomous northeast region, bordering with France. Its location on the Mediterranean Sea, hemmed in by the deltas of the Besós and the Llobregat rivers and the Collserola Mountains, accounts for its temperate, humid climate. The mountains, which rise to more than 518 m (1,700 ft) within 13 km (8 mi) of the city center, form a dramatic backdrop. Barcelona is a major Mediterranean port and also a financial and publishing center of Spain.

II

Barcelona and Its Surrounding Area

Barcelona is the hub of a large and densely settled metropolitan area. Its downtown is divided into two zones. The center, the Ciutat Vella (Old City), faces the sea. Barcelona’s principal historical buildings are located here. They include the cathedral, known as La Seu, and numerous other churches and monasteries, many in Gothic style. Buildings of medieval origin include the former royal and viceregal palaces; the Capella de Santa Agata (Chapel of Saint Agatha); the Ajuntament (city hall), and the Palau de la Generalitat, the Catalan regional government building located on the Plaça de Sant Jaume (Saint James's Square). The Ramblas, a famous series of boulevards full of pedestrians and vendors, divide the city center in half. The Ramblas extend from the harbor to the Plaça de Catalunya (Plaza of Catalonia), which is considered the city’s focal point.

The Old City is nearly surrounded by the Eixample, a series of neighborhoods created by inland expansion after the old city walls were torn down beginning in 1854. The Eixample was laid out according to the Cerdà Plan, which was named after engineer Ildefons Cerdà, one of the first modern city planners. An elegant and spacious residential area, the Eixample houses most of Barcelona's “modernist,” or art nouveau, architecture. Especially notable are the buildings of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. Gaudí’s most prominent building is the famous Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Família (Church of the Holy Family), which was begun in 1884 and is still unfinished. Outside the Eixample lies Barcelona's former industrial belt, where old factories and traditionally working-class housing are being converted to residential and other uses.

The city of Barcelona itself is relatively small. It occupies roughly 100 sq km (about 40 sq mi), and the industrial area around the city adds about another 500 sq km (200 sq mi) to the metropolitan area. In the late 20th century, numerous suburbs emerged on the city’s outskirts, spreading up the mountainsides that form Barcelona’s northern and northwestern boundaries. The largest of these are Badalona, Hospitalet, Mataró, Sabadell, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, and Terrasa. Expansion southwest toward the Llobregat River had to bypass Montjuïc, a great hill rising 174 m (571 ft) out of the sea.

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III

The People of Barcelona

According to the municipal census of 2001, Barcelona has 1,605,602 inhabitants. The province of Barcelona, which includes the city and its surrounding area, has a total population of 5,226,354, making it the second largest in Spain, after Madrid. The metropolitan area steadily grew from the 1950s through the 1980s; however, during the 1990s, the number of inhabitants dropped slightly. The city itself experienced this turnaround earlier. After decades of expansion, it began to lose residents in the early 1980s, due to a decline in both immigration and local birth rates. It is expected that further migrations from the center to the suburbs will continue.

The major ethnic division in Barcelona is that between native Catalans and immigrants from the rest of Spain. Catalans make up about two-thirds of the city’s population. Cultural difference between these groups is reflected above all in language use. Barcelona is a bilingual city. Most of its residents speak Catalan, the local language of Romance origin, as well as Castilian Spanish, which is spoken throughout the rest of the country. Catalan is habitually used at all social levels, and it is the preferred language of middle class residents. Castilian Spanish is the language of choice for most of the large urban working class, many of whom are recent migrants from elsewhere in Spain, especially the southern region of Andalucía.

Barcelona is also home to a growing number of foreign immigrants. These range from North Africans, most of whom are part of the working class, to European executives and professionals. This mix contributes to Barcelona's long-standing reputation as a cosmopolitan city.

As in the rest of Spain, the vast majority of Barcelona's people are Roman Catholics. There is also a small Jewish community. In the late 20th century Protestant denominations began to grow in membership, and the local Islamic population is also expanding, due to sustained emigration from North Africa.

IV

Barcelona’s Culture

Barcelona is one of the most important cultural centers of Europe. The city’s famed Gran Teatre del Liceu (Grand Theater of the Liceu), which was damaged by fire in 1994 but reopened in 1999, was the only opera house in Spain until Madrid’s opened in 1997. The city is also famous for its Palau de la Música Catalana (Palace of Catalan Music), a modernist concert hall built in the early 20th century. The city is the home of most of Catalonia’s principal artistic and cultural institutions, including a symphony orchestra, dance and ballet companies, and numerous choral groups. It has six public universities, the largest of which is the University of Barcelona, in addition to several private institutions of higher education.

The city has an extensive system of museums. The Museu d’Art de Catalunya (Art Museum of Catalonia) houses the leading collection of Romanesque paintings in the world (see Romanesque Art and Architecture). The Museu Picasso (Picasso Museum) specializes in the early works of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, who lived and painted in Barcelona from 1895 to 1904. The Museu Marítim (Maritime Museum) is located in the Drassanes, former shipyards near the old port that date back to the Middle Ages. The Fundació Joan Miró (Miró Museum) houses a large collection of works by Barcelona-born painter Joan Miró.

Other museums include the Museu d’Història de la Ciutat (Municipal History Museum), the Museu d’Història Catalunya (Catalan History Museum), the Museu d’Art Contemporani Barcelona (Contemporary Art Museum), and the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (Center for Contemporary Culture). The city’s largest library is the Biblioteca de Catalunya (Library of Catalonia), housed in the 15th-century Hospital de la Santa Creu. Barcelona is also home to the recently built National Theater of Catalonia, as well as more than two dozen commercial theaters.

A number of important events take place annually in Barcelona. The Dia de Sant Jordi, celebrated on April 23, honors Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia; on this day, women give books to their lovers, men give roses to theirs, and the city hosts a major book fair. The Nit de Sant Joan, or Midsummer's Eve, is celebrated in late June with nighttime bonfires and fireworks. The Catalan national holiday, La Diada, is September 11 and commemorates an 18th-century uprising. The people of Barcelona celebrate their city’s patroness on September 24 in the Festa de la Mercè (Festival of Our Lady of Mercy). An open-air Christmas market thrives in the Cathedral square from Saint Lucy’s Day (December 13) throughout the Advent and New Year season.

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