The municipality of Barcelona is the result of the annexation in the late 19th and early 20th century of the different municipalities that were formerly in the plain of Barcelona.
The Nueva Planta decrees of the 18th century eliminated the autochthonous governing bodies of Catalonia, based on the representation of the different citizen branches in the Consell de Cent (Council of One Hundred), and they were replaced by absolutist bodies of royal designation. With the Cadiz Constitution of 1812, the city councils were created as bodies of popular representation and, with them, the municipalities.
At that time the city of Barcelona was what is now called Ciutat Vella. Its boundaries also included Montjuïc, the Poble Sec, and most of the territory of the later Eixample, but these were practically undeveloped lands. In 1839 an exchange with the municipality of Santa Maria de Sants incorporated the land near the Creu Coberta (today's neighborhoods of Hostafrancs and La Font de la Guatlla) to Barcelona in exchange for some land in La Marina de Port. [1]
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Barcelona annexed the rest of the municipalities of the surrounding plain. With substantial differences, the configuration of these former municipalities served to design the ten districts into which the city is currently divided.
Name of the municipality | Year of creation | Annexed to | Year of annexation | Current district of Barcelona | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Les Corts de Sarrià | 1823 [2] 1836 [2] | Barcelona | 1897 [2] | Les Corts |
|
Gràcia | 1821 [3] 1850 [3] | Barcelona | 1897 [3] | Gràcia |
|
Horta | Barcelona | 1904 [4] | Horta-Guinardó |
| |
Sant Andreu de Palomar | Barcelona | 1897 [5] | Sant Andreu and Nou Barris [5] |
| |
Sant Gervasi de Cassoles | Barcelona | 1897 [6] | Sarrià-Sant Gervasi |
| |
Sant Martí de Provençals | Barcelona | 1897 [7] | Sant Martí |
| |
Santa Maria de Sants [1] | Barcelona | 1897 [1] | Sants-Montjuïc |
| |
Sarrià | Barcelona | 1921 [8] | Sarrià-Sant Gervasi |
| |
Vallvidrera | Sarrià | 1892 [9] | Sarrià-Sant Gervasi |
|
Barcelona 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 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.
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Callosa d'en Sarrià (Valencian:[kaˈʎozaðensariˈa] is a Valencian town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Spain, lying in the valley of the river Guadalest, 50 km from the city of Alicante. Callosa d'en Sarrià has an area of 24.8 km2 and according to the 2003 census, a total population of 8,060 inhabitants. The economy of Callosa is chiefly based on tourism and agriculture: it is the main producer of loquat in Spain. The most important monuments in the town are the Catholic archipresbyteral church of Sant Joan Baptista, built in the 18th century, and the Fortress of Bèrnia, built in the 17th century at the top of a nearby mountain to defend the city from pirates and Moriscos.
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Gràcia, meaning "grace", is a district of the Mediterranean city of Barcelona, in the northeastern autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It comprises the barris (neighborhoods) of Vila de Gràcia, Vallcarca i els Penitents, El Coll, La Salut and Camp d'en Grassot i Gràcia Nova. Gràcia is bordered by the districts of Eixample to the south, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi to the west, and Horta-Guinardó to the east. A vibrant and diverse enclave of Catalan life, Gràcia was an independent municipality for centuries before being formally annexed by Barcelona in 1897, as a part of the city's expansions.
Horta-Guinardó is the name of one of the districts of Barcelona, located in its North-Eastern corner. It is named after two very heterogeneous areas of the city, Horta and el Guinardó, which together cover a large area of 11.92 km2, amounting to 11.9% of the total area of the city.
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain is divided into 10 districts. These are administered by a councillor designated by the main city council, and each of them have some powers relating to issues such as urbanism or infrastructure in their area. The current division of the city into different districts was approved in 1984. In 2009 Barcelona started using a new division of 73 neighbourhoods, a division that was done for a better service from the City Council.
La Ribera is one of the areas of the quarter of Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera of Ciutat Vella of Barcelona.
Barcelona'sculture stems from the city's 2000 years of history. Barcelona has historically been a cultural center of reference in the world. To a greater extent than the rest of Catalonia, where Catalonia's native language Catalan is more dominant, Barcelona is a bilingual city: Catalan and Spanish are both official and widely spoken. Since the arrival of democracy, the Catalan culture has experienced a rebirth, both by recovering works from the past and by stimulating the creation of new works. Barcelona is an international hub of highly active and diverse cultural life with theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums, and high-value architectural heritage.
Plaça de Catalunya station, also known as Barcelona-Plaça Catalunya, Plaça Catalunya or simply Catalunya is a major station complex in Barcelona located under Plaça de Catalunya, the city's central square and a large transport hub. Many Rodalies de Catalunya, Barcelona Metro and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya lines go through it and many bus routes link it with all of the districts of the city and most of the municipalities in its metropolitan area.
The Barcelona–Vallès Line is an unconnected standard gauge rapid transit and commuter railway line linking Barcelona with Sabadell and Terrassa via the Collserola mountain range, in Catalonia, Spain. Its name refers to the Catalan historical region of Vallès, whereby most part of the line runs. Plaça de Catalunya station serves as the Barcelona terminus of the line, where almost all its trains either start or terminate. The line then continues northwards and branches off twice before leaving the city limits. Its main route splits in two in Sant Cugat del Vallès, forming two major branches to Sabadell and Terrassa. It has 40 passenger stations in operation and a total line length of 48.1 kilometres (29.9 mi).
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The urban planning of Barcelona developed in accordance with the historical and territorial changes of the city, and in line with other defining factors of public space, such as architecture, urban infrastructure and the adaptation and maintenance of natural spaces, parks and gardens.
The former municipality of Sant Gervasi de Cassoles, annexed to Barcelona in 1897, extended over a large part of the former district III of Barcelona, to the northwest of the city, between the municipalities, also formerly independent, of Sarrià, Les Corts de Sarrià, Gràcia and Horta.