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117-691: Somorrostro Beach is a beach in Barcelona , Catalonia , Spain . It is located between the Hospital del Mar and Marina Street, in the far east area of the Barceloneta neighborhood, in the Ciutat Vella district. It is 522 metres (1,713 ft) long and 89 metres (292 ft) wide. The Somorrostro name was forgotten and the beach became one of the most popular in the city. It was not until 2010, Somorrostro beach got its original name back. During

234-569: A Maghribian and, ultimately, Subsaharan pool of slaves. The Bank or Taula de canvi de Barcelona , often viewed as the oldest public bank in Europe, was established by the city magistrates in 1401. It originated from necessities of the state, as did the Bank of Venice (1402) and the Bank of Genoa (1407). In the beginning of the Early Modern period, Barcelona lost political primacy, but

351-468: A Papal dispensation . Consequently, Ferdinand's father forged a papal dispensation for the two to marry. Isabella believed that the dispensation was authentic and the marriage went ahead. A genuine papal dispensation arrived afterwards. Later Pope Alexander VI bestowed upon them the title of 'los Reyes Católicos' ('the Catholic Monarchs'). Henry IV , half brother of Isabella, considered

468-571: A high-speed rail line with a link to France and the rest of Europe. The name Barcelona comes from the ancient Iberian Baŕkeno , attested in an ancient coin inscription found on the right side of the coin in Iberian script as [REDACTED] , in Ancient Greek sources as Βαρκινών , Barkinṓn ; and in Latin as Barcino , Barcilonum and Barcenona . Other sources suggest that

585-624: A jihadist attack. Amaq News Agency attributed indirect responsibility for the attack to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). During the 2010s, Barcelona became the focus city for the ongoing Catalan independence movement , its consequent standoff between the regional and national government and later protests . In July 2023, Barcelona was announced as the UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture for

702-568: A day) in December to 310 (average 10 hours of sunshine a day) in July. According to Barcelona's City Council, the city's population as of 1 January 2016 was 1,608,746 people, on a land area of 101.4 km (39 sq mi). It is the main component of an administrative area of Greater Barcelona , with a population of 3,218,071 in an area of 636 km (246 sq mi) (density 5,060 inhabitants/km ). The population of

819-442: A grid of streets to unite the old city and surrounding villages. There would also be wide streets to allow people to breathe clean air, gardens in the centre of each street block, integration of rich and poor giving both groups access to the same services, and smooth-flowing traffic. Urban quality, egalitarianism, hygiene, sunlight, and efficiency were all major keys for Cerdà's vision. Not everything he imagined would be realized within

936-425: A largely industrial city. As part of the preparation for the games, industrial buildings along the sea-front were demolished and 3 km (2 mi) of beach were created. New construction increased the road capacity of the city by 17%, the sewage handling capacity by 27% and the amount of new green areas and beaches by 78%. Between 1990 and 2004, the number of hotel rooms in the city doubled. Perhaps more importantly,

1053-490: A nearby mountain. Barcelona averages 78 rainy days per year (≥ 1 mm), and annual average relative humidity is 72%, ranging from 69% in July to 75% in October. Rainfall totals are highest in late summer and autumn (September–November) and lowest in early and mid-summer (June–August), with a secondary winter minimum (February–March). Sunshine duration is 2,524 hours per year, from 138 (average 4.5 hours of sunshine

1170-590: A new wave of immigration (particularly from Latin America and from Morocco ) has gathered pace. In 1987, an ETA car bombing at Hipercor killed 21 people. On 17 August 2017, a van was driven into pedestrians on La Rambla , killing 14 and injuring at least 100, one of whom later died. Other attacks took place elsewhere in Catalonia. The Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy , called the attack in Barcelona

1287-621: A typical Mediterranean climate. However, both June and August are wetter than February, which is unusual for the Mediterranean climate. This subtype, labelled as "Portuguese" by the French geographer George Viers after the climate classification of Emmanuel de Martonne and found in the NW Mediterranean area (e.g. Marseille ), can be seen as transitional to the humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ) found in inland areas. Barcelona

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1404-465: Is 26 °C (79 °F). Generally, the summer or "holiday" season lasts about six months, from May to October. Two months – April and November – are transitional; sometimes the temperature exceeds 20 °C (68 °F), with an average temperature of 18–19 °C (64–66 °F) during the day and 11–13 °C (52–55 °F) at night. December, January and February are the coldest months, with average temperatures around 15 °C (59 °F) during

1521-432: Is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain . It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia , as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within city limits, its urban area extends to numerous neighbouring municipalities within the province of Barcelona and is home to around 5.3 million people, making it the fifth most populous urban area of

1638-640: Is a major cultural, economic, and financial centre in southwestern Europe , as well as the main biotech hub in Spain. As a leading world city, Barcelona's influence in global socio-economic affairs qualifies it for global city status (Beta +). Barcelona is a transport hub , with the Port of Barcelona being one of Europe's principal seaports and busiest European passenger port, an international airport, Barcelona–El Prat Airport , which handles over 50 million passengers per year, an extensive motorway network , and

1755-401: Is densely populated, thus heavily influenced by the urban heat island effect . Areas outside of the urbanized districts can have as much as 2 °C of difference in temperatures throughout the year. Its average annual temperature is 21.2 °C (70.2 °F) during the day and 15.1 °C (59.2 °F) at night. The average annual temperature of the sea is about 20 °C (68 °F). In

1872-498: Is extremely uneven. Half of the municipality or 50.2 km , all of it located on the municipal edge is made up of the ten least densely populated neighbourhoods containing less than 10% of the city's population, the uninhabited Zona Franca industrial area and Montjuïc forest park. Leaving the remaining 90% or slightly below 1.5 million inhabitants living on the remaining 52 km (20 sq mi) at an average density close to 28,500 inhabitants per square kilometre. Of

1989-467: Is found at and around the neighbourhood of la Sagrada Família where four of the city's most densely populated neighbourhoods are located side by side, all with a population density above 50,000 inhabitants per square kilometre. In 1900, almost a third (28.9 percent) of the population were children (aged younger than 14 years). In 2017, this age group constituted only 12.7% of the population. In 2017, people aged between 15 and 24 years made up 9 percent of

2106-561: Is home to two of the most prestigious universities in Spain: the University of Barcelona and Pompeu Fabra University . The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean are located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions . In addition, many international sport tournaments have been played here. Barcelona

2223-635: Is understood almost universally. Catalan is also very commonly spoken in the city: it is understood by 95% of the population, while 72.3% can speak it, 79% can read it, and 53% can write it. Knowledge of Catalan has increased significantly in recent decades thanks to a language immersion educational system. After Catalan and Spanish, the most spoken languages in Barcelona are those from North Africa, such as Amazigh and Arabic , followed by Bengali , Urdu , Panjabi , Mandarin Chinese , Romanian , English, Russian and Quechua , according to data collected by

2340-404: The 1992 Summer Olympics . The process of urban regeneration has been rapid, and accompanied by a greatly increased international reputation of the city as a tourist destination. The increased cost of housing has led to a slight decline (−16.6%) in the population over the last two decades of the 20th century as many families move out into the suburbs. This decline has been reversed since 2001, as

2457-587: The Americas came through Castile which was one of the more dynamic, rich, and advanced territories in Europe in the 16th century. It started to realise that it could become immersed within an empire. This, added to the broken promise of Charles, only increased hostility towards the king. In 1520 in Toledo Parliament rejected a further subsidy for the king. Parliament in Santiago de Compostela reached

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2574-566: The Compromise of Caspe in 1412, Ferdinand left Castile to become King of Aragon . Upon the death of his mother, John II at the age of 14, took to the throne and married his cousin Maria of Aragon . The young king entrusted his government to regent Álvaro de Luna , the most influential person in court and allied with the lesser nobility, the cities, the clergy, and the Jews. This brought together

2691-682: The Concordia de Villafáfila of 1506, Ferdinand returned to Aragon and Phillip was recognized as King of Castile, with Joanna a co-monarch. In the Treaty of Villafáfila in 1506 King Ferdinand the Catholic renounced not only the government of Castile in favour of his son-in-law Philip I of Castile but also the lordship of the Indies, withholding a half of the income of the kingdoms of the Indies. Joanna of Castile and Philip immediately added to their titles

2808-673: The Cortes of both kingdoms were held jointly. The Cortes of 1258 in Valladolid comprised representatives of Castile, Extremadura and León (" de Castiella e de Estremadura e de tierra de León ") and those of Seville in 1261 of Castile, León and all other kingdoms (" de Castiella e de León e de todos los otros nuestros Regnos "). Subsequent Cortes were celebrated separately, for example in 1301 that of Castile in Burgos and that of León in Zamora, but

2925-675: The Count-Duke of Olivares , the king's favourite (valido) from 1621 to 1643, tried to introduce a series of reforms. Among these was the Unión de Armas , the creation of a new army of 140,000 reservists. Every territory within the kingdom contributed citizens proportionally in order to maintain the force. His aims of union did not work and the Spanish Crown continued as a confederation of kingdoms. Luis Méndez de Haro took over from Olivares as favourite Philip IV between 1659 and 1665. This

3042-563: The Crown of Aragon , which conquered many overseas possessions and ruled the western Mediterranean Sea with outlying territories in Naples and Sicily and as far as Athens in the 13th century. Barcelona was the leading slave trade centre of the Crown of Aragon up until the 15th century, when it was eclipsed by Valencia . It initially fed from eastern and Balkan slave stock later drawing from

3159-765: The European Union after Paris , the Ruhr area, Madrid and Milan . It is one of the largest metropolises on the Mediterranean Sea , located on the coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs , bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola mountain range. According to tradition, Barcelona was founded by either the Phoenicians or the Carthaginians , who had trading posts along

3276-460: The House of Trastámara 's position and created peace between England and Castile. During the reign of Henry III royal power was restored, overshadowing the much powerful Castilian nobility. In his later years Henry delegated some of his power to his brother Ferdinand I of Antequera , who would be regent, along with his wife Catherine of Lancaster , during the childhood of his son John II . After

3393-597: The Kingdom of Asturias . The Kingdom of Castile appeared initially as a county of the Kingdom of León. From the second half of the 10th century to the first half of the 11th century it changed hands between León and the Kingdom of Navarre. In the 11th century, it became a kingdom in its own right. The two kingdoms had been united twice previously: From 1199 to 1201 under Alfonso VIII the Castilian king's armies invaded

3510-476: The Kingdom of Navarre , annexing thereafter Álava , Durangaldea and Gipuzkoa , including San Sebastián and Vitoria (Gasteiz) . However, these western Basque territories saw their Navarrese charters confirmed under Castilian rule. Ferdinand III received the Kingdom of Castile from his mother, Queen Berengaria of Castile granddaughter of Sancho III in 1217, and the Kingdom of León from his father Alfonso IX of León son of Ferdinand II in 1230. From then on

3627-596: The Morisco Revolt (1568–1571), which was put down by John of Austria . Castile entered a phase of recession in 1575; Spain as a whole followed, which provoked the suspension of wages (the third of his reign). In 1590 the Cortes approved the millones ; a new tax on food. This exhausted Castilian cities and hindered the economy. In 1596, pay was once again suspended. In the previous kingdoms, positions in national institutions were filled by educated gentlemen. Philip II's administrators would normally come from either

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3744-659: The Ordenamiento de Alcalá (1348) and the Leyes de Toro (1505). These laws continued to be in force until 1889, when a new Spanish civil code, the Código Civil Español, was enacted. In the 13th century there were many languages spoken in the Kingdoms of León and Castile among them Castilian , Leonese , Basque and Galician-Portuguese . But, as the century progressed, Castilian gained increasing prominence as

3861-534: The Philippines . There is a Japanese community clustered in Bonanova , Les Tres Torres , Pedralbes , and other northern neighbourhoods, and a Japanese international school serves that community. In 2007 most of the inhabitants stated they are Roman Catholic (208 churches). In a 2011 survey conducted by InfoCatólica, 49.5% of Barcelona residents of all ages identified themselves as Catholic . This

3978-714: The Second Spanish Republic later in the Spanish Civil War , until its capture by the fascists in 1939. After the Spanish transition to democracy in the 1970s, Barcelona once again became the capital of an autonomous Catalonia. Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner , which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites . The city

4095-659: The Spanish Civil War , the city, and Catalonia in general, were resolutely Republican. Many enterprises and public services were collectivized by the CNT and UGT unions. As the power of the Republican government and the Generalitat diminished, much of the city was under the effective control of anarchist groups. The anarchists lost control of the city to their own allies, the Communists and official government troops, after

4212-571: The Umayyads in the early 8th century, it was conquered after a siege in 801 by Charlemagne 's son Louis , who made Barcelona the seat of the Carolingian " Hispanic March " ( Marca Hispanica ), a buffer zone ruled by the Count of Barcelona . The Counts of Barcelona became increasingly independent and expanded their territory to include much of modern Catalonia , although in 985, Barcelona

4329-552: The University of Alcalá or the University of Salamanca . After Philip III the nobility once again asserted their right to govern the country. In order to show that there was a new order ruling there was a cleansing of the blood of Spain . Religious persecution led Philip to declare the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609. Faced with the collapse of the Exchequer, in order to maintain the hegemony of Philip IV's Spanish Empire,

4446-661: The War of the Castilian Succession broke out over who would ascend to the throne. It lasted until 1479 when Isabella and her supporters came out victorious. After Isabella's victory in the civil war and Ferdinand's ascension to the Aragonese throne the two crowns were united under the same monarchs. However, this was a personal union and both kingdoms remained administratively separate to some extent, each maintaining largely its own laws; both parliaments remained separate,

4563-541: The War of the Spanish Succession . After the war, all the territories were unified as a single country under the Crown of Spain . North – Septentrional South – Meridional In the viceroyalties the viceroy, whose term etymologically means "in the place of the king", concentrated all public power. They were freely appointed and removed by the Monarch, when the sovereign wanted he/she could remove

4680-694: The conquest of the Aztec Empire , the conquest of the Inca Empire , the Spanish conquest of New Granada as well as the conquest of the Philippines all helped shape the Crown of Castile into a global empire in the 16th Century. The title of "King of Castile" remained in use by the Habsburg rulers during the 16th and 17th centuries. Charles I was King of Aragon, Majorca , Valencia , and Sicily , and Count of Barcelona , Roussillon and Cerdagne , as well as King of Castile and León, 1516–1556. In

4797-580: The 1980s and 1990s as more people sought a higher quality of life in outlying cities in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. After bottoming out in 2000 with 1,496,266 residents, the city's population began to rise again as younger people started to return, causing a great increase in housing prices. Spanish is the most spoken language in Barcelona (according to the linguistic census held by the Government of Catalonia in 2013) and it

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4914-593: The 1990s, and similar to other migrants, many Latin Americans have settled in northern parts of the city. There exists a relatively large Pakistani community in Barcelona with up to twenty thousand nationals. The community consists of significantly more men than women. Many of the Pakistanis are living in Ciutat Vella . First Pakistani migrants came in the 1970s, with increasing numbers in the 1990s. Other significant migrant groups come from Asia as from China and

5031-558: The 19th century and part of the 20th century, the beach, and much of the neighboring beach areas were occupied by a shanty town , inhabited by 15,000 people living in over 2,000 slums. It was known during this time as a Romani community. It was not until the 1966 visit of Spanish caudillo Francisco Franco that the slum removal began. Most of the slums in Somorrostro were demolished between the 1960s and 1980s. Famous Roma flamenco dancers Carmen Amaya and La Singla were born in

5148-508: The 2024–2026 term. This means it will be the hub for discussion around global challenges including culture, heritage, urban planning and architecture. In addition to being the capital through 2026, it will also host the UIA World Congress of Architects for that year. The honour is befitting of Barcelona, as its history is peppered with architectural achievement and various iconic styles and influences. From its ancient Roman roots, to

5265-514: The 73 neighbourhoods in the city, 45 had a population density above 20,000 inhabitants per square kilometre with a combined population of 1,313,424 inhabitants living on 38.6 km at an average density of 33,987 inhabitants per square kilometre. The 30 most densely populated neighbourhoods accounted for 57.5% of the city population occupying only 22.7% of the municipality, or in other words, 936,406 people living at an average density of 40,322 inhabitants per square kilometre. The city's highest density

5382-527: The Catalans, shortly before the dynastic union between the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon in 1492. Barcelona became the centre of Catalan separatism , briefly becoming part of France during the 17th century Reapers' War and again in 1812 until 1814 under Napoleon . It was the capital of Revolutionary Catalonia during the Spanish Revolution of 1936 , and the seat of government of

5499-462: The Catalonian coast. In particular, some historians attribute the foundation of the city directly to the historical Carthaginian general, Hamilcar Barca , father of Hannibal , who supposedly named the city Barcino after his family in the 3rd century BC, but this theory has been questioned. Archeological evidence in the form of coins from the 3rd century BC have been found on the hills at

5616-647: The Catalonian coast. In the Middle Ages Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona . After joining with the Kingdom of Aragon to form the confederation of the Crown of Aragon , Barcelona, which continued to be the capital of the Principality of Catalonia , became the most important city in the Crown of Aragon and the main economic and administrative centre of the Crown, only to be overtaken by Valencia , wrested from Moorish control by

5733-457: The Eixample district, but the iconic octagonal superblocks with chamfered corners for better visibility are his direct brainchild and remain immensely helpful even 170 years later. The district and its ideals were not appreciated at the time. The city council awarded the design of the extension plan to another architect. The Spanish government was the one to step in and impose Cerdà's plan, laying

5850-755: The Gothic and Modernisme movements, Barcelona has thrived through the way it ties together architecture and culture. Barcelona is located on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula , facing the Mediterranean Sea , on a plain approximately 5 km (3 mi) wide limited by the mountain range of Collserola , the Llobregat river to the southwest and the Besòs river to the north. This plain covers an area of 170 km (66 sq mi), of which 101 km (39.0 sq mi) are occupied by

5967-469: The Pyrenees was annexed to Castile. Charles I received the Crown of Castile, the Crown of Aragon and the empire through a combination of dynastic marriages and premature deaths: Charles I was not well received in Castile. This was partly because he was a foreign-born king (born in Ghent ), and even before his arrival in Castile he had granted important positions to Flemish citizens and had used Castilian money to fund his court. The Castilian nobility and

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6084-407: The Republican government. Massive, but peaceful, demonstrations on 11 September 1977 assembled over a million people in the streets of Barcelona to call for the restoration of Catalan autonomy. It was granted less than a month later. The development of Barcelona was promoted by two events in 1986: Spanish accession to the European Community , and particularly Barcelona's designation as host city of

6201-419: The Roman walls have been incorporated into the cathedral. The cathedral, Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de Barcelona, is also sometimes called La Seu , which simply means cathedral (and see, among other things) in Catalan. It is said to have been founded in 343. The city was conquered by the Visigoths in the early 5th century, becoming for a few years the capital of all Hispania . After being conquered by

6318-427: The Romans, it was a colony with the surname of Faventia , or, in full, Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino or Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino . Pomponius Mela mentions it among the small towns of the district, probably as it was eclipsed by its neighbour Tarraco (modern Tarragona ), but it may be gathered from later writers that it gradually grew in wealth and consequence, favoured as it

6435-418: The University of Barcelona. Barcelona is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe. For the year 2008 the city council calculated the population to 1,621,090 living in the 102.2 km sized municipality, giving the city an average population density of 15,926 inhabitants per square kilometre with Eixample being the most populated district. In the case of Barcelona though, the land distribution

6552-499: The above-mentioned Henry, who disputed Peter's right to the throne once the latter became king. In the resulting struggle, in which both brothers claimed to be king, Pedro allied himself with Edward, Prince of Wales , "the Black Prince". In 1367, the Black Prince defeated Henry II's allies at the Battle of Nájera , restoring Pedro's control of the kingdom. The Black Prince, seeing that the king would not reimburse his expenses, left Castile. Henry, who had fled to France, took advantage of

6669-405: The case that Joanna "didn't want to or couldn't fulfil her duties". In the 'Salamanca Agreement' of 1505, it was decided that the government would be shared by Philip I, Ferdinand V and Joanna. However, poor relations between Phillip, who was supported by the Castilian nobility, and Ferdinand resulted in Ferdinand renouncing his regent's powers in Castile in order to avoid an armed conflict. Through

6786-409: The cities were on the verge of an uprising to defend their rights. Many Castilians favoured the king's younger brother Ferdinand , who grew up in Castile, and in fact the Council of Castile opposed the idea of Charles as King of Castile. In 1518 the Castilian parliament in Valladolid named the Wallonian Jean de Sauvage as its president. This caused angry protests in the parliament, which rejected

6903-429: The city is Barna . Barça is only applied to the local football club FC Barcelona , not to the city. Another common abbreviation is 'BCN', which is also the IATA airport code of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport . The city is referred to as the Ciutat Comtal in Catalan and Ciudad Condal in Spanish (i.e., "Comital City" or "City of Counts"), owing to its past as the seat of the Count of Barcelona . The origin of

7020-422: The city itself. It is 120 km (75 mi) south of the Pyrenees and the Catalan border with France. Tibidabo , 512 m (1,680 ft) high, offers striking views over the city and is topped by the 288.4 m (946.2 ft) Torre de Collserola , a telecommunications tower that is visible from most of the city. Barcelona is peppered with small hills, most of them urbanized, that gave their name to

7137-427: The city may have been named after the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca , who was supposed to have founded the city in the 3rd century BC, but there is no evidence its name in antiquity, Barcino , was connected with the Barcid family of Hamilcar. During the Middle Ages , the city was variously known as Barchinona , Barçalona , Barchelonaa , and Barchenona . An abbreviated form sometimes used by locals for

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7254-423: The city. He then moved on to occupy Santiago de Compostela , Pontevedra and Vigo . He asked John I , Henry II's son, to give up the throne in favor of Constance. John declined but proposed that his son, the Infante Henry , marry John of Gaunt's daughter Catherine . The proposal was accepted, and the title Prince of Asturias was created for Henry and Catherine. This ended the dynastic conflict, strengthened

7371-411: The coldest month, January, the temperature typically ranges from 12 to 18 °C (54 to 64 °F) during the day, 6 to 12 °C (43 to 54 °F) at night and the average sea temperature is 13 °C (55 °F). In the warmest month, August, the typical temperature ranges from 27 to 31 °C (81 to 88 °F) during the day, about 23 °C (73 °F) at night and the average sea temperature

7488-467: The completion and end of the Reconquista . Also in 1492, the Christopher Columbus maritime expedition claimed the newly found lands in the Americas for the Crown of Castile and began the New World conquests. In 1497 Castile conquered Melilla on the north coast of North Africa. After Castile's conquest of the Kingdom of Granada, its politics turned towards the Mediterranean, and Castile militarily helped Aragon in its problems with France, culminating in

7605-401: The cost quadrupled. During his reign, as well as increasing existing taxes he created some new ones, among them the excusado in 1567. That same year Philip ordered the proclamation of the La Pragmática ; an act whereby all Moriscos had to abandon all Moorish traditions and become true Catholics. This edict limited religious, linguistic and cultural freedom of the Morisco population and provoked

7722-417: The day and 9 °C (48 °F) at night. Large fluctuations in temperature are rare, particularly in the summer months. Because of the proximity to the warm sea plus the urban heat island , frosts are very rare in the city of Barcelona. Snow is also very infrequent in the city of Barcelona, but light snowfalls can occur yearly in the nearby Collserola mountains, such as in the Fabra Observatory located in

7839-399: The death of Alfonso XI a dynastic conflict started between his sons, the Infantes Peter (Pedro) and Henry , Count of Trastámara, which became entangled in the Hundred Years' War (between England and France). Alfonso XI had married Maria of Portugal with whom he had his heir, the Infante Peter. However, the King also had many illegitimate children with Eleanor of Guzman , among them

7956-411: The dominating partner in the union. As a result of the Reconquista (Reconquest) the Castilian aristocracy had become very powerful. The monarchs needed to assert their authority over the nobility and the clergy. With this end in mind they founded a law enforcement body, the Consejo de la Hermandad , more commonly known as the Santa Hermandad (the Holy Brotherhood), which was staffed and funded by

8073-404: The earliest settlement at the site of present-day Barcelona is unclear. The ruins of an early settlement have been found, including different tombs and dwellings dating to earlier than 5000 BC. In Greek mythology, the founding of Barcelona had been attributed to the mythological Hercules . According to tradition, Barcelona was founded by Punic ( Phoenician ) settlers, who had trading posts along

8190-476: The early 18th century, Philip of Bourbon won the War of the Spanish Succession and imposed unification policies over the Crown of Aragon , supporters of their enemies. This unified the Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile into the kingdom of Spain. Even though the Nueva Planta decrees did not formally abolish the Crown of Castile, the country (of Castile and Aragon) was called "Spain" by both contemporaries and historians. The Kingdom of León arose out of

8307-420: The economy managed to achieve a balance between production capacity and imports. In the context of the wider early recovery of Catalonia from the 17th-century crisis in the second half of the century, increasing maritime activity since 1675 doubled traffic in the port of Barcelona compared to figures from the beginning of the 17th century. In the late 17th and early 18th century, Barcelona repeatedly endured

8424-472: The effects of war, including the 1691 bombing, the sieges of 1697, 1704, 1705, 1706, and the 1713 blockade and ensuing 1714 siege and assault. In the 18th century, the population grew from 30,000 to about 100,000 inhabitants, as the city became one of the key mercantile centres in the Western Mediterranean, with inland influence up to Zaragoza , and to the south up to Alicante . A fortress

8541-421: The first universities in Europe. In the 13th century, emerging groups of local grazers coalesced into the powerful Mesta , the headpin for wool trade over the following three centuries. In time, Castile would become a leading export market for wool in the late middle ages. The Castilian Civil War pitting supporters of Henry of Trastámara against Peter I entailed a struggle of competing factions, with

8658-628: The foot of Montjuïc with the name Bárkeno written in an ancient script in the Iberian language . Thus, we can conclude that the Laietani , an ancient Iberian (pre-Roman) people of the Iberian peninsula, who inhabited the area occupied by the city of Barcelona around 3–2 BC , called the area Bàrkeno, which means "The Place of the Plains" (Barrke = plains/terrace). In about 15 BC, the Romans redrew

8775-608: The former party being favoured by the Castilian nobility (and, to a lesser extent, the Clergy), whereas the latter party lied on the side of Jews', conversos ' and town councils' interests. A substantial transfer from the royal patrimony to the nobles ensued upon the prevail of the Trastámaras in the conflict. Likewise, the resulting dynastic change ran parallel to a radicalization of the antisemitic sentiment in Castile. On

8892-484: The fortress is a museum and Montjuïc is home to several sporting and cultural venues, as well as Barcelona's biggest park and gardens . The city borders on the municipalities of Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Sant Adrià de Besòs to the north; the Mediterranean Sea to the east; El Prat de Llobregat and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat to the south; and Sant Feliu de Llobregat , Sant Just Desvern , Esplugues de Llobregat , Sant Cugat del Vallès , and Montcada i Reixac to

9009-610: The groundwork for many more tensions between the Spanish and Catalan administrations. Regardless, some of the upper class citizens of Barcelona were excited by the new plan and began a race to build "the biggest, tallest, most attractive house" in the district. Their interest and money fueled the rich diversity that we now see in the district's architecture. In the end, Cerdà's ideas would have a lasting impact on Barcelona's development, earning it international recognition for its highly efficient approach to urban planning and design. During

9126-539: The kingdoms of Indies, Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea. Phillip died and Ferdinand returned in 1507 once again to be regent for Joanna. Her isolated confinement-imprisonment in the Santa Clara Convent at Tordesillas , to last over forty years until death, began with her father's orders in 1510. In 1512 a joint Castilian-Aragonese force invaded Navarre and most of the Kingdom of Navarre south of

9243-764: The language of culture and communication – one example of this is the Cantar de Mio Cid . In the last years of the reign of Ferdinand III , Castilian began to be used for some important documents, such as the Visigothic Code , the basis of the legal code for Christians living in Muslim Cordova , but it was during the reign of Alfonso X that it became the official language. Henceforth all public documents were written in Castilian, likewise all translations of Arabic legal and government documents were made into Castilian instead of Latin. Some scholars think that

9360-588: The line of succession. After the death of Alfonso in an accident, Henry IV signed the Treaty of the Bulls of Guisando with his half-sister Isabella I in which he named her heiress in return for her marrying a prince chosen by him. In October 1469 Isabella I and Ferdinand II , heir to the throne of Aragon , married in secret in the Palacio de los Vivero in Castilian Valladolid . The consequence

9477-402: The marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella as breaking the Treaty of the Bulls of Guisando , under which Isabella would ascend to the Castilian throne on his death only if her suitor was approved by him. Henry wanted to ally Castile with Portugal or France rather than Aragon. He therefore decided to name his daughter Infanta Joanna as heiress to the throne rather than Isabella I. When he died in 1474

9594-469: The monarchs decided that those who would not convert would be expelled. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 people were expelled from Castile. From 1502 onwards, they began to convert the Muslim population. Between 1478 and 1497 the monarchs' forces conquered the three Canary Islands of Gran Canaria , La Palma and Tenerife . On 2 January 1492 the monarchs entered Granada 's Alhambra marking

9711-583: The municipalities. They also took further measures against the nobility, destroying feudal castles, prohibiting private wars and reducing the power of the Adelantados (a governor-like military office in regions recently conquered). The monarchy incorporated military orders under the Consejo de las Órdenes in 1495, reinforced royal judicial power over the feudal one and transformed the Audiencias into

9828-537: The mutual dislikes of the king shared by the greater Castilian nobility and the Aragonese Infantes , sons of Ferdinand I of Antequera , who sought to control the Castilian crown. This eventually led to war in 1429 and 1430 between the two kingdoms. Álvaro de Luna won the war and expelled the Aragonese Infantes from Castile. Henry IV unsuccessfully tried to re-establish the peace with

9945-489: The neighborhood. In addition, Los Tarantos , an academy award -nominated film about flamenco starring Amaya, and featuring Singla, was filmed in Somorrostro in 1963. 41°23′02″N 2°11′46″E  /  41.38392°N 2.19622°E  / 41.38392; 2.19622 Barcelona Barcelona ( / ˌ b ɑːr s ə ˈ l oʊ n ə / BAR -sə- LOH -nə ; Catalan: [bəɾsəˈlonə] ; Spanish: [baɾθeˈlona] )

10062-473: The neighbourhoods built upon them, such as Carmel (267 m or 876 ft), Putxet (es) (181 m or 594 ft) and Rovira (261 m or 856 ft). The escarpment of Montjuïc (173 m or 568 ft), situated to the southeast, overlooks the harbour and is topped by Montjuïc Castle , a fortress built in the 17–18th centuries to control the city as a replacement for the Ciutadella. Today,

10179-533: The nobility that his father, John II, had shattered. When his second wife, Joan of Portugal , gave birth to Infanta Joanna , it was claimed that she was the result of an affair of the Queen with Beltrán de la Cueva , one of the King's chief ministers. The King, besieged by riots and the demands of the nobles, had to sign a treaty in which he named as his successor his half-brother Alfonso , leaving Infanta Joanna out of

10296-435: The number of cities represented in the Cortes varied over the next century, until John I permanently set those that would be allowed to send representatives ( procuradores ): Burgos , Toledo , León, Sevilla, Córdoba, Murcia, Jaén, Zamora , Segovia , Ávila , Salamanca , Cuenca , Toro , Valladolid , Soria , Madrid and Guadalajara (with Granada added after its conquest in 1492). Under Alfonso X , most sessions of

10413-544: The only common institution would be the Inquisition . Despite their titles of "Monarchs of Castile, Leon, Aragon and Sicily" Ferdinand and Isabella reigned over their respective territories, although they also took decisions together. Its central position, larger territorial area (three times greater than that of Aragon) and larger population (4.3 million as opposed to the 1 million in Aragon) led to Castile becoming

10530-530: The only monarch of Spain. Philip II continued the politics of Charles I, but unlike his father he made Castile the core of the Spanish Empire , centralising all administration in Madrid . The other Spanish regions maintained certain degree of autonomy, being governed by a Viceroy . In fact, since the reign of Charles I the financial burden of the empire had fallen mainly on Castile, but under Philip II

10647-602: The opportunity and recommenced the fight. Henry finally was victorious in 1369 in the Battle of Montiel , in which he had Peter killed. In 1371 the brother of the Black Prince, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , married Constance , Peter's daughter. In 1386, he claimed the Crown of Castile in the name of his wife, the legitimate heir according to the Cortes de Seville of 1361. He arrived in A Coruña with an army and took

10764-413: The outside perception of the city was changed making, by 2012, Barcelona the 12th most popular city destination in the world and the 5th amongst European cities. The death of Franco in 1975 brought on a period of democratization throughout Spain. Pressure for change was particularly strong in Barcelona, which considered that it had been punished during nearly forty years of Francoism for its support of

10881-463: The population; those aged between 25 and 44 years made up 30.6 percent of the population; while those aged between 45 and 64 years formed 56.9% of all Barcelonans. In 1900, people aged 65 and older made up just 6.5 percent of the population. In 2017, this age group made up 21.5 percent of the population. In 2016, about 59% of the inhabitants of the city were born in Catalonia and 18.5% coming from

10998-534: The presence of foreigners in its deliberations. Despite threats, the parliament led by Juan de Zumel representing Burgos , resisted and forced the king to respect the laws of Castile, remove all foreigners from important governmental posts, and learn to speak Castilian . After taking his oath, Charles received a subsidy of 600,000 ducats. Charles was conscious of the fact that he had options to become emperor and needed to impose his authority over Castile to gain access to its riches for his imperial goals. The riches from

11115-543: The reconquest of Naples for the Crown of Aragon in 1504. Later that same year, Queen Isabella died, on November 26. Upon Queen Isabella I's death 1504, the crown passed to her daughter Joanna , who was married to Philip of Austria (nicknamed 'Philip the Handsome'). But Isabella knew of her daughter's possible mental health incapacities ( and so nicknamed 'Juana la Loca' or 'Joanna the Mad' ) and named Ferdinand as regent in

11232-562: The representatives demanded that the parliaments be reunited from then on. Although the individual kingdoms and cities initially retained their individual historical rights-including the Old Fuero of Castile (Viejo Fuero de Castilla) and the different fueros of the municipal councils of Castile, León, Extremadura and Andalucía-a unified legal code for the entire new kingdom was created in the Siete Partidas ( c.  1265 ),

11349-507: The rest of the country. In addition to that, 22.5% of the population was born outside of Spain, a proportion which has more than doubled since 2001 and more than quintupled since 1996 when it was 8.6% and 3.9% respectively. The most important region of origin of migrants is Europe, with many coming from Italy (26,676) or France (13,506). Moreover, many migrants come from Latin American nations such as Bolivia , Ecuador or Colombia . Since

11466-543: The revolts released Joanna, claiming to support her to be the sole monarch and encouraging her to agree the dethronement of Charles. While sympathetic to revolts, Joanna however refused to sign any documents to support them or depose her son. Los comuneros were defeated one year later (1521). After their defeat, Parliament was reduced to a merely consultative body. To prevent Joanna from being proposed to be an alternative monarch by opponents again, Charles continued her confinement until her death in 1555, after which Charles became

11583-506: The rise and any outbreaks of disease would devastate the population. To solve the issue, a civil engineer named Ildefons Cerdà proposed a plan for a new district known as the Eixample . The citizens of Barcelona had begun to demolish the medieval wall surrounding and constricting the city. Cerdà thought it best to transform the land outside the walls into an area characterized by a scientific approach to urbanization. His proposal consisted of

11700-548: The same decision. Finally, when Parliament was held in A Coruña , many members were bribed and others denied entry, with the result that the subsidy was approved. Those members who voted in favour were attacked by the Castilian people and their houses were burned. Parliament was not the only opposition which Charles would come up against. When he left Castile in 1520, the Castilian War of the Communities broke out, and

11817-523: The street fighting of the Barcelona May Days . The fall of the city on 26 January 1939, caused a mass exodus of civilians who fled to the French border. The resistance of Barcelona to Franco 's coup d'état was to have lasting effects after the defeat of the Republican government. The autonomous institutions of Catalonia were abolished, and the use of the Catalan language in public life

11934-655: The substitution of Castilian for Latin was due to the strength of the new language, whereas others consider that it was due to the influence of Hebrew-speaking intellectuals who were hostile towards Latin, the language of the Christian Church. In 1492, under the Catholic Monarchs , the first edition of the Grammar of the Castilian Language by Antonio de Nebrija was published. Castilian

12051-485: The supreme judicial bodies. The crown also sought to better control the cities, and so in 1480 in the Cortes of Toledo it created the corregidores , representatives of the crown, which supervised the city councils. In religion, they reformed religious orders and sought unity of the various sections of the church. They pressured Jews to convert to Catholicism, in some cases persecuted by the Inquisition. Finally in 1492,

12168-476: The throne has been titled Prince of Asturias since the 14th century. Almost immediately after the union of the two kingdoms under Ferdinand III, the parliaments of Castile and León were united. It was divided into three estates, which corresponded with the nobility, the church and the cities, and included representation from Castile , León , Galicia , Toledo , and the Basque Provinces . Initially

12285-558: The town as a castrum (Roman military camp) centred on the " Mons Taber ", a little hill near the Generalitat (Catalan Government) and city hall buildings. The Roman Forum, at the crossing of the Cardo Maximus and Decumanus Maximus , was approximately placed where current Plaça de Sant Jaume is. Thus, the political centre of the city, Catalonia , and its domains has remained in the same place for over 2,000 years. Under

12402-628: The two kingdoms were united under the name of the Kingdom of León and Castile, or simply as the Crown of Castile. Ferdinand III later conquered the Guadalquivir Valley , while his son Alfonso X conquered the Kingdom of Murcia from Al-Andalus , further extending the area of the Crown of Castile. Given this, the kings of the Crown of Castile traditionally styled themselves "King of Castile , León , Toledo , Galicia , Murcia , Jaén , Córdoba , Seville , and Lord of Biscay and Molina ", among other possessions they later gained. The heir to

12519-401: The urban area was 4,840,000. It is the central nucleus of the Barcelona metropolitan area , which relies on a population of 5,474,482. In 1900, Barcelona had a population of 533,000, which grew steadily but slowly until 1950, when it started absorbing a high number of people from other less-industrialized parts of Spain. Barcelona's population peaked in 1979 at 1,906,998, and fell throughout

12636-472: The voyage of Christopher Columbus and the discovery of the Americas were major events in the history of Castile. The West Indies , Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea were also a part of the Crown of Castile when transformed from lordships to kingdoms of the heirs of Castile in 1506, with the Treaty of Villafáfila , and upon the death of Ferdinand the Catholic. The discovery of the Pacific Ocean ,

12753-476: The west. The municipality includes two small sparsely-inhabited exclaves to the north-west. According to the Köppen climate classification , Barcelona has a hot summer Mediterranean climate ( Csa ), with mild winters and warm to hot summers, while the rainiest seasons are autumn and spring. The rainfall pattern is characterized by a short (3 months) dry season in summer, as well as less winter rainfall than in

12870-437: Was sacked by the army of Almanzor . The sack was so traumatic that most of Barcelona's population was either killed or enslaved. In 1137, Aragon and the County of Barcelona merged in dynastic union by the marriage of Ramon Berenguer IV and Petronilla of Aragon , their titles finally borne by only one person when their son Alfonso II of Aragon ascended to the throne in 1162. His territories were later to be known as

12987-421: Was a dynastic union of the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon in 1479 when Ferdinand ascended to the Aragonese throne. This union however was not effective until the reign of his grandson Charles I (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) . Ferdinand and Isabella were related and had married without papal approval. Although Isabella wanted to marry Ferdinand, she refused to proceed with the marriage until she received

13104-492: Was built at Montjuïc that overlooked the harbour. Much of Barcelona was negatively affected by the Napoleonic wars , but the start of industrialization saw the fortunes of the province improve. In the mid-1850s, Barcelona was struggling with population density as it became an industrial, port city and European capital. The city's density was at 856 people per hectare, more than double that of Paris. Mortality rates were on

13221-655: Was eventually carried to the Americas in the 16th century by the conquistadors . Because of Castilian's importance in the land ruled by the Spanish Crown , the language is also known as Spanish. Furthermore, in the 13th century many universities were founded where instruction was in Castilian, such as the Leonese University of Salamanca , the Castilian Estudio General of Palencia and the University of Valladolid , which were among

13338-457: Was in order to alleviate interior conflicts sparked off by his predecessor (revolts in Portugal , Catalonia and Andalusia ) and achieve peace in Europe. Upon the death of Philip IV in 1665, and with the incapacity of Charles II to govern, Spain suffered an economic slowdown and battles for power between the different 'favourites'. The death of Charles II in 1700 without descendants provoked

13455-564: Was suppressed. Barcelona remained the second largest city in Spain, at the heart of a region which was relatively industrialized and prosperous, despite the devastation of the civil war. The result was a large-scale immigration from poorer regions of Spain (particularly Andalusia , Murcia and Galicia ), which in turn led to rapid urbanization. In 1992, Barcelona hosted the Summer Olympics . The after-effects of this are credited with driving major changes in what had, up until then, been

13572-457: Was the first time that more than half of respondents did not identify themselves as Catholic Christians. The numbers reflect a broader trend in Spain whereby the numbers of self-identified Catholics have declined. In 2019, a survey by Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas showed that 53.2% of residents in Barcelona identified themselves as Catholic (9.9% practising Catholics, 43.3% non-practising Catholics). Crown of Castile In 1492,

13689-652: Was with a beautiful situation and an excellent harbour. It enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens. The city minted its own coins; some from the era of Galba survive. Important Roman vestiges are displayed in Plaça del Rei underground, as a part of the Barcelona City History Museum (MUHBA); the typically Roman grid plan is still visible today in the layout of the historical centre, the Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter). Some remaining fragments of

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