Barcelona

This article is about the city in Spain. For other uses, see Barcelona (disambiguation).

Barcelona
City and municipality
Skyline of Barcelona
Sagrada Família
Torre Glòries
Arc de Triomf
Edificio Colón and La Rambla
Venetian Towers and Palau Nacional
La Barceloneta
Casa Milà
Flag of Barcelona
Flag
Coat of arms of Barcelona
Coat of arms
Nicknames: 
Ciutat Comtal (Catalan)
Ciudad Condal (Spanish)
"Comital City" or "City of Counts"

Cap i Casal de Catalunya (Catalan)
'Head and Hearth of Catalonia'

Abbreviation(s):
Barna, BCN
Map
Location of Barcelona
Barcelona is located in Catalonia
Barcelona
Barcelona is located in Spain
Barcelona
Barcelona is located in Europe
Barcelona
Coordinates: 41°22′58″N 02°10′37″E / 41.38278°N 2.17694°E / 41.38278; 2.17694
CountrySpain
Autonomous communityCatalonia
ProvinceBarcelona
ComarcaBarcelonès
Districts
10 districts
Government
 • TypeAjuntament
 • BodyCity Council of Barcelona
 • MayorJaume Collboni[1] (PSC–PSOE)
Area
[2]
 • City101.4 km2 (39.2 sq mi)
Elevation
 (AMSL)
12 m (39 ft)
Population
 (2018)[5]
 • City1,620,343
 • Rank2nd
 • Density16,000/km2 (41,000/sq mi)
 • Urban
4,840,000[3]
 • Metro
5,474,482[4]
DemonymsBarcelonan, Barcelonian
barceloní, -ina (Catalan)
barcelonés, -esa (Spanish)
GDP
[6]
 • Metro€159.8 billion (2020)
Postal code
080xx
Area code+34 (E) 93 (B)
INE code08 0193
City budget (2023)€3.6 billion[7]
Official languageCatalan and Spanish
Main festivityLa Mercè
Patron saintEulalia of Barcelona
Websitewww.barcelona.cat Edit this at Wikidata

Barcelona (/ˌbɑːrsəˈloʊnə/ ⓘ BAR-sə-LOH-nə; Catalan: [bəɾsəˈlonə] ⓘ; Spanish: [baɾθeˈlona] ⓘ) 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,[8] its urban area extends to numerous neighbouring municipalities within the province of Barcelona and is home to around 5.3 million people,[3] making it the fifth most populous urban area of the European Union after Paris, the Ruhr area, Madrid and Milan.[3] 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 the Catalonian coast.[9] 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 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 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 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 is a major cultural, economic, and financial centre in southwestern Europe,[10] as well as the main biotech hub in Spain.[11] As a leading world city, Barcelona's influence in global socio-economic affairs qualifies it for global city status (Beta +).[12]

Barcelona is a transport hub, with the Port of Barcelona being one of Europe's principal seaports and busiest European passenger port,[13] an international airport, Barcelona–El Prat Airport, which handles over 50 million passengers per year,[14] an extensive motorway network, and a high-speed rail line with a link to France and the rest of Europe.[15]

  1. ^ "Ajuntament de Barcelona". Generalitat of Catalonia. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  2. ^ "El municipi en xifres: Barcelona". Statistical Institute of Catalonia. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Demographia: World Urban Areas Archived 3 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine – Demographia, April 2018
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference eurostat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
  6. ^ "Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices by metropolitan regions". ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023.
  7. ^ "THE BUDGET 2023". 14 October 2022. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  8. ^ Barcelona: Población por municipios y sexo Archived 6 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine – Instituto Nacional de Estadística. (National Statistics Institute)
  9. ^ "Barcelona - Catalan, Mediterranean, Architecture | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 28 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  10. ^ "2012 Global Cities Index". Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  11. ^ Uecke, Oliver; De Cock, Robin; Crispeels, Thomas; Clarysse, Bart, eds. (2014). Effective Technology Transfer In Biotechnology: Best Practice Case Studies In Europe. Imperial College Press. p. 198. ISBN 9781783266821. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  12. ^ "The World According to GaWC 2020". GaWC - Research Network. Globalization and World Cities. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Port of Barcelona traffic statistics Accumulated data December 2013" (PDF). Statistics Service. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  14. ^ "AENA December 2018 Report" (PDF). 14 January 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2019.
  15. ^ "First commercial trips" (in Spanish). Europapress.es. 10 December 2010. Archived from the original on 10 April 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.