Plaça de Catalunya, Barcelona - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Plaça de Catalunya (ˈpɫasə ðə kətəˈɫuɲə, meaning in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

"Catalonia Square") is a large square in central Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

that is generally considered to be both its city centre and the place where the old city (see Barri Gòtic

Barri Gòtic

The Gothic Quarter is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. It stretches from La Rambla to Via Laietana, and from the Mediterranean seafront to Ronda de Sant Pere....

and Raval, in Ciutat Vella

Ciutat Vella

Ciutat Vella is a district of Barcelona, numbered District 1. The name means "old city" in Catalan and refers to the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Barcelona, Spain. Ciutat Vella is nestled between the Mediterranean Sea and the neighborhood called l'Eixample...

) and the 19th century-built Eixample

Eixample

The Eixample is a district of Barcelona between the old city and what were once surrounding small towns , constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries....

meet.

Some of the city's most important streets and avenues meet at Plaça Catalunya: Passeig de Gràcia, Rambla de Catalunya, La Rambla or Portal de l'Àngel

Portal de l'Àngel

Portal de l'Àngel is a pedestrian street in the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona by Plaça Catalunya, and part of the large shopping area that spans from Avinguda Diagonal to Barri Gòtic...

, in addition to Ronda de Sant Pere, Carrer de Vergara or Carrer de Pelai. The plaza occupies an area of about 50,000 square metres. It is especially known for its fountains and statues, its proximity to some of Barcelona's most popular attractions, and for the flocks of pigeons that gather in the centre.

History

After the medieval city walls were demolished in the 19th century, ambitious designs for the city's public spaces were conceived under the guidance of notable urban planners

Urban planning

Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....

. Plaça Catalunya was conceived as part of pla Rovira in 1859, but no official permission from the government was given until the 1888 Universal Exposition. It was urbanised for the first time in 1902 and was further modified in 1929, on the occasion of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition

1929 Barcelona International Exposition

The 1929 Barcelona International Exposition took place from 20 May 1929 to 15 January 1930 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain...

, which also included the construction of a metro

Rapid transit

A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

station. Architect Francisco Nebot designed the changes made in 1929.

In May 2011 Plaça Catalunya was the main location where anti-government protests

2011 Spanish protests

The 2011 Spanish protests, also referred to as the 15-M Movement and the Indignants movement, are a series of ongoing demonstrations in Spain whose origin can be traced to social networks and Real Democracy NOW among other civilian digital platforms and 200 other small associations...

and sit ins were held in Barcelona, mirroring the events in other Spanish cities.

Sculpture

Plaça Catalunya hosts quite a few interesting sculptures representative of Noucentisme

Noucentisme

Noucentisme was a Catalan cultural movement of the early 20th century that originated largely as a reaction against Modernisme, both in art and ideology, and was, simultaneously, a perception of art almost opposite to that of avantgardists...

, Neo-Classicism and different avantgarde movements.

Deessa, by Josep Clarà
Josep Clarà
Josep Clarà i Ayats was a Spanish sculptor.Clarà was born in Olot, Gerona, Spain in 1878. He attended the Olot School of Drawing with professor Josep Berga i Boix...

.
Pastor de Pau, by Pablo Gargallo
Pablo Gargallo
Pablo Emilio Gargallo was a Spanish sculptor and painter.Born in Maella, Aragon, he moved to Barcelona, Catalonia, with his family in 1888, where he would begin his training in the arts. Gargallo developed a style of sculpture based on the creation of three-dimensional objects from pieces of flat...

.
Francesc Macià monument. It reads: "Catalunya a Francesc Macià".
Josep Llimona's sculptures.

Decorative arts

The mosaic

Mosaic

Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...

s that decorate the walls of the underground part of Plaça Catalunya were designed by pupils of Escola Massana.

Theatre

A few theatres have been established in Plaça Catalunya since its construction, none of which are extant.

Teatre del Bon Retir (1876-1885)
Circ Eqüestre Alegria (1879-1895)
Eldorado Concert (1887-1929)
Teatre Barcelona (1923-198-)

There still are, however, other theatres in the nearby area, located in other streets or squares.

Cafés and restaurants

Similarly, most of the cafés and restaurants where writers and artists would meet in the city haven't survived, with the notable exception of Café Zurich, where Fabiola of Belgium

Queen Fabiola of Belgium

Queen Fabiola of Belgium is the widow of King Baudouin of Belgium. She was Queen consort of the Belgians for 33 years...

's brother worked as a pianist. The following ones disappeared with the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

Maison Dorée
Café Colón
La Lluna
Cafè Suís

Shopping centres

El Corte Inglés
El Corte Inglés
El Corte Inglés S.A. , headquartered in Madrid, is the biggest department store group in Europe and ranks fourth worldwide...
El Triangle, containing a three-story fnac
Fnac
Fnac is an international entertainment retail chain offering cultural and electronic products, founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. It is the largest retailer of its kind in France...

shop.
Sfera
SFera
SFera is a science fiction society from Zagreb, Croatia. It was founded in 1976, thus marking the beginnings of organised science fiction fandom in the region....

Hotels

H10 Catalunya Plaza
Hotel Monegal
Olivia Plaza Hotel: 4 stars hotel. Olivia Plaza Phone +34933168700
Hotel urquinaona Hotel Urquinaona

Financial institutions

Banco Español de Crédito (Banesto).
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. is a multinational Spanish banking group. It was formed in 1999 from the merger of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya and Argentaria, both of which in turn had previously amalgamated three important banks in Spain, namely Banco de Bilbao, Banco de Vizcaya, Banco Exterior de...

(BBVA).
Banco de España
Banco de España
The Bank of Spain , is the national central bank of Spain. Established in Madrid in 1782 by Charles III, today the bank is a member of the European System of Central Banks.-History:...
Caja Madrid
Caja Madrid
Caja Madrid, formally the Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Madrid, headquartered in Madrid, is the oldest of the Spanish savings banks. It was founded on December 3, 1702 as Monte de Piedad de Madrid by Francisco Piquer, an Aragonese priest...

Transport

The square is also one of Barcelona's most important transport hubs, both above and under ground.

Metro

The original Barcelona metro

Barcelona Metro

The Barcelona Metro , part of the public transportation system of Barcelona, Catalonia, is an extensive network of electrified railways that run underground in central Barcelona and above ground into the city's suburbs. Since July 31, 2010, Barcelona Metro system consists of 11 lines with 165...

line in Barcelona, known as Gran Metro, had Plaça Catalunya as one of its termini. It went to become the current green line, L3

Barcelona Metro line 3

— Line 3, currently known as Zona Universitària - Trinitat Nova, coloured green and often simply referred to as Línia verda , is a metro line in Barcelona operated by TMB, and therefore part of the fare-integrated ATM transport network of the urban region...

, operated by TMB

Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona

Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona is the main public transit operator in Barcelona, made up of two formerly separate companies, Ferrocarril Metropolità de Barcelona, SA. and Transports de Barcelona, SA....

. It's also served by two FGC

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya , or FGC, is a railway company which operates several unconnected lines in Catalonia, Spain....

lines.

Catalunya (L1
Barcelona Metro line 1
— Line 1, shortened to L1 and known as "Hospital de Bellvitge - Fondo", coloured red and often simply called Línia vermella , is the second oldest metro line in Barcelona, after L3. It is operated by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona . It appeared as a means to join the rail stations the city...

, L3
Barcelona Metro line 3
— Line 3, currently known as Zona Universitària - Trinitat Nova, coloured green and often simply referred to as Línia verda , is a metro line in Barcelona operated by TMB, and therefore part of the fare-integrated ATM transport network of the urban region...

, L6
Barcelona Metro line 6
— Line 6, coloured navy blue, is the name of a metro-like commuter train service in Barcelona operated by FGC, and part of the ATM fare-integrated transport system. It links Plaça Catalunya, the city centre, with Sarrià-Sant Gervasi...

, L7
Barcelona Metro line 7
— Line 7, coloured brown , is a metro-like commuter train line in the Barcelona Metro network operated by FGC, and part of the ATM fare-integrated transport system. Also known as Línia de Balmes, as it climbs Carrer de Balmes uphill into Tibidabo, it shares three stations with FGC L6...

)
Passeig de Gràcia (L2
Barcelona Metro line 2
Line 2 is a metro line in Barcelona operated by TMB, coloured purple and sometimes simply called línia lila. It's part of the city's ATM fare-integrated transport network...

, L3
Barcelona Metro line 3
— Line 3, currently known as Zona Universitària - Trinitat Nova, coloured green and often simply referred to as Línia verda , is a metro line in Barcelona operated by TMB, and therefore part of the fare-integrated ATM transport network of the urban region...

, L4
Barcelona Metro line 4
— Line 4, currently known as Trinitat Nova – La Pau, usually called "línia groga" , is a line in the Barcelona Metro network operated by TMB, and part of the ATM fare-integrated transport network...

).

Day bus

Bus 9 Pl. Catalunya - Pg. Zona Franca
Bus 14 Vil·la Olímpica - Pg. Bonanova
Bus 16 Urquinaona - Pg. Manuel Girona
Bus 17 Barceloneta - Av. Jordà
Bus 24 Av. Paral·lel - Carmel
Bus 28 Pl. Catalunya - Carmel
Bus 41 Pl. Francesc Macià - Diagonal Mar
Bus 42 Pl. Catalunya - Santa Coloma
Bus 55 Parc de Montjuïc - Plaça Catalana
Bus 58 Pl. Catalunya - Av. Tibidabo
Bus 59 Pg. Marítim - Plaça Reina Maria Cristina
Bus 66 Pl. Catalunya - Sarrià
Bus 67 Pl. Catalunya - Cornellà
Bus 68 Pl. Catalunya - Cornellà
Bus 141 Av. Mistral - Barri del Besòs
Aerobus

Nitbus

Barcelona's night bus is known as Nitbus and most of its lines serve Plaça Catalunya:

N1 Zona Franca (Mercabarna) - Pl. Catalunya - Roquetes (Aiguablava)
N2 Av. Carrilet - Pl. Catalunya - Badalona (Montigalà)
N3 Collblanc - Montcada i Reixac
N4 Via Favència - Pl. Catalunya - Gran Vista
N5 Pl. Catalunya - Gran Vista
N6 Barcelona (Roquetes) - Santa Coloma (Oliveres)
N7 Pl. Pedralbes - Pl. Llevant (Fòrum)
N8 Can Caralleu - Santa Coloma (Can Franquesa)
N9 Pl. Portal de la Pau - Tiana (Edith Llaurador)
N11 Barcelona (Pl. Catalunya) - H. Can Ruti

In popular culture

Plaça de Catalunya is a featured locale in the 2009 video game Wheelman, published by Midway Games

Midway Games

Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...