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Find here the best Barcelona accomodation and car hire online!
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A city rich with two thousand years of history.
Of course, needless to say, Barcelona has an old history, and nothing can prove this more than the monuments of Romanesque , Gothic and Renaissance periods or even those that are still way before that time. Among them, what is most characteristic of all are those that have been built during the last 100 years.
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Barcelona has been a center of Modernist architecture and is most distinguished specially by the works of its local celebrity, the popular Antoní Gaudí . The artist, together with his great contemporaries up to the artists of today, gave new and exciting looks to the aged city, but quite ironically, still maintaining a look that can be well described as being at the top of modernity. Other artists works other than the eccentric genius Gaudí , include the significant collections by Picasso and Miró . Added to that of course, are the city s people, with their innate exuberance, their duende, and their persistent egalitarianism that will continue to fascinate you.
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Go and discover what Barcelona has to offer for you! We are talking here about a city whose oldest stones date back to times that are distant but also very close in the real presence of their architectural manifestations. To the eye of a discriminating tourist, the rich history of Barcelona is pressed right between the aged walls and well-preserved facades of the city s architecture, which so well reflects the general approach to life in this always pulsating and reverberating city of different lives and colors!
But more than just the rock solid architecture, this capital of Catalonia is indisputably a Mediterranean city, not only because of its very privileged geographic location but also and above all because of its history, tradition and cultural influences. Barcelona is more than just a single city. What makes it so beautiful is that it is really a collection of multi-faceted and diverse cities. The new tourist who is a little unfamiliar with its history might be surprised that such a modern and enterprising city preserves its historic Gothic center almost intact. The documented history of the city goes back to the founding of a Roman colony on its soil in the second century B.C. The modern Barcelona underwent spectacular growth and economic revival at the start of industrialization during the second half of the 19th century.
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To trace a little of history at the core of this old town, one can locate many captivating spots that are full of history and tradition. We will understand and appreciate better these corners by knowing that the origins of present-day Barcelona lie in the small rise of the T . The city gradually extended across the plain surrounded by the hills of Monterols , the Putget , the Creueta , the Carmel , the Muntanya Pelada and the Turó de la Peira . The tribe of the Laietans who settled there converted it into the ancient Iberian town of Laia , which doubled in extension after being conquered by the Romans, who gave it the name of Col Fav Júlia Augusta Paterna Barcino .
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Indeed, the city has achieved a remarkable job in preserving its contrasting facets well enough to astound visitors from all over the world. Don t miss the quirky and even curious contrast between the maze of narrow streets and the grid-like layout of the city such as the urban planning "Enlargement" project at the end of the 19th century. Surely, Barcelona is a city that will not fail to give you enough surprises along the corner. By the 1888 World's Fair, the city became a symbol of the capacity for hard work and the international outlook projected by its citizens. Culture and the arts flourished in Barcelona and in all of Catalonia .
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All of these transpired also by the works of noble men from this great city such as the likes of Francesc de Paula Rius i Taulet who was born in Barcelona in 1833 and died in Ol in 1889. He worked as a lawyer from 1858 until the revolution of September 1868, after which he was elected as deputy-mayor. He was appointed mayor during the reign of Amadeu I and his administration was efficient that he was known to have developed the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes , the pla Tetuan , and the pla Letamendi . Along with this, he also ordered the demolishment of the rest of the seafront defensive wall, which made space for the Passeig de Colom to be laid down. He granted land for the construction of the Palau de Justícia (law courts) (1887-1908) and supervised the construction of the cemetery on the southwest face of Montju . Most important of all for the city, he was the one who supervised the abovementioned Universal Exhibition of 1888, which opened Barcelona up to the outside world. The Regent Queen , Maria Cristina of Austria , bestowed on him the title Marquess of Ol .
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Before he came, Barcelona fell in the hands of many men; first, in 1714, to the army of Philip V after a long siege. The dogged resistance of the city meant that its new rulers wanted to keep it under firm control, and this, they did well. A year later, Philip V ordered a giant new garrison fort, the largest in Europe , to be built in order to guard the city. The buildings of the Ribera district were demolished and in their place, in 1716, the new fortifications began to be erected. In 1841, the Junta de Vigil (Board of the Guard) began to dismantle it, but under the Regency it was restored in 1843. After the anti - Bourbon revolution of September 1868, the Catalan general Joan Prim turned over the garrison fort to the city, which from 1869 to 1888 had it pulled down. This was then preserved as the Governor's palace, the chapel and the arsenal. And thus, it was only in 1888 that Barcelona held a Universal Exhibition, as inspired by Mayor Rius i Taulet , while the park was built on the grounds of the demolished Ciutadella . This event marked the end of the old provincial Barcelona and the establishment of a modern cosmopolitan city, which we will further discuss later.
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A city in the Spanish state.
Being geographically located to where it is, Barcelona is hierarchically subject to the terms of the Spanish Constitution, and as the capital of Catalonia to the principles established by The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia . The framework for the consolidation of a Constitutional State ensures the rule of law as an expression of the will of the people, laying down the bases for the establishing of a modern democratic society. However, the Spanish Constitution is unique from among the rest of the European Constitutions by its will to manifest concern for protecting all of the Spanish people, including their free exercise of their human rights, their cultures and traditions, their languages and institutions.
In this context, the case of Catalonia, this Autonomic Administration is embodied in the Generalitat de Catalunya as the organ of self-government of Catalonia , consisting of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat and the Executive Council or Government. As established in the Constitution, the Statute, as the basic institutional instrument for the Catalan territory, structures the territorial organization of Catalonia in municipalities and comarques or districts, as well as other demarcations at the supra-district level. As a consequence, the municipality has a specific weight within the structure of the State and a juridical status of its own, and full competency in the implementing of its objectives. Under the Spanish Constitution and the Statute of Autonomy, the municipality is recognized as a basic element of the political structure of the Spanish state. Defined in political terms as the tier of the public administration closest to the citizen, the municipality has a triple link with its citizens, as a representation of a territorial constituency pertaining to a given population through the municipal census or register, and of being included in a concrete, structured political organization: the City Council.
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This special regime that was granted to the Barcelona City Council established a special status for the City Council of Barcelona (together with that of Madrid ). Among other prerogatives, the Act accords these City Councils a particular system of organization and administration that enables them to maintain a special set of relations with the central Government. It also bestows on the mayor certain wider faculties by way of municipal executive commissions. Among its many tasks, it establishes local fiscal status and gives recognition to the metropolitan entity through the creation of urban planning commissions and common services of Barcelona and other municipalities.
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A city rich with constant renewal.
As mentioned earlier, Barcelona is a city of contrasts with its rich history and contemporary trends. Barcelona has transformed itself from the sluggish backwater it once was, and now into one of the most dynamic and stylish cities in the world. The city sizzles by always being at the edge of architecture, food, fashion, style, music and good times. Over the years, Barcelona has kept itself open to every innovation and it has always proved its will to be modern. This city is known for following the latest international tendencies or even be a step ahead of them.
To prove that once again Barcelona is one of the foremost cities in the use of new technology, it sets its niche in the global arena through its streets. A thing that is distinctly Barcelonian, it now is making the history of the streets of the city available to internet users by making up a dictionary of street names that will be accessed and consulted by academics, researchers, school children and others. In 1996, the City Council published the Diccionari de les Vies Públiques de Barcelona (Dictionary of the Street Names of Barcelona). This dictionary, which had been undertaken by the Pon de Nomencl dels carrers (Committee for the Naming of Streets), aroused a great deal of interest especially from its very own community.
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Think about it this way, from their homes or from their local library, the citizens of Barcelona can satisfy their curiosity and find out the origin of their very own street names that they use daily, not bothering to ask who or what they represent. This dictionary is one of a kind, and includes the most interesting small squares and streets of the city -- ranging from the most charming corners of its small squares, very often hidden away, like the Placeta de Sant Just or that of Sant Felip Neri , and alleys that still conserve the charm of ancient times, such as Carrer del Call, Carrer de Paradís and others no less representative of Roman and medieval Barcelona , or streets like Montcada , which was one of the city's noble arteries during the 14th century.
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Yes, in the turn of the 21st century, Barcelona rides its way with the trends. In this time wherein the networks of electronic communication stretch across oceans and nations, and knowledge and use of the Internet are indispensable tools, Barcelona has its very own virtual pages. Through this, one can learn more about the history of each one of the names that form the identity of Barcelona's streets, even for those who haven t stepped on those streets themselves. And all of these, just a mouse click away! There has never been a more fun and convenient way of learning more about one s very own locality.
The Pon de Nomencl dels carrers de Barcelona (Committee for the Naming of Streets of Barcelona) is the commission that studies proposals for the city's street names. Any person, public or private organization, association, and even the City Council itself can send proposals for names. The committee is headed by the City Councilor of Culture and it is made up of representatives from various municipal departments: Public Highways, Cartography, Town Planning, Population, Institutional Relations and Sport, Heritage, and the Municipal Programme for Women (to promote the presence of women in street names). The Pon receives proposals for a name, evaluates them and consults the municipal boroughs about possible locations. When an agreement has been reached, the Pon takes the proposal to the Mayor who, as the case may be, approves the new name.
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