Barcelona is the capital city of the autonomous community of Catalonia in Spain, and the second largest city in the

country, with a population of 1,620,943[1 within its administrati!e limits" #he ur$an area of %arcelona e&tends $eyond the administrati!e city limits with a population of around 4"' million,[citation needed $eing the si&th(most populous ur$an area in the )uropean *nion after +aris, ,ondon, the -uhr, .adrid and .ilan" /$out fi!e million[2 [3 [4 [' [6 people li!e in the %arcelona metropolitan area" 0t is the largest metropolis on the .editerranean Sea, located on the coast $etween the mouths of the ri!ers ,lo$regat and %es1s, and $ounded to the west $y the Serra de Collserola mountain range, the tallest pea2 of which is '12 metres 31,640 ft5 high" 6ounded as a -oman city, in the .iddle /ges %arcelona $ecame the capital of the County of %arcelona" /fter merging with the 7ingdom of /ragon, %arcelona continued to $e an important city in the Crown of /ragon" %esieged se!eral times during its history, %arcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a ma8or tourist destination" +articularly renowned are the architectural wor2s of /ntoni 9aud: and ,lu:s ;om<nech i .ontaner, which ha!e $een designated *=)SC> ?orld @eritage Sites" #he headAuarters of the *nion for the .editerranean is located in %arcelona" #he city is 2nown for hosting the 1992 Summer >lympics as well as world(class conferences and e&positions and also many international sport tournaments" %arcelona is today one of the worldBs leading tourist, economic, trade fairCe&hi$itions and cultural(sports centres, and its influence in commerce, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contri$ute to its status as one of the worldBs ma8or glo$al cities"[D [4 0t is a ma8or cultural and economic centre in southwestern )urope 30$erian +eninsula5, 24th in the world 3after EFrich, $efore 6ran2furt5[9 and a financial centre 3;iagonal .ar and 9ran Gia5" 0n 2004 it was the fourth most economically powerful city $y 9;+ in the )uropean *nion and 3'th in the world with 9;+ amounting to H1DD $illion" [10 0n 2012 %arcelona had a 9;+ of I1D1"0 $illionJ it is lagging Spain on $oth employment and 9;+ per capita change" [11 0n 2009 the city was ran2ed )uropeBs third and one of the worldBs most successful as a city $rand" [12 0n the same year the city was ran2ed )uropeBs fourth $est city for $usiness and fastest impro!ing )uropean city, with growth impro!ed $y 1DK per year, [13 $ut it has since $een in a full recession with declines in $oth employment and 9;+ per capita, with some recent signs of the $eginning of an economic reco!ery"[14 %arcelona is a transport hu$ with one of )uropeBs principal seaports, an international airport which handles a$o!e 3' million passengers per year, [1' an e&tensi!e motorway networ2 and a high(speed rail line with a planned lin2 to 6rance and the rest of )urope"[16

Names
#he name Barcelona comes from the ancient 0$erian +hoenician Barkeno, attested in an ancient coin inscription in 0$erian script as ,[1D in ancient 9ree2 sources as LMNOPQRQ, BarkinnJ[14 [19 and in ,atin as Barcino,[20 Barcilonum[21 and Barcenona"a ;uring the .iddle /ges, the city was !ariously 2nown as Barchinona, Baralona, Barchelonaa, and Barchenona"

Some sources say that the city may ha!e $een named after the Carthaginian general @amilcar %arca, who was supposed to ha!e founded the city in the 3rd century %C"[2' %arcelonaBs name is sometimes a$$re!iated as B%arnaB" =owadays, foreign people sometimes mista2enly refer to %arcelona as B%arSaB, the popular name of the 6"C" %arcelona sports clu$" Some people 3mainly in SpanishCCatalan5 also use B%C=B, often written B%cnB, which actually corresponds to the 0/#/ airport code of the %arcelona()l +rat /irport" #he city is also referred to as the Tciudad condalT in Spanish and Tciutat comtalT in Catalan, owing to its past as home to the Count of %arcelona"

History
#he founding of %arcelona is the su$8ect of two different legends" #he first attri$utes the founding of the city to the mythological @ercules" #he second legend attri$utes the foundation of the city directly to the historical Carthaginian @amilcar %arca, father of @anni$al, who named the city Barcino after his family in the 3rd century %C"[26 0n a$out 1' %C, the -omans redrew the town as a castrum 3-oman military camp5 centred on the TMons TaberT, a little hill near the contemporary city hall 3+laSa de Sant Uaume5" *nder the -omans, it was a colony with the surname of Faventia,[2D or, in full, Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino[24 or Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino" +omponius .ela[29 mentions it among the small towns of the district, pro$a$ly as it was eclipsed $y its neigh$our Tarraco 3modern #arragona5, $ut it may $e gathered from later writers that it gradually grew in wealth and conseAuence, fa!oured as it was with a $eautiful situation and an e&cellent har$our" [30 0t en8oyed immunity from imperial $urdens" [31 #he city minted its own coinsJ some from the era of 9al$a sur!i!e" Some important -oman ruins are e&posed under the +laSa del -ei, its entrance located $y the city museum 3Museu d'Hist ria de la Ciutat 5J the typically -oman grid plan is still !isi$le today in the layout of the historical centre, the Barri ! tic 3T9othic VuarterT5" Some remaining fragments of the -oman walls ha!e $een incorporated into the cathedral" [32 #he cathedral, also 2nown as the %asilica "a #eu, is said to ha!e $een founded in 343" #he city was conAuered $y the Gisigoths in the early 'th century, $ecoming for a few years the capital of all @ispania" /fter $eing conAuered $y the /ra$s in the early 4th century, it was conAuered in 401 $y CharlemagneBs son ,ouis, who made %arcelona the seat of the Carolingian T@ispanic .archT 3Marca His$anica5, a $uffer Wone ruled $y the Count of %arcelona" #he Counts of %arcelona $ecame increasingly independent and e&panded their territory to include all of Catalonia" 0n 113D, /ragon and the County of %arcelona merged in dynastic union[33 [34 $y the marriage of -amon %erenguer 0G and +etronilla of /ragon, their titles finally $orne $y only one person when their son /lfonso 00 of /ragon ascended to the throne in 1162" @is territories were later to $e 2nown as the Crown of /ragon, which conAuered many o!erseas possessions and ruled the western .editerranean Sea with outlying territories in =aples and Sicily and as far as /thens in the 13th century" #he forging of a dynastic lin2 $etween the Crowns of /ragon and Castile mar2ed the $eginning of %arcelonaBs decline" #he %an2 of %arcelona, pro$a$ly the oldest pu$lic $an2 in )urope, was esta$lished $y the city magistrates in

1401" 0t originated from necessities of the state, as did the %an2 of Genice 314025 and the %an2 of 9enoa 3140D5"[3' #he marriage of 6erdinand 00 of /ragon and 0sa$ella 0 of Castile in 1469 united the two royal lines" .adrid $ecame the centre of political power whilst the colonisation of the /mericas reduced the financial importance 3at least in relati!e terms5 of .editerranean trade" %arcelona had always $een the stronghold of Catalan separatism and was the center of the Catalan -e!olt 31640X'25 against +hilip 0G of Spain" #he great plague of 16'0X16'4 hal!ed the cityBs population"[36 0n the 14th century, a fortress was $uilt at .ont8uYc that o!erloo2ed the har$our" 0n 1D94, this fortress was used $y the 6rench astronomer +ierre 6ranSois /ndrZ .Zchain for o$ser!ations relating to a sur!ey stretching to ;un2ir2 that pro!ided the official $asis of the measurement of a metre"[3D #he definiti!e metre $ar, manufactured from platinum, was presented to the 6rench legislati!e assem$ly on 22 Uune 1D99" #he =apoleonic wars left the pro!ince ra!aged, $ut the postwar period saw the start of industrialiWation" ;uring the Spanish Ci!il ?ar, the city, and Catalonia in general, were resolutely -epu$lican" .any enterprises and pu$lic ser!ices were Tcollecti!isedT $y the C=# and *9# unions" /s the power of the -epu$lican go!ernment and the 9eneralitat diminished, much of the city was under the effecti!e control of anarchist groups" #he anarchists lost control of the city to their own allies, the Communists and official go!ernment troops, after the street fighting of the %arcelona .ay ;ays" #he fall of the city on 26 Uanuary 1939 caused a mass e&odus of ci!ilians who fled to the 6rench $order" #he resistance of %arcelona to 6rancoBs coup dBZtat was to ha!e lasting effects after the defeat of the -epu$lican go!ernment" #he autonomous institutions of Catalonia were a$olished,[34 and the use of the Catalan language in pu$lic life was suppressed" %arcelona remained the second largest city in Spain, at the heart of a region which was relati!ely industrialised and prosperous, despite the de!astation of the ci!il war" #he result was a large( scale immigration from poorer regions of Spain 3particularly /ndalusia, .urcia and 9alicia5, which in turn led to rapid ur$anisation" %arcelona hosted the >lympic 9ames in 1992, which helped re!italise the city"[39

Geography
Location
%arcelona is located on the northeast coast of the 0$erian +eninsula, facing the .editerranean Sea, on a plain appro&imately ' 2m 33 mi5 wide limited $y the mountain range of Collserola, the ,lo$regat ri!er to the southwest and the %es1s ri!er to the north"[40 #his plain co!ers an area of 1D0 2m2 366 sA mi5,[40 of which 101 2m2 339"0 sA mi5[41 are occupied $y the city itself" 0t is 120 2ilometres 3D' miles5 south of the +yrenees and the Catalan $order with 6rance" #i$ida$o, '12 m 31,640 ft5 high, offers stri2ing !iews o!er the city [42 and is topped $y the 244"4 m 3946"2 ft5 #orre de Collserola, a telecommunications tower that is !isi$le from most of the city" %arcelona is peppered with small hills, most of them ur$anised, that ga!e their name to the neigh$ourhoods $uilt upon them, such as Carmel 326D m5, +ut&et 3141 m5 and -o!ira

3261 m5" #he escarpment of .ont8uYc 31D3 m5, situated to the southeast, o!erloo2s the har$our and is topped $y .ont8uYc castle, a fortress $uilt in the 1DX14th centuries to control the city as a replacement for the Ciutadella" #oday, the fortress is a museum and .ont8uYc is home to se!eral sporting and cultural !enues, as well as %arcelonaBs $iggest par2 and gardens" #he city $orders on the municipalities of Santa Coloma de 9ramenet and Sant /dri[ de %es1s to the northJ the .editerranean Sea to the eastJ )l +rat de ,lo$regat and ,B@ospitalet de ,lo$regat to the southJ and Sant 6eliu de ,lo$regat, Sant Uust ;es!ern, )splugues de ,lo$regat, Sant Cugat del Gall<s, and .ontcada i -ei&ac to the west"

Climate
%arcelona has a .editerranean climate[43 37\ppen climate classification] Csa5,[44 with mild, humid winters and warm, dry summers" 0ts a!erage annual temperature is 20 ^C 364 ^65 during the day and 11 ^C 3'2 ^65 at night" #he a!erage annual temperature of the sea is a$out 14 ^C 364 ^65" 0n the coldest month X Uanuary, the temperature typically ranges from D to 1D ^C 34' to 63 ^65 during the day, 2 to 10 ^C 336 to '0 ^65 at night and the a!erage sea temperature is 13 ^C 3'' ^65"[4' 0n the warmest month X /ugust, the typical temperature ranges from 2' to 31 ^C 3DD to 44 ^65 during the day, a$out 20 ^C 364 ^65 at night and the a!erage sea temperature is 2' ^C 3DD ^65"[4' 9enerally X the summer C TholidayT season lasts a$out si& months, from .ay to >cto$er" #wo months X /pril and =o!em$er X are transitionalJ sometimes the temperature e&ceeds 20 ^C 364 ^65, with an a!erage temperature of 1DX14 ^C 363X64 ^65 during the day and 4X9 ^C 346X44 ^65 at night" ;ecem$er, Uanuary and 6e$ruary are the coldest months, with a!erage temperatures around 14 ^C 3'D ^65 during the day and ' ^C 341 ^65 at night" ,arge fluctuations in temperature are rare, particularly in the summer months" %arcelona a!erages se!eral rainy days per month 3_ 1 mm5, and annual a!erage relati!e humidity is D2K, ranging from 69K in Uuly to D'K in >cto$er" Sunshine duration is 2,'24 hours per year, from 134 3a!erage 4"' hours of sunshine a day5 in ;ecem$er to 310 3a!erage 10 hours of sunshine a day5 in Uuly"[46