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Barcelona  The container harbour at Barcelona, Spain. Containers, which can be transported by ship and by road, have made Barcelona a leading commercial centre on the northeast coast of Spain. The harbour has been an important port in the Mediterranean since Roman times.  A photograph of the Church of the Holy Family in Barcelona, Spain, the unfinished work of Antonio Gaudí. The spire, because of its shape, has become known as the ‘Bishop's Mitre’, and the east facade, or ‘Nativity Facade’, is a remarkable example of Gaudí's fluid use of stone.  Spires of the Sagrada Familia (Church of the Holy Family), Barcelona, Spain, designed by the Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí. According to Gaudí's original plans, the cathedral should eventually have twelve towers representing the apostles and four towers for the evangelists. The building, a bizarre fusion of Gothic and Art Nouveau styles, was begun in the late 19th century but remains under construction. Port and capital of Barcelona province and of the autonomous community of Cataluña, northeast Spain; population (2001 est) 1,505,300; conurbation (2003 est) 3,889,200. Barcelona is Spain's second-largest city, its largest port, and its chief commercial centre. Industries include textiles, engineering, motor vehicles, electrical equipment, and chemicals. As the chief centre of Catalan nationalism, Barcelona was prominent in the overthrow of the monarchy in 1931 and was the last city of the republic to surrender to General Francisco Franco in 1939. The city hosted the Summer Olympics in 1992. History Founded by the Carthaginians in the 3rd century BC, Barcelona was ruled independently by the Counts of Barcelona from the 9th century AD, becoming a commercial centre for Aragón and Cataluña in the 13th–14th centuries and one of the leading ports of the Mediterranean, becoming a rival of Genoa and Venice. The city was devastated in the Catalan Revolt of 1652 and again during the War of Spanish Succession in 1714. At the forefront of the fight for regional autonomy during the Spanish Civil War, Barcelona suffered as a result of insurrections in 1835, 1856, 1874, and 1909. In 1923 there was a general strike, and in 1925 the city was for a time under martial law. Barcelona was held by the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39, and towards the end of 1937 it replaced Valencia as the capital of the Republican government. The city remains a centre of separatism and political liberalism; since the 1970s it has reasserted its Catalan linguistic character. Features The Ramblas, tree-lined promenades leading from the Plaza de Cataluña, the largest square in Spain; Gaudí's unfinished church of the Holy Family (1883); the old quarter (el Barrio Gótico) has many historic structures, including the Gothic cathedral of Santa Eulalia (13th–15th centuries) with its fine cloisters; the Pueblo Español (1929), with examples of Spanish architecture; a replica of Christopher Columbus's flagship the Santa Maria, in the Maritime Museum; a large collection of art by Pablo Picasso. Barcelona is also the seat of two universities and many other educational institutions. |
Industrial development Barcelona was the centre of early industrialization in Spain, with a textile industry developing towards the end of the 18th century, using the spinning jenny less than ten years after it had been invented. This development was interrupted by the Napoleonic Wars (1808–14), but resumed with the introduction of steam-powered machinery in the Barcelona textile industry by José Bonaplata in 1832, and with the founding of the engineering company, La Máquina Terrestre y Marítima, in 1855. |
Barcelona| Province of northeast Spain in Cataluña autonomous community; area 7,733 sq km/2,986 sq mi; population (1991 est) 4,654,400. It has a heavily urbanized coastline on the Mediterranean Sea, and the north and centre of the province contain spurs of the Pyrenean mountain range. Agricultural products include fruit, wine, and olives. The province is one of the major industrial regions of Spain, with textiles, engineering, chemicals, and food industries. The capital is Barcelona. |
Barcelona| City in Venezuela; the capital of Anzoátegui state; population (2007 est) 459,100. Barcelona, which was founded in 1671, is situated in the centre of a stock-raising area and commercial region. Its chief products are coffee, cocoa, sugar, and tobacco. Its port, Guanta, lies 19 km/12 mi to the northeast. |
| The ruins of the Casa Fuerte, a relic of the war of independence, are to be found in the city. |
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