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

## Gallery 

File:Catedral de la Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia -- 2019 -- Barcelona, España.jpg|Barcelona Cathedral
File:Badalona - La Rambla.jpg|La Rambla
File:Sagrada Familia 01.jpg|Sagrada Familia
File:Casa Milà - Barcelona, Spain - Jan 2007.jpg|Casa Milà

## Related pages
* Barcelona Metro
* Catalonia

## References 
## 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