On his visit to the city in 1862, Hans Christian Andersen remarked that Barcelona was the “Paris of Spain.” The city is indeed a major cultural centre with a remarkable history. It abounds with archives, libraries, museums, and buildings of interest, featuring superb examples of Modernist and Art Nouveau decor and architecture. Since the late 1970s, with the official recognition of the Catalan language and the granting of significant levels of regional self-government, cultural life has been revitalized, bringing with it a new awareness of the depth and variety of Catalan culture. This vitality combines with the striking physical setting of Barcelona—between scenic mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, with a benign climate that fosters street life—and its significance as an economic power and a major port to create a city of infinite variety. Area city, 38 square miles (98 square km); metropolitan area, 1,249 square miles (3,235 square km). Pop. (2006 est.) 1,605,602.
Barcelona, facing the Mediterranean to the southeast, is located on a plain generally confined by the Besós River (north), the Llobregat River (south), the rocky outcrop of Montjuich (567 feet [173 metres] high), and the semicircle of mountains of which Tibidabo (1,680 feet [512 metres]) is the highest point. Throughout its past Barcelona has had to contend with the consequences of its strategic location and political significance. The city was heavily fortified and did not spread much beyond its medieval confines until the 19th century, a factor that contributed to the emergence of industrial satellite suburbs and towns around the city proper. This combination of a concentrated core with a highly developed industrial belt has made Barcelona one of the most congested cities in the world.
Although Barcelona is sometimes windy, its protective semicircle of mountains shields it from the harsh, cold winds that blow out of the north and west. The average annual temperature is 61 °F (16 °C); January is the coldest month, averaging 49 °F (9 °C), and August is the hottest, at 76 °F (24 °C). Precipitation amounts to about 23 inches (600 mm) per year.
At the core of the city lies the Gothic Quarter. Located between the Ramblas, a series of connected boulevards, going southeastward to the sea, and the Via Laietana, it is a close-packed maze of narrow streets punctuated by magnificent medieval buildings. The cathedral, episcopal palace, and churches bear witness to Barcelona’s importance as a religious centre. The government buildings—such as the Palace of the Generalitat (the seat of the autonomous community of Catalonia), a 14th–15th-century building with Baroque and Neoclassical facades, and the Royal Palace—attest to the city’s importance as an administrative capital. The Roman walls survive in places largely because stretches of them were incorporated into the medieval city, and the wall built in the 13th century along the Ramblas effectively hemmed it in. The defenses that played such a large part in the battle for Barcelona during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14) were augmented by the construction of a citadel after the city was taken.
By the mid-19th century the need for elaborate defenses had passed, and the city was bursting at the seams. Accordingly, plans were devised to extend the city. The final plans were based on geometric blocks, allowing for open spaces, greenery, and social areas. The area into which the town expanded, now called L’Eixample (“the Extension”), was open land left originally to give a clear field of fire from the city walls. Unfortunately, the plans were not carried out completely, and within 30 years the open areas were exploited, causing the density of buildings to triple. The city expanded following the annexing of the old municipalities surrounding Barcelona. Urban sprawl and uncontrolled development during the Francisco Franco era added to the congestion. The 1992 Olympic Games allowed for some renovation of deteriorated and poorly planned areas.
For the visitor, the main attraction still tends to be in the city centre, particularly around the Ramblas. The famous promenade is separated from L’Eixample by the monumental Catalunya Square, and it leads down to the port and the Portal de la Pau Square, where the Christopher Columbus monument stands in commemoration of the discovery of America and the explorer’s announcement of it in Barcelona. The Ramblas form one of the most delightful aspects of the city, their broad, tree-lined centre strips given over to a series of stalls and kiosks selling items such as flowers, pets, and books and newspapers.
The skyline of the modern city inevitably reflects the style of the present age, but Barcelona has always attracted distinguished and original architects. Some people find the more modern buildings along the Diagonal quite striking, but little of it can compare to the work of the Catalan sculptor and architect Antoni Gaudí, whose huge and elaborate Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family (Sagrada Família) has become a symbol of the city itself. He made a number of other notable contributions, including the multistory apartment buildings Casa Batlló, Casa Milá (La Pedrera), and Güell Park. Other architects, such as Luis Doménechi Montaner, produced remarkable structures in the modernist style, such as the Music Palace, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.
Immigration has played a key part in the economic growth of the region. Up to one-third of the population of modern Barcelona was born outside Catalonia, a condition that has caused some social strain, given the Catalans’ firm sense of national identity and their aloof attitude, which is often displayed toward the rest of Spain as a whole. In many respects, however, the city is outward-looking, conscious of cultural trends in the rest of Europe and of its historical links with other Mediterranean countries.
Barcelona’s industry is relatively up-to-date, and the city has long-established external markets to give it stability. Almost a quarter of Spanish exports come from Catalonia, and three-quarters of Catalan industry is concentrated in the Barcelona area, which provides some about one-fifth of Spain’s industrial output. The city receives approximately one-fourth of all foreign investment in Spain. Historically, the textile industry dominated Barcelona’s economy, but its relative importance has declined as the service sector, which accounts for approximately four-fifths of all jobs, developed. Chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, electronics, and appliance manufacturing are among Barcelona’s leading industries.
The Catalans are renowned for their business acumen. Emphasis commercially is on small firms , and large chain stores, and ; among the companies registered in Catalonia, few have more than 200 people on their payrolls. Nonetheless, it has become policy to attract major international investors to the region. The city has a free economic zone near the port, the zona franca, where distribution centres are concentrated. Barcelona is a major site for conferences, exhibitions, and trade fairs. The main event, La Fira (Feria de Barcelona), has been held annually since 1929 at the Palacio de las Naciones, the exhibition centre on Montjuich. Barcelona has a thriving stock exchange and is a major international commercial and financial centre.
Public transportation is provided by buses, subways, and surface railways. There are also cable cars. Freeways link Barcelona to the Catalonia highway network, which joins the service up to the Cadí mountain tunnel in the Pyrenees, providing access to the French highway network. The metropolitan subway, opened in 1924, connects with the urban railway and provides regular service to some municipalities in the metropolitan region and to the international airport at Prat de Llobregat, about 8 miles (13 km) southwest of the city. Connections can be made there to major world cities. The port of Barcelona accommodates ships from all parts of the world, as well as providing ferry service to the Balearic Islands and to Genoa, Italy. The city is an important European shipping centre.
Barcelona, the traditional centre of Catalan movements for independence, is the capital of both the province of Barcelona and the autonomous community of Catalonia. The city is governed as a municipio (municipality) of Spain, and its elections are held every four years. The councillors elect the mayor, who selects three deputies from their number to assist in the duties of the mayor’s office.
Under the present government, services have been decentralized and made more accountable to the public. Electricity is supplied from sources in France as well as elsewhere in Spain, and some hydroelectric power comes from the Pyrenees. Nuclear power plants at Vandellós, in the province of Tarragona, are of particular importance to the city. A receiving terminal for natural gas has been installed in the port to supply a regional distribution network, but many private houses rely on bottled butane gas. With the rapid growth of the population after World War II, water supply has become a problem. Local rivers cannot supply both industrial and domestic needs. Some drinking water is drawn upstream from the Llobregat, but more is provided by the Ter River in the province of Girona.
The University of Barcelona was founded in 1450. It is one of seven public and private universities in the city. Others include the Autonomous University of Barcelona (1968) and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (1971). Most courses in the municipality’s schools are taught in Spanish and Catalan.
Barcelona has long been a major cultural centre. It has an abundance of archives and libraries, including dozens of specialized collections, many of which are in private hands. Barcelona is in fact one of the major publishing centres for the Spanish-speaking world, and the Fiesta del Libro (“Book Party”), held on April 23, is a historical and social tradition and a major event for the book trade. April 23 is also the feast day of Catalonia’s patron saint, St. George.
The more classical forms of culture are well represented. The Liceu Opera House, founded in 1847, presents opera and ballet performances. A fire destroyed the landmark building in 1994; it has since been rebuilt. The Romea Theatre has been a focal point of Catalan-language drama since the 19th century. Classical music is amply provided by the Music Palace and the city’s symphony orchestra.
Museums range from the monumental maritime museum, which houses a full-size replica of a galley from the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, to the waxworks museum. Art of the present and the past ages is housed in the National Art Museum of Art of Catalonia Catalonia, formed in 1990 to include the collection of the Catalonia Museum of Art (Romanesque and Gothic paintings) and the Federico Marés Museum (12th–18th-century sculpture), while the Museum of Modern Art displays works by contemporary (with works from the 19th and 20th centuries, notably by Catalan artists. There are also ). The Federico Marès Museum houses a number of curiosities (smoking pipes, shell-encrusted glass vases, and so forth) collected by the museum’s namesake as well as a variety of sculptures from ancient times to the 19th century. Throughout the city, there are also several collections dedicated to famous artists connected with Barcelona, most notably those for the painters Joan Miró (Joan Miró Foundation) and Pablo Picasso (Picasso Museum). The Casa de Cervantes commemorates Barcelona’s association with the writings of Miguel de Cervantes.
Perhaps the most striking feature of culture in Barcelona is its easy availability at many levels—from major art exhibitions at the Pedralbes Palace to the pavement artists in the Ramblas. A large copper fish sculpture by architect Frank Gehry stands at the Olympic Port entrance. The city’s financial and cultural wealth drew international attention when Barcelona hosted the Olympic Games in 1992. There is a zoo in Ciutadella Park.