F1 Holiday part 6: Barcelona

Just like in our first part of the F1 Holiday series, we take you to Spain. This time we visited Barcelona for you. Barcelona is a city with a rich culture and history, but for the F1 fans it's famous for the Circuit de Catalunya.

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain, capital city of Catalonia and the province with the same name. It is located in the comarca of Barcelonès, along the Mediterranean coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs.

History

The foundation of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends. The first attributes the founding of the city to Hercules 400 years before the building of Rome, and that it was rebuilt by the Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, who named the city Barcino after his family, in the 3rd century BCE. The second legend attributes the foundation directly to Hamilcar Barca. About 15 BC, the 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). Under the Romans it was a colony, with the surname of Faventia, or, in full, Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino or Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino. Mela mentions it among the small towns of the district, probably as it was eclipsed by its neighbor Tarraco (modern Tarragona), but it may be gathered from later writers that it gradually grew in wealth and consequence, favoured as it was with a beautiful situation and an excellent harbour. It enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens. The city minted its own coins; some from the era of Galba survive. 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 Gòtic ("Gothic Quarter"). Some remaining fragments of the Roman walls have been incorporated in the cathedral butted up against them 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", 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.

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 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. 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". 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.

The beginning of the 20th century marked Barcelona's resurgence, while Catalan nationalists clamoured for political autonomy and greater freedom of cultural expression.

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.

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 the Iberian Peninsula, 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.

The city has been the focus of the revival of the Catalan language. Despite massive immigration of Castilian speakers from the rest of Spain in the second half of the 20th century, there has been notable success in the increased use of Catalan in everyday life.

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.

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, Juan Villafuerte, Architect Antoni Gaudí.

Museums and culture

* National Art Museum of Catalonia: is a museum of Catalan visual art. It is housed on the Palau Nacional, built for the 1929 World's Fair. Situated on the Montjuïc hill, it was rehabilitated by the 1992 Summer Olympics.

* Picasso Museum: the museum features the lesser known works of Pablo Picasso from his earlier period.

* La Sagrada Familia: is a large Roman Catholic basilica under construction. The Sagrada Família is billed for completion in 2026. It is the last, and perhaps most extraordinary, of the designs of the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí.

* Palau de la Música Catalana: is a concert hall built between 1905 and 1908, designed by the Catalan architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. It was inaugurated in 1908. In 1997, it was added as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

* Park Güell: is a garden complex with architectural elements situated on the hill of El Carmel in Barcelona. It was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built in the years 1900 to 1914. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

When you're at Barcelona, you should also visit the harbour of the city.

Sports

Everybody knows that football is the first sport in Barcelona. Everybody is mad about the local fooball club FC Barcelona, that won the Spanish title and the Champions League last season. The F1 fans will, when they hear the name of Barcelona, immediately think about the Circuit de Catalunya, in Montmeló, that is the host for the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix and venue for a lot of winter tests.