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Barcelona History FC Barcelona Tickets
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| Barcelona History |
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Legend attributes the Carthaginian foundation of
Barcino to Hamilcar Barca , father of Hannibal . About 15 BC , Romans redrew the
town as a castrum (a Roman military camp) centred on the "Mons Taber", a little
hill nearby the contemporary city hall (Plaça de Sant Jaume). The Roman Colonia
Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino was outshone by the province's capital
Tarragona but some important Roman remains are exposed under the Plaça del Rei ,
entrance by the city museum, Museu d'Història de la Ciutat and the typically
Roman grid-planning is still visible today on the map of the historical centre,
the Barri Gótic ("Gothic Quarter"). Some remaining fragments of the Roman walls
have been incorporated in the cathedral butted up against them [1]; the basilica
La Seu is credited to have been founded in 343. The city was conquered by the
Visigoths in the early 5th century , by the Moors in the early 8th century ,
reconquered from the emir in 801 by Charlemagne 's son Louis who made Barcelona
the seat of Carolingian "Spanish Marches" ( Marca Hispanica ), a buffer zone
ruled by the Count of Barcelona. Barcelona was still a Christian frontier
territory when it was sacked by Al-Mansur in 985.
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The counts of Barcelona became increasingly
independent and expanded their territory to include all of Catalonia, later
formed the Crown of Aragon who conquered many overseas possessions, ruling the
western Mediterranean Sea with outlying territories as far as Athens in the 13th
century. The forging of a dynastic link between the Crown of Aragon and Castile
marked the beginning of Barcelona's decline. The city is home to the University
of Barcelona , founded in 1450 . The city was devastated
after the Catalonian Republic of 1640 - 1652 , and again during the War of the
Spanish Succession in 1714. King Philip V of Spain demolished half of the
merchants' quarter ( La Ribera ) to build a military citadel, as a way of both
punishing and controlling the rebel city. Official use of Catalan language was
forbidden, and the University withdrew. Barcelona and the province of Catalonia
were annexed by the French Empire of Napoleon after he invaded Spain and put his
brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. It was returned to Spain after Napoleon's
downfall. |
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During the 19th century, Barcelona grew with the industrial
revolution and the introduction of many new industries. During a period of
weaker control by the Madrid authorities, the medieval walls were torn down and
the citadel of La Ribera was converted into an urban park: the modern Parc de la
Ciutadella, site of the 1888 "Universal Exposition" ( World's Fair ). The
exposition also left behind the Arc de Triomf and the Museu de Zoologia (a
building originally used during the fair as a cafe-restaurant). The fields that
had surrounded the artificially constricted city became the Eixample
("extension"), a bustling modern city surrounding the old. |
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The beginning of the 20th century marked
Barcelona's resurgence, while Catalan nationalists clamoured for political
autonomy and greater freedom of cultural expression. |
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Barcelona was a stronghold for the
anarchist cause -anarchist opposition to the call-up of reservists led to the
city's Tragic Week in 1909 - siding with the Republic's democratically elected
government during the Spanish Civil War ( 1936 - 39 ). It was overrun by
Francisco Franco's forces in 1939, which ushered in a reign of cultural and
political repression that lasted decades. |
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The protest movement of the 1970s and the
demise of the dictatorship turned Barcelona into a centre of cultural vitality,
enabling it to become the thriving city it is today. While it may still be the
second city of Spain, it has a charm and air that is unique and prized. A
decline in the inner city population and displacement towards the outskirts and
beyond raises the threat of urban sprawl. |
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focus of the revival of the Catalan language. Despite massive immigration of
Castilian speakers from other parts of Spain in the second half of the 20th
century, there has been notable success in the increased use of Catalan in
everyday life. |
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Barcelona was the site of the 1992 Summer
Olympics. The largest event held in the city since the '92 Summer Olympics was
the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures that was held between May and September,
lasting a marathon 141 days. |
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Famous people who have lived and worked in
Barcelona include: Master Painters Pablo Picasso , Joan Miró , Salvador Dalí ,
Antoni Tàpies , Enrique Tábara , Eugenio Granell , Antonio Saura , Manolo
Millares , Juan Villafuerte ; Architect Antoni Gaudí. |
| See also: List of Counts of
Barcelona | |
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