Sants
Encyclopedia
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...
, Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Formerly an industrial town on the plain bordering Barcelona, known as Santa Maria de Sants, it belongs nowadays to the district of Sants-Montjuïc
Sants-Montjuïc
Sants-Montjuïc is one of the ten districts Barcelona has been split in since 1984, numbered District 3. Comprising very different areas of the city, it covers the southern part of Barcelona, joining the two former districts II and VII , as well as the different areas comprised in the Zona Franca...
and is bordered by the districts of Eixample to the northeast, Les Corts
Les Corts
Les Corts may refer to:*Camp de Les Corts - the former home ground of FC Barcelona.*District of Les Corts - a district of Barcelona....
to the northwest, and by the municipality of l'Hospitalet de Llobregat
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat or briefly L'Hospitalet is a city to the immediate southwest of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, and the second largest in Catalonia by population...
to the south. Although old-fashioned, its name is sometimes still written Sans in some Spanish-language sources.
History
Sants is a neighborhood with a clear identity because of its historical origins. It was the main core of an independent village until 1897 when it became part of BarcelonaBarcelona
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...
, the former municipality of Sants included most of the actual neighborhood of Sants-Montjuïc
Sants-Montjuïc
Sants-Montjuïc is one of the ten districts Barcelona has been split in since 1984, numbered District 3. Comprising very different areas of the city, it covers the southern part of Barcelona, joining the two former districts II and VII , as well as the different areas comprised in the Zona Franca...
district. By then, Sants had a population of 19,105 inhabitants, and the neighbourhood had a strong industrial character, home to some of the most important manufacturers of Spanish textiles, such as España Industrial and Vapor Vell.
In the spring of 1883, the municipalities of Sants and Barcelona decided by mutual agreement to merge the two respective municipalities. One year later, the central government annulled the merger due to technical issues. The process was again put in motion the following year. City hall sent a request for aggregation to the Diputació Provincial de Barcelona, but this request was not fulfilled for more than two years. In March 1889, the Civil Government asked the Deputation to solve the case, which ultimately reflected the interests of the city. A commission presided by Rius i Taulet traveled to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
to help move along the case. However, once more, the Deputation took no action.
The main artery of the neighborhood is Carrer de Sants
Carrer de Sants, Barcelona
Carrer de Sants is a high street in the eponymous neighbourhood of Sants, in Barcelona . After being designated officially a commercial road in 1999 by shopkeepers' associations of its district, it is often claimed to be Europe's longest commercial road, spanning also Carrer de la Creu Coberta...
, popularly known as Carretera de Sants, which unites Plaça Espanya with the neighbouring municipality of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat or briefly L'Hospitalet is a city to the immediate southwest of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, and the second largest in Catalonia by population...
. It is one of the most commercial streets in Barcelona. Among the places that stand out in Sants are the Barcelona Sants railway station
Barcelona Sants railway station
Barcelona Sants railway station or Sants Estació is the main railway station in Barcelona, owned by Adif, the railway infrastructure agency of the Spanish state...
, the major railway station in Barcelona, and the Parc de l'España Industrial.
Feasts
The most famous feast is the Festa Major, which is celebrated yearly in honor of the patron saintPatron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
, Bartholomew the Apostle. During the week-long feast, the traffic is cut off in several parts of the neighborhood, where multiple popular activities are organized outdoors, such as butifarrades, xocolatades (gatherings where people drink chocolate), concerts, Sardanes
Sardana
The sardana is a type of circle dance typical of Catalonia, Spain. The dance was originally from the Empordà region, but started gaining popularity throughout Catalonia during the 20th century....
, and Habaneres
Habanera (music)
The habanera is a genre of Cuban popular dance music of the 19th century. It is a creolized form which developed from the contradanza. It has a characteristic "Habanera rhythm", and is performed with sung lyrics...
. The neighbors decorate the streets with allegorical themes. Another feast, the Festa Alternativa, is celebrated simultaneously with great success.
Inhabitants of the neighborhood have included Núria Feliu and the tenor Josep Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
.