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.

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).

Economics   

Barcelona was for a long time an industrial city. Currently, factories have been moved to the periphery, a fact that has allowed us to transform the former industrial neighbourhoods in the residential areas, from research to products with high added value and services. The most representative industrial sectors of Barcelona are the textile industry, chemical, pharmaceutical, automotive, electronics, medical Industry and printing. Services Barcelona stands out for its logistics activities, publishing and computer.

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.

Sport 
Barcelona is a very sports city. It hosted the highly successful 1992 Summer Olympics. 

FC Barcelona is a sport club, one of the largest and the second richest in the world.

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 
 1987 - Hipercor bombing
 1992 - 1992 Summer Olympics
 2004 - Universal Forum of Cultures
 2017 - 2017 Barcelona attack

Education 
Barcelona has a very good higher education. The most prominent university is the University of Barcelona which has a long history. 
 Toulouse Business School

Language 
The main language of Barcelona is considered Catalan. Spanish is the second popular language.   

(write about the problems  of language)

Sister cities 
Barcelona has sister relationships with many places worldwide:
Glasgow, Scotland 
Antwerp, Belgium
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Busan, South Korea
Monzón, Spain
Cologne, Germany
Dublin, Ireland
Gaza, Palestinian territories
Gdańsk, Poland
Istanbul, Turkey
Kobe, Japan
Montevideo, Uruguay
Montpellier, France
Perpignan, France
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
São Paulo, Brazil
Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Tel Aviv, Israel

Gallery

Related pages
 Barcelona Metro
 Catalonia

References

Other websites 
 Official website of Barcelona
 Barcelona.com The Guide to Barcelona
Hotel Arts, Barcelona best honeymoon hotel in the world

 
Olympic cities
Cities with more than a million inhabitants
Capital cities in Spain