The city site
Barcelona, facing the Mediterranean to the southeast, is located on a plain generally confined by the Besós River (north), the Llobregat River (south), the rocky outcrop of Montjuich (567 feet [173 metres] high), and the semicircle of mountains of which Tibidabo (1,680 feet [512 metres]) is the highest point. Throughout its past Barcelona has had to contend with the consequences of its strategic location and political significance. The city was heavily fortified and did not spread much beyond its medieval confines until the 19th century, a factor that contributed to the emergence of industrial satellite suburbs and towns around the city proper. This combination of a concentrated core with a highly developed industrial belt has made Barcelona one of the most congested cities in the world.
The city layout
At the core of the city lies the Gothic Quarter. Located between the Ramblas, a series of connected boulevards, going southeastward to the sea, and the Via Laietana, it is a close-packed maze of narrow streets punctuated by magnificent medieval buildings. The cathedral, episcopal palace, and churches bear witness to Barcelona’s importance as a religious centre. The government buildings—such as the Palace of the Generalitat (the seat of the autonomous community of Catalonia), a 14th–15th-century building with Baroque and Neoclassical facades, and the Royal Palace—attest to the city’s importance as an administrative capital. The Roman walls survive in places largely because stretches of them were incorporated into the medieval city, and the wall built in the 13th century along the Ramblas effectively hemmed it in. The defenses that played such a large part in the battle for Barcelona during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14) were augmented by the construction of a citadel after the city was taken.
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By the mid-19th century the need for elaborate defenses had passed, and the city was bursting at the seams. Accordingly, plans were devised to extend the city. The final plans were based on geometric blocks, allowing for open spaces, greenery, and social areas. The area into which the town expanded, now called L’Eixample (“the Extension”), was open land left originally to give a clear field of fire from the city walls. Unfortunately, the plans were not carried out completely, and within 30 years the open areas were exploited, causing the density of buildings to triple. The city expanded following the annexing of the old municipalities surrounding Barcelona. Urban sprawl and uncontrolled development during the Francisco Franco era added to the congestion. The 1992 Olympic Games allowed for some renovation of deteriorated and poorly planned areas.
For the visitor, the main attraction still tends to be in the city centre, particularly around the Ramblas. The famous promenade is separated from L’Eixample by the monumental Catalunya Square, and it leads down to the port and the Portal de la Pau Square, where the Christopher Columbus monument stands in commemoration of the discovery of America and the explorer’s announcement of it in Barcelona. The Ramblas form one of the most delightful aspects of the city, their broad, tree-lined centre strips given over to a series of stalls and kiosks selling items such as flowers, pets, and books and newspapers.
The skyline of the modern city inevitably reflects the style of the present age, but Barcelona has always attracted distinguished and original architects. Some people find the more modern buildings along the Diagonal quite striking, but little of it can compare to the work of the Catalan sculptor and architect Antoni Gaudí, whose huge and elaborate Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family (Sagrada Família) has become a symbol of the city itself. He made a number of other notable contributions, including the multistory apartment buildings Casa Batlló, Casa Milá (La Pedrera), and Güell Park, and the works of Gaudí were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. Other architects, such as Luis Doménechi Montaner, produced remarkable structures in the modernist style, such as the Music Palace, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.