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 humid subtropical climate (_Cfa_ in the Köppen climate classification). Most rain falls in autumn and spring, and the least rain falls in winter and summer. The average rainfall is relatively low, due to the rain shadow from the mountains.

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 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  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 s(mainlypfootball) orts city. It hosted the highly successful 1992 Summer Olympics.

## 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.

## 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

## Related pages

- Barcelona Metro
- Catalonia

## Other websites

- Official website of Barcelona
- Barcelona.com The Guide to Barcelona
- Tourist guide to Barcelona
- Hotel Arts, Barcelona best honeymoon hotel in the world

## Infobox (settlement)

- **official name**: Barcelona
- **other name**: Muscab
- **settlement type**: Municipalities of Catalonia, City and municipality
- **image skyline**: Barcelona collage.JPG
- **imagesize**: 280px
- **image flag**: Flag of Barcelona.svg
- **image shield**: Escudo de Barcelona.svg
- **nicknames**:

"Comital City" or "City of Counts"

'Head and Hearth of Catalonia'

Abbreviation(s):
 _Barna_, _BCN_
- **pushpin map caption**: Location in the Province of Barcelona##Location in Catalonia##Location in Spain
- **pushpin map**: Spain Province of Barcelona#Spain Catalonia#Spain
- **pushpin relief**: 1
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision type1**: Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous community
- **subdivision type2**: Provinces of Spain, Province
- **subdivision type3**: Comarques of Catalonia, Comarca
- **subdivision name2**: Province of Barcelona, Barcelona
- **subdivision name3**: Barcelonès
- **parts type**: Districts of Barcelona, Districts
- **parts style**: coll
- **p1**: Ciutat Vella
- **government type**: Ayuntamiento (Spain), Ayuntamiento
- **governing body**: Ajuntament de Barcelona
- **leader party**: Socialists' Party of Catalonia
- **leader title**: List of mayors of Barcelona, Mayor
- **leader name**: Jaume Collboni
- **total type**: City
- **area total km2**: 101.4
- **elevation footnotes**:  (Above mean sea level, AMSL)
- **elevation m**: 12
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population urban**: 4840000
- **population metro**: 5474482
- **population rank**: List of Spanish municipalities by population, 2nd
- **population demonyms**: Barcelonan, Barcelonian

- **postal code type**: List of postal codes in Spain, Postal code
- **postal code**: 080xx
- **area code**: +34 (Spain, E) 93 (province of Barcelona, B)
- **area code type**: Telephone numbers in Spain, Area code
- **blank name sec1**: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE code
- **blank info sec1**: 08 0193
- **blank1 name sec1**: City budget
- **blank1 info sec1**: €2.6 billion
- **blank info sec2**: Catalan language, Catalan and Spanish language, Spanish
- **blank1 name sec2**: Fiesta patronal, Main festivity
- **blank1 info sec2**: La Mercè
- **p2**: Eixample
- **p3**: Gràcia
- **p4**: Horta-Guinardó
- **p5**: Les Corts (district), Les Corts
- **p6**: Nou Barris
- **p7**: Sant Andreu
- **p8**: Sants-Montjuïc, Sants–Montjuïc
- **p9**: Sarrià-Sant Gervasi
- **p10**: Sant Martí (district), Sant Martí
- **blank2 name sec2**: Patron saint
- **blank2 info sec2**: Eulalia of Barcelona