Spain, Barcelona

Barcelona  is the second largest city in Spain, capital city of Catalonia and the province with the same name. It is located in the comarca of Barcelonès, along the Mediterranean coast (41°23′N 2°11′E) between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs.

As capital city of Catalonia, Barcelona houses the seat of the Generalitat de Catalunya and its Conselleries, the Parliament of Catalonia and the Supreme Court of Catalonia.

History

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 Crowns of Aragon and Castile marked the beginning of Barcelona's decline.

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 , the Ciutadella, as a way of both punishing and controlling the rebel city. Official use of Catalan language was forbidden, traditional Catalan institutions were abolished, 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.

Plan of the City and Port of Barcelona, 1806.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 to fight in Morocco was one of the factors that led to the city's Tragic Week in 1909-. Barcelona sided with the Republic's democratically elected government during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). Finally, in April 1 1939 the last reducts of republican forces in the Spanish Maquis were overrun by nationalist forces, which ushered in a reign of cultural and political repression that lasted decades.

The protest movement of the 1970s and the death of Franco in 1975 turned Barcelona into a centre of cultural vitality. A decline in the inner city population and displacement towards the outskirts and beyond currently raises the threat of urban sprawl.

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

Geography

Barcelona is located on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Mediterranean sea, in a plateau of about 5 km width limited by the mountain range of Collserola, the Llobregat river on the south and the Besòs river on the north. It is 160 km (100 mi) south of the Pyrenees mountain range. It has an area of 10.096 ha and its lowest point (Pla de Palau Place) in only 5 m over the sea level .

Climate

Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate, with mild, dry winters and warm, humid summers. January and February are the coldest months, averaging temperatures of 10 °C. Snowfalls are so rare that they are remembered as special events by people. July and August are the hottest months, averaging temperatures of 25 °C. The highest recorded maximum temperature was 38,6º on August 13 2003. In the Fabra Observatory, situated on the Tibidado hill, the record is 39,8 ºC in 1982.

Economy
 
Barcelona has a long-standing mercantile tradition. Less well known is that it was one of the earliest regions in continental Europe to begin industrialization, beginning with textile related works at the end of the 18th century but really gathering momentum in the mid 19th century, when it became a major center for the production of textiles and machinery. Since then, manufacturing has played a large role in its history. The traditional importance in textiles is still reflected in Barcelona's importance as a major fashion center. In summer 2006, Barcelona became an host for the prestigious Bread & Butter urban fashion fair.

Tourism
 
Barcelona is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, due to its good climate and its cultural offerings. Barcelona houses over 45 renowned museums and is famous for its unique contemporary architecture and the famous works of architect Antoni Gaudí. It has seen a steady increase of the number of hotels, from 170 in 2000 to 209 in 2004, 9 of which are 5 stars hotels, though the 4 stars category is the one that has seen a bigger increase.

The city has 4.5 km of beaches, divided in seven beaches. Sant Sebastià and Barceloneta, both 1100 m in length , are the largest and the historical beaches of Barcelona.

Culture

Barcelona's culture is rich, stemming from the city's 2000 years of history. To a greater extent than the rest of Catalonia, where Catalonia's native Catalan is more dominant, Barcelona is a bilingual city: Catalan and Spanish are both official and widely spoken. The Catalan spoken in Barcelona, Central Catalan, is the one closest to standard Catalan. Since the arrival of democracy, the Catalan culture (repressed during the dictatorship) has been promoted, both by recovering works from the past and by stimulating the creation of new works.

Barcelona has a number of theaters, including the world-renowned Gran Teatre del Liceu opera theater, the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya and the Palau de la Música Catalana concert hall. The GREC festival takes place every summer and brings to Barcelona highly renowned performers and companies.

Media

El Periódico de Catalunya (Catalan and Spanish editions) and La Vanguardia (Spanish) are Barcelona's two major daily newspapers while Sport and El Mundo Deportivo (both in Spanish) are the city's two major sports daily newspapers, published by the same companies.

Several major FM stations include Catalunya Ràdio, RAC 105 and Cadena SER. Barcelona it also has several local TV stations, among them BTV (owned by the city council) and TD8 (owned by the Godó group, that also owns La Vanguardia). The headquarters of Televisió de Catalunya, Catalonia's public network, are located in Sant Joan Despí, in Barcelona's metropolitan area.

Music

Barcelona is home to the Sónar Music Festival which takes place around June every year. This is an electronica music festival split into three days with two main events on each day (Sónar By Night and Sónar by Day). Sónar by day is held just off Les Rambles, whereas Sonar by night takes place in a complex just outside the main city.

Sports
 
Barcelona has a long sporting tradition and hosted the successful 1992 Summer Olympics as well as several matches from the 1982 Football World Cup. It has also been host to the X FINA World Championships and, in two occasions, of the Eurobasket. Barcelona is home to several sports teams, both professional and amateur.

FC Barcelona is a sports club best known for its football team, one of the biggest in Europe and current champion of both the Spanish league and the UEFA Champions League.