Barcelona
—  Municipality  —
From upper left: Barcelona skyline, Castell dels Tres Dragons, Port of Barcelona, Sagrada Família, Camp Nou, Mar Bella beach
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts), Barna, BCN
Barcelona Location of Barcelona within Spain
Barcelona Location of Barcelona within Catalonia
Coordinates: 41°23′N 2°11′E / 41.383°N 2.183°E / 41.383; 2.183Coordinates: 41°23′N 2°11′E / 41.383°N 2.183°E / 41.383; 2.183
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	Catalonia
Province	Barcelona
Comarca	Barcelonès
Districts	List Ciutat Vella Eixample Gràcia Horta-Guinardó Les Corts Nou Barris Sant Andreu Sants–Montjuïc Sarrià-Sant Gervasi Sant Martí
Government
• Type	Mayor-council
• Body	Ajuntament de Barcelona
• Mayor	Xavier Trias (CiU)
Area
• Municipality	101.9 km2 (39.3 sq mi)
• Urban	803 km2 (310 sq mi)
Elevation(AMSL)	12 m (39 ft)
Population (2009)
• Municipality	1,621,537 (city limits) 3,218,071 (Greater Barcelona)
• Density	15,991/km2 (41,420/sq mi)
• Urban	4,210,000
• Urban zone	4,440,629
• Metro	5,083,000
Demonym	Barcelonan or Barcelonian barceloní, barcelonina (ca) barcelonés, barcelonesa (es)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	08001–08080
Area code	+34 (Spain) 93 (City)
Official language(s)	Catalan and Spanish
Website	www.barcelona.cat

Barcelona (English /bɑrsɨˈloʊnə/, Catalan: [bərsəˈɫonə], Spanish: [barθeˈlona]) is the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of 101.4 km² (39 sq mi). The urban area of Barcelona extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of between 4,200,000^[1] and 4,500,000^[2] within an area of 803 km² (310 sq mi),^[1] being the sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, the Ruhr, Madrid and Milan. About five million^[3][4][5] people live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. It is also Europe's largest metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the main component of an administrative area of Greater Barcelona, with a population of 3,218,071 in an area of 636 km² (density 5,060 hab/km²). It is located on the Mediterranean coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs and is bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola ridge (512 m/1,680 ft).

Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona became one of the most important cities of the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions, including the 1888 Exposición Universal de Barcelona, the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition (Expo 1929), the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures, and the 2004 World Urban Forum.

Barcelona is today one of the world's leading tourist, economic, trade fair/exhibitions and cultural-sports centres, and its influence in commerce, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities.^[6][7] Indeed, it is a major cultural and economic centre in southwestern Europe (Iberian Peninsula), 26th in the world (after Moscow, before Dubai) ^[8] and a growing financial centre (Diagonal Mar and Gran Via). As of 2009 it was ranked Europe's fourth best city for business.^[9] One of Europe's principal Mediterranean ports can be found here as well as Barcelona international airport, which handles above 34 million passengers per year. It also boasts an extensive motorway network and is a hub of high-speed rail, particularly that which is intended to link Spain with France and the rest of Europe.

Barcelona is the 16th-most-visited city in the world and the fourth most visited in Europe after Paris, London, and Rome, with several million tourists every year.^[10] Barcelona is the 14th most "livable city" in the world according to lifestyle magazine Monocle.^[11] Similarly, according to Innovation Analysts 2thinknow, Barcelona occupies 13th place in the world on Innovation Cities™ Global Index.^[12] It is the fourth richest city by GDP in the European Union and 35th in the world with an output amounting to €177 billion, a figure nonetheless smaller than alternative estimates.^[13] Consequently, its GDP per capita output stands at €39,859 – some 44% higher than the European Union average and GDP per head is €80,894 according to Eurostat.^[14] Similarly, the city of Barcelona stands in 29th place in a list of net personal earnings headed by Zurich.^[15] As of 2009 the city was ranked Europe's third and one of the world's most successful as a city brand.^[16] Barcelona is the seventh most important fashion capital in the world.^[17] At the same time, the city was ranked Europe's fourth best business city and fastest improving European city, with growth improved by 17% per year.^[18] Barcelona, among world centers of commerce takes second place in economic stability.^[19]

As the capital of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Barcelona is the seat of the Catalan government, known as the Generalitat de Catalunya; of particular note are the executive branch, the parliament, and the Supreme Court of Catalonia. The city is also the capital of the Province of Barcelona and the Barcelonès comarca (district).

Names[link]

The name Barcelona comes from the ancient Iberian Phoenician Barkeno, attested in an ancient coin inscription in Iberian script as ,^[20] in Ancient Greek sources as Βαρκινών, Barkinṓn;^[21] and in Latin as Barcino^{[citation needed]}, Barcilonum^[22] and Barceno.^{[23][citation needed]}

During the Middle Ages, the city was variously known as Barchinona, Barçalona, Barchelonaa, and Barchenona.

Some sources say that the city could have been named after the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca, who was supposed to have founded the city in the 3rd century BC.^[24]

History[link]

The founding of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends. The first attributes the founding of the city to the mythological Hercules. The second legend attributes the foundation of the city directly to the historical Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, who named the city Barcino after his family in the 3rd century BC.^[25]

In about 15 BC, the Romans redrew the town as a castrum (Roman military camp) centred on the "Mons Taber", a little hill near the contemporary city hall (Plaça de Sant Jaume). Under the Romans, it was a colony with the surname of Faventia,^[26] or, in full, Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino^[27] or Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino. Mela^[28] 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.^[29] It enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens.^[30] The city minted its own coins; some from the era of Galba survive.

Basilic of la Mercè

Some important Roman ruins are exposed under the Plaça del Rei, its entrance located by the city museum (Museu d'Història de la Ciutat); the typically Roman grid plan is still visible today in the layout of the historical centre, the Barri Gòtic ("Gothic Quarter"). Some remaining fragments of the Roman walls have been incorporated into the cathedral.^[31] The cathedral, also known as the Basilica La Seu, is said to have been founded in 343. The city was conquered by the Visigoths in the early 5th century, becoming for a few years the capital of all Hispania. After being conquered by the Arabs in the early 8th century, it was reconquered in 801 by Charlemagne's son Louis, who made Barcelona the seat of the Carolingian "Hispanic March" (Marca Hispanica), a buffer zone ruled by the Count of Barcelona.

The Counts of Barcelona became increasingly independent and expanded their territory to include all of Catalonia. In 1137, Aragon and the County of Barcelona merged in dynastic union^[32][33] by the marriage of Ramon Berenguer IV and Petronilla of Aragon, their titles finally borne by only one person when their son Alfonso II of Aragon ascended to the throne in 1162. His territories were later to be known as the Crown of Aragon, which conquered many overseas possessions and ruled the western Mediterranean Sea with outlying territories in Naples and Sicily and as far as Athens in the 13th century. The forging of a dynastic link between the Crowns of Aragon and Castile marked the beginning of Barcelona's decline. The Bank of Barcelona, probably the oldest public bank in Europe, was established by the city magistrates in 1401. It originated from necessities of the state, as did the Bank of Venice (1402) and the Bank of Genoa (1407).^[34]

The fortress at Montjuïc that was the most southerly point from which measurements were made when calculating the meridional definition of the metre

The marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in 1469 united the two royal lines. Madrid became the centre of political power whilst the colonisation of the Americas reduced the financial importance (at least in relative terms) of Mediterranean trade. Barcelona had always been the stronghold of Catalan separatism and was the center of the Catalan Revolt (1640–52) against Philip IV of Spain. The great plague of 1650–1654 halved the city's population.^[35] The Napoleonic wars left the province ravaged, but the postwar period saw the start of industrialization.

In the 18th century, a fortress was built at Montjuïc that overlooked the harbour. In 1794, this fortress was used by the French astronomer Pierre François André Méchain for observations relating to a survey stretching to Dunkirk that provided the official basis of the measurement of a metre.^[36] The definitive metre bar, manufactured from platinum, was presented to the French legislative assembly on 22 June 1799.

The resistance of Barcelona to Franco's coup d'état was to have lasting effects after the defeat of the Republican government. The autonomous institutions of Catalonia were abolished,^[37] and the use of the Catalan language in public life was suppressed. Barcelona remained the second largest city in Spain, at the heart of a region which was relatively industrialised and prosperous, despite the devastation of the civil war. The result was a large-scale immigration from poorer regions of Spain (particularly Andalusia, Murcia and Galicia), which in turn led to rapid urbanisation. Barcelona hosted the Olympic Games in 1992, which helped revitalize the city.^[38]

A panoramic view of Barcelona (click to enlarge)

Geography[link]

Barcelona from space

Barcelona is located on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Mediterranean Sea, on a plain approximately 5 km (3 mi) wide limited by the mountain range of Collserola, the Llobregat river to the southwest and the Besòs river to the north.^[39] This plain covers an area of 170 km² (66 sq mi),^[39] of which 101 km² (38.9 sq mi)^[40] are occupied by the city itself. It is 120 km (75 mi) south of the Pyrenees and the Catalan border with France.

Tibidabo, 512 m (1,680 ft) high, offers striking views over the city^[41] and is topped by the 288.4 m (946.2 ft) Torre de Collserola, a telecommunications tower that is visible from most of the city. Barcelona is peppered with small hills, most of them urbanised, that gave their name to the neighbourhoods built upon them, such as Carmel (267 m), Putxet (181 m) and Rovira (261 m). The escarpment of Montjuïc (173 m), situated to the southeast, overlooks the harbour and is topped by Montjuïc castle, a fortress built in the 17–18th centuries to control the city as a replacement for the Ciutadella. Today, the fortress is a museum and Montjuïc is home to several sporting and cultural venues, as well as Barcelona's biggest park and gardens.

The city borders on the municipalities of Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Sant Adrià de Besòs to the north; the Mediterranean Sea to the east; El Prat de Llobregat and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat to the south; and Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Sant Just Desvern, Esplugues de Llobregat, Sant Cugat del Vallès, and Montcada i Reixac to the west.

Climate[link]

Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate^[42] (Köppen climate classification: Csa),^[43] with mild, humid winters and warm, dry summers.

Its average annual temperature is 20 °C (68 °F) during the day and 11 °C (52 °F) at night. The average annual temperature of the sea is about 18 °C (64 °F). In the coldest month – January, the temperature typically ranges from 8 to 17 °C (46 to 63 °F) during the day to 2 to 10 °C (36 to 50 °F) at night and the average sea temperature is 13 °C (55 °F).^[44] In the warmest month – August, the typical temperature ranges from 25 to 31 °C (77 to 88 °F) during the day to about 20 °C (68 °F) at night and the average sea temperature is 25 °C (77 °F).^[44] Generally – the summer / "holiday" season lasts about six months, from May to October. Two months – April and November – are transitional; sometimes the temperature exceeds 20 °C (68 °F), with an average temperature of 17–18 °C (63–64 °F) during the day and 8–9 °C (46–48 °F) at night. December, January and February are the coldest months, with average temperatures around 14 °C (57 °F) during the day and 5 °C (41 °F) at night. Large fluctuations in temperature are rare, particularly in the summer months. Sunshine duration is 2,524 hours per year, from 138 (average 4.5 hours of sunshine at day) in December to 310 (average 10 hours of sunshine at day) in July.^[45]

Main sights[link]

Sagrada Família church, Gaudi's masterpiece

The Barri Gòtic (Catalan for "Gothic Quarter") is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. Many of the buildings date from medieval times, some from as far back as the Roman settlement of Barcelona. 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. Several of these buildings are World Heritage Sites. Especially remarkable is the work of architect Antoni Gaudí, which can be seen throughout the city. His best-known work is the immense but still unfinished church of the Sagrada Família, which has been under construction since 1882, and is still financed by private donations. As of 2007, completion is planned for 2026.

Barcelona was also home to Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion. Designed in 1929 for the International Exposition for Germany, it is 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." The Barcelona pavilion was intended as a temporary structure, and was torn down in 1930 less than a year after it was constructed. A modern re-creation by Spanish architects now stands in Barcelona, however, constructed in 1986.

Barcelona won the 1999 RIBA Royal Gold Medal for its architecture,^[47] the first (and as of 2012, only) time that the winner has been a city, and not an individual architect.

Plaça Reial

World Heritage Sites[link]

In Barcelona there are several points of interest declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO:^[48]

Code	Name	Year	Coordinates	Image
320-001	Park Güell	1984	41°24′59.6″N 2°09′07.9″E / 41.416556°N 2.152194°E / 41.416556; 2.152194 (Parque Güell)
320-002	Palau Güell	1984	41°22′45″N 2°10′28″E / 41.379183°N 2.174445°E / 41.379183; 2.174445 (Palacio Güell)
320-003	Casa Milà	1984	41°23′51.3″N 2°09′46.9″E / 41.397583°N 2.163028°E / 41.397583; 2.163028 (Casa Milà)
320-004	Casa Vicens	2005	41°22′50.5″N 2°10′30.6″E / 41.380694°N 2.175167°E / 41.380694; 2.175167 (Casa Vicens)
320-005	Facade of the Nativity and crypt of the Sagrada Familia	2005	41°24′19.8″N 2°10′30.2″E / 41.4055°N 2.175056°E / 41.4055; 2.175056 (Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia)
320-006	Casa Batlló	2005	41°22′00.3″N 2°09′59.0″E / 41.36675°N 2.16639°E / 41.36675; 2.16639 (Casa Batlló)
804-001	Palau de la Música Catalana	1997	41°23′16″N 2°10′30″E / 41.38778°N 2.175°E / 41.38778; 2.175
804-002	Hospital de Sant Pau	1997	41°24′50″N 2°10′30″E / 41.41389°N 2.175°E / 41.41389; 2.175 (Hospital de la Santa Cruz y San Pablo)

Historic buildings and monuments[link]

Sagrat Cor, at the summit of the Tibidabo mountain

Barcelona Cathedral

View of Barcelona into the "Parc Güell".

• Sagrada Família, the international symbol of Barcelona
• Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, included in the UNESCO Heritage List list in 1997.
• Works by Antoni Gaudí, including Park Güell, Palau Güell, Casa Milà (La Pedrera), Casa Vicens, Sagrada Família (Nativity façade and crypt), Casa Batlló, Crypt in Colonia Güell. The first three works were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1984. The other four were added as extensions to the site in 2005.
• The Cathedral of St. Eulalia
• Church of Santa Maria del Mar (Gothic)
• Gothic church of Santa Maria del Pi
• Church of Sant Pau del Camp
• Palau Reial Major, medieval residence of the counts of Barcelona and the Kings of Aragon
• The Columbus Monument
• The Arc de Triomf, a triumphal arch built in 1888

Museums[link]

Barcelona has a great number of museums, which cover different areas and eras. The National Museum of Art of Catalonia possesses a well-known collection of Romanesque art while the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art focuses on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art. The Fundació Joan Miró, Picasso Museum and Fundació Antoni Tàpies hold important collections of these world-renowned artists.

Several museums cover the fields of history and archeology, like the City History Museum, the Museum of the History of Catalonia, the Archeology Museum of Catalonia, the Barcelona Maritime Museum and the private-owned Egyptian Museum. The Erotic museum of Barcelona is among the most peculiar ones, while Cosmocaixa is a science museum that received the European Museum of the Year Award in 2006.

The National Museum of Art of Catalonia.

Parks[link]

Barcelona contains sixty-eight municipal parks, of which twelve are historic parks, five are thematic (botanical) parks, forty-five are urban parks and six are forest parks.^[49] They range from vest-pocket parks to large recreation areas. The urban parks alone cover 10% of the city (549.7 ha/1,358.3 acres).^[40] The total park surface grows about 10 ha (25 acres) per year,^[50] with a proportion of 18.1 square metres (195 sq ft) of park area per inhabitant.^[51]

Of Barcelona's parks, Montjuïc is the largest, with 203 ha located on the mountain of the same name.^[40] It is followed by Parc de la Ciutadella (which occupies the site of the old military citadel and which houses the Parliament building, the Barcelona Zoo and several museums); 31 ha/76.6 acres including the zoo), the Guinardó Park (19 ha/47.0 acres), Park Güell (designed by Antoni Gaudí; 17.2 ha/42.5 acres), Oreneta Castle Park (also 17.2 ha/42.5 acres), Diagonal Mar Park (13.3 ha/32.9 acres, inaugurated in 2002), Nou Barris Central Park (13.2 ha/32.6 acres), Can Dragó Sports Park and Poblenou Park (both 11.9 ha/29.4 acres), the Labyrinth Park (9.10 ha/22.5 acres), named after the garden maze it contains.^[40] There are also several smaller parks, for example, the Parc de les Aigües (2 ha/4.9 acres). A part of the Collserolla Park is also within the city limits. PortAventura, one of the largest amusement parks in Europe with 3,000,000 visitors per year, is located one hour's drive from Barcelona.^[52]

Beaches[link]

The Barceloneta beach

Barcelona beach was listed as number one in a list of the top ten beach cities in the world according to National Geographic^[53] and Discovery Channel.^[54] Barcelona contains seven beaches, totalling 4.5 km (2.8 mi) of coastline. Sant Sebastià and Barceloneta beaches, both 1,100 m (3,610 ft) in length,^[40] are the largest, oldest and the most-frequented beaches in Barcelona. The Olympic Harbour separates them from the other city beaches: Nova Icària, Bogatell, Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella and Llevant. These beaches (ranging from 400 to 640 m/1,300 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. At present, the beach sand is artificially replenished given that storms regularly remove large quantities of material. The 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures left the city a large concrete bathing zone on the eastmost part of the city's coastline.