Barcelona

Barcelona is the capital city of Catalonia, which is a region of Spain. Barcelona is the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. The city is between the rivers of Llobregat and Besòs, and south of the Pyrenees mountains. It has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa in the Köppen climate classification).

In 1992, Barcelona hosted the Summer Olympic Games. Many new parks were opened and other significant changes to the city were made. One example is opening the new beaches in the Poble Nou area.

In 2007, about 1.6 million people lived in Barcelona. Around 3.1 million people live in the Metropolitan Area and 4.9 million people live in the Urban Region. Barcelona is the second most populated city in Spain, and the tenth in the European Union.

Barcelona is home to football team F.C. Barcelona.

History
The origin of Barcelona is unclear. The ruins of an early settlement have been found dating to earlier than 5000 BC.

City Barcino
During the Roman Empire, Barcelona was a colony of the Western Roman Empire called Barcino (full name was Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino). A clear example of the Roman heritage in Barcelona is the preserved Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter) in the center of city.

In the Middle Age (5th century), Barcelona was conquered by the Visigoths. King Athaulf moved his capital here for a short time. In 511, a battle between the Ostrogoths and Visigoths took place near the city in which the Ostrogoths won.

In 8 century, Barcelona was conquered by the Moors.

Until the 15th century, Barcelona was the leading slave trade centre. Barcelona was a centre of Catalan separatism for a long time.

During the Spanish Civil War, Barcelona was Republican city.

Culture

Barcelona’s culture roots go back 2000 years.

The city is a very religious, so there are many cathedrals in it. The most famous of them is Sagrada Familia. Barcelona Cathedral is also popular among the tourists.

Barcelona has a large number of theaters such as Palau de la Música Catalana, Liceu etc. Barcelona has an symphony orchestra.

There are also many museums. For example, Museu Nacional d’Art, Museu Picasso, Museu Marítim, Museu d Història de la Ciutat Barcelona, Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona and Museu de la Xocolata.

The street called La Rambla is a place for street performances such as mime performances. The Sonar Festival and Primavera Sound Festival are two major pop music festivals that take place yearly there.

Barcelona has one of Europe’s largest aquariums – Aquarium Barcelona.

El Periódico de Catalunya, La Vanguardia and Ara are three major newspapers of Barcelona.

Many popular films were also shot in Barcelona. The examples are Todo sobre mi madre (1999) by Pedro Almodóvar, REC (2007), Salvador (2006), Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008), Biutiful (2010), Tres metros sobre el cielo. Tengo ganas de ti (2012).

Transport

Barcelona has a port, metro, airport, modern passengers trains by Renfe company and tram systems called Trambaix and Trambesos.

Barcelona is one of the main railway hubs in Spain. The main railway station is Sants Estació. Barcelona has also a metered taxi fleet.

Tourism

Barcelona is one of the most important tourist destinations in Europe, with millions of people visiting every year. The city is famous for its 19th century modernist architecture. The best known of those buildings was designed by Antoni Gaudi. It is the unfinished church Sagrada Familia, which is the symbol of Barcelona.

It is known for its tapas food, a meze. Among the dishes, the also popular are paella, gazpacho, jamon, crema catalana and sangria.

The popular stores for shopping are Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bimba y Lola, Adolfo Dominguez.

Events