Barcelona
[3] It is one of the largest metropolises on the Mediterranean Sea, located on the coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs, bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola mountain range.[25] Archeological evidence in the form of coins from the 3rd century BC have been found on the hills at the foot of Montjuïc with the name Bárkeno written in an ancient script in the Iberian language[citation needed].Pomponius Mela[35] mentions it among the small towns of the district, probably as it was eclipsed by its neighbour Tarraco (modern Tarragona), but it may be gathered from later writers that it gradually grew in wealth and consequence, favoured as it was with a beautiful situation and an excellent harbour.[48] In the beginning of the Early Modern period, Barcelona lost political primacy, but the economy managed to achieve a balance between production capacity and imports.[51] In the 18th century, the population grew from 30,000 to about 100,000 inhabitants, as the city became one of the key mercantile centres in the Western Mediterranean, with inland influence up to Zaragoza, and to the south up to Alicante.Not everything he imagined would be realized within the Eixample district, but the iconic octagonal superblocks with chamfered corners for better visibility are his direct brainchild and remain immensely helpful even 170 years later.Regardless, some of the upper class citizens of Barcelona were excited by the new plan and began a race to build "the biggest, tallest, most attractive house" in the district.In the end, Cerdà's ideas would have a lasting impact on Barcelona's development, earning it international recognition for its highly efficient approach to urban planning and design.The anarchists lost control of the city to their own allies, the Communists and official government troops, after the street fighting of the Barcelona May Days.Barcelona remained the second largest city in Spain, at the heart of a region which was relatively industrialized and prosperous, despite the devastation of the civil war.The increased cost of housing has led to a slight decline (−16.6%) in the population over the last two decades of the 20th century as many families move out into the suburbs.[68][69][70] During the 2010s, Barcelona became the focus city[citation needed] for the ongoing Catalan independence movement, its consequent standoff between the regional and national government and later protests.After bottoming out in 2000 with 1,496,266 residents, the city's population began to rise again as younger people started to return, causing a great increase in housing prices.[111] It also has several congress halls, notably Fira de Barcelona – the second largest trade fair and exhibition centre in Europe, that host a quickly growing number of national and international events each year (at present above 50).Due to its large influx of tourists each year, Barcelona, like many other tourism capitals, has to deal with pickpockets, with wallets and passports being commonly stolen items.[123] One industry insider, Justin Francis, founder of the Responsible Travel agency, stated that steps must be taken to limit the number of visitors that are causing an "overtourism crisis" in several major European cities.[citation needed] Beginning in the summer of 2000, the city hosted the Bread & Butter urban fashion fair until 2009, when its organizers announced that it would be returning to Berlin.The headquarters of Televisió de Catalunya, Catalonia's public network, are located in Sant Joan Despí, in Barcelona's metropolitan area.Barcelona has a long sporting tradition and hosted the highly successful 1992 Summer Olympics as well as several matches during the 1982 FIFA World Cup (at the two stadiums).The club won six trophies in a calendar year in 2009, becoming one of only 2 male football teams in the world to win the coveted sextuple, apart from FC Bayern Munich in 2020.The matches against cross-town rivals RCD Espanyol are of particular interest, but there are other Barcelonan football clubs in lower categories, like CE Europa and UE Sant Andreu.The Open Seat Godó, a 50-year-old ATP World Tour 500 Series tennis tournament, is held annually in the facilities of the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona.[citation needed] Barcelona is also home to numerous social centres and illegal squats that effectively form a shadow society mainly made up of the unemployed, immigrants, dropouts, anarchists, anti-authoritarians and autonomists.[154] Peter Gelderloos estimates that there around 200 squatted buildings and 40 social centres across the city with thousands of inhabitants, making it one of the largest squatter movements in the world.He argues that these squats embrace an anarcho-communist and anti-work philosophy, often freely fixing up new houses, cleaning, patching roofs, installing windows, toilets, showers, lights and kitchens.These networks and lines are run by a number of different operators but they are integrated into a coordinated fare system, administered by the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM).[164] Barcelona's metro and rail system is supplemented by several aerial cable cars, funiculars and rack railways that provide connections to mountain-top stations.Catalan modernista architecture (related to the movement known as Art Nouveau in the rest of Europe) developed between 1885 and 1950 and left an important legacy in Barcelona.Designed in 1929 for the International Exposition for Germany, it was an iconic building that came to symbolize modern architecture as the embodiment of van der Rohe's aphorisms "less is more" and "God is in the details".These beaches (ranging from 400 to 640 m (1,310 to 2,100 ft) were opened as a result of the city restructuring to host the 1992 Summer Olympics, when a great number of industrial buildings were demolished.
Barcelona (disambiguation)City and municipalitySkyline of BarcelonaSagrada FamíliaTorre GlòriesArc de TriomfEdificio ColónLa RamblaVenetian TowersPalau NacionalLa BarcelonetaCasa MilàCoat of armsCatalanSpanishAutonomous communityCataloniaProvinceBarcelonaComarcaBarcelonèsDistrictsCiutat VellaEixampleGràciaHorta-GuinardóLes CortsNou BarrisSant AndreuSants–MontjuïcSarrià-Sant GervasiSant MartíAjuntamentCity Council of BarcelonaJaume CollboniPSC–PSOEDemonymsPostal codeArea codeINE codeCity budgetOfficial languageMain festivityLa MercèPatron saintEulalia of Barcelonaprovince of Barcelonafifth most populous urban areaEuropean UnionMadridMediterranean SeaLlobregatBesòsSerra de CollserolaPhoeniciansCarthaginiansCounty of BarcelonaKingdom of AragonCrown of AragonPrincipality of CataloniaValenciaMoorish controlCrown of CastileCatalan separatismFranceReapers' WarNapoleonRevolutionary CataloniaSpanish Revolution of 1936Second Spanish RepublicSpanish Civil Warcapture by the fascistsSpanish transition to democracyAntoni GaudíLluís Domènech i MontanerWorld Heritage SitesUniversity of BarcelonaPompeu Fabra UniversityUnion for the Mediterranean1992 Summer Olympicssouthwestern Europebiotechglobal citytransport hubPort of BarcelonaBarcelona–El Prat Airporthigh-speed railIberian scriptAncient GreekCarthaginianHamilcar BarcaBarcidthe Middle AgesFC BarcelonaIATA airport codeBarcelona-El Prat AirportCount of BarcelonaHistory of BarcelonaTimeline of BarcelonaStreet names in BarcelonaHerculesPhoenicianHannibalRoman Sepulchral wayRomanscastrumGeneralitatCardo MaximusDecumanus MaximusPlaça de Sant JaumePomponius MelaTarracoTarragonaPlaça del ReiBarcelona City History MuseumBarri GòticVisigothsHispaniaUmayyadssiege in 801CharlemagneCarolingianHispanic Marchbuffer zonesackedAlmanzor