The Spanish city of Barcelona is so popular and famous that it overshadows even Madrid, the capital of the Kingdom of Spain. Ancient cathedrals here coexist with modern shopping centers, and houses built a hundred years ago with the same, but brand new and sometimes even featureless. It’s also home to one of the most famous football clubs in the world, so it’s no wonder football is incredibly popular in Barcelona. But do not relax – this city has never been considered particularly safe, especially at night and on unlit, sparsely populated streets.
Facts about the city of Barcelona
- Barcelona is dense population is 16,000 citizens per square kilometer.
- There are several legends in Barcelona about who and when the city was founded. One says that Barcelona was founded by Hercules 400 years before the founding of Rome (interesting facts about Ancient Rome).
- There are still a few old traffic lights in Barcelona with lanterns mounted on their tops – this is the first traffic light in Barcelona, installed on Comte Urgell in 1929, and its counterpart at the intersection of Buenos Aires and Londres streets.
- Boulevard Las Ramblas is the most famous street in Barcelona. Its length is as much as 2 kilometers, but few people know that Las Ramblas are 5 streets that pass one into another.
- On the main pedestrian street of Barcelona – La Rambla – you can see the pits from the heels of the shoes of prostitutes who were forbidden to appear here only in the middle of the last century.
- Barcelona is the largest city on the Mediterranean coast.
- On one of the walls of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona there is a magic square filled with numbers. Their sum in any direction – vertically, horizontally or diagonally – is the number 33.
- Among all the cities in Spain, Barcelona is the second largest city, second only to Madrid (interesting facts about Madrid).
- The coat of arms of the Barcelona football club is imprinted on the windows of the Church of Santa Maria del Mar. The fact is that the team donated significant funds to restore the church in the 60s of the last century.
- Barcelona owes its unique architecture to the amazing talent of local artist Antoni Gaudí. The Sagrada Familia, which has been built on donations since 1882 and has not yet been completed, is also his project, which is not only the most famous long-term construction in the world, but also one of the main attractions of Barcelona. It has already taken longer to build than the Egyptian pyramids.
- About 75% of Barcelona’s residents speak Catalan. However, everyone here also knows Spanish.
- The famous navigator Christopher Columbus, after the discovery of America, arrived in Barcelona to report on the results of his voyage to the monarchs. For this reason, a monument to Columbus was erected in the center of Barcelona, however, contrary to the original plan, the statue does not look towards the New World. Inside the statue, there is an elevator that takes you up to the observation deck (interesting facts about Columbus).
- Barcelona is one of the top 50 megacities with the highest population density, though remaining at the bottom of the list.
- The port of Barcelona is the largest port in the Mediterranean. In addition, this is one of the oldest sea harbors – its history began more than 2000 years ago.
- A significant part of the city’s beauties and attractions was built for the Expo 1929 and the 1992 Summer Olympics, which hosted Barcelona.
- Barcelona is a seaside city, but the beaches here began to equip only 25 years ago. Prior to this, the entire coastline was used exclusively for the needs of the industry.
- The anthem of the city since 1992 is the song “Barcelona”, originally recorded by opera diva Montserrat Caballe and lead singer of Queen Freddie Mercury for the Olympics.
- The two animal symbols of Barcelona are the donkey and the cat.
- There is a sign on the Canaletes Fountain in Barcelona that reads: “Everyone who takes even a sip from this fountain will love Barcelona with all his heart and will return here.” It is said that this prophecy almost always turns out to be true.
- Each year before the start of the summer season, the sand on the beaches of Barcelona is sifted 50 centimeters deep.
- Barcelona drivers are famous for their unpredictable driving style. According to statistics, on average there is one accident every three minutes.
- The Barcelona Opera House is considered one of the most luxurious in Europe. In 1994, the old building burned to the ground, but it was rebuilt with donations. Many opera stars specifically held concerts, all the proceeds from which were transferred to the construction of the theater.
- More than 300,000 foreigners permanently live in this city.
- The great artist Pablo Picasso demanded that it be in Barcelona that opened a museum with his works.
- The Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, opened in the middle of the last century, is still the largest in terms of capacity in Europe. From its stands, up to 100,000 spectators can watch football matches at the same time.
- More than 13,000 licensed taxis ride along the Barcelona streets.
- Until 2003, the only male gorilla in the world lived in the Barcelona Zoo – Albino named Snowball. His offspring are quite numerous, but not a single individual with white hair was found among the cubs (interesting facts about gorillas).
- On the territory of Barcelona is the largest city park in Spain, Montjuic. Its area is so large (as much as 203 hectares!) that it was included in the list of giant parks in Europe.
- Barcelona is the only city in the world that was awarded the honorary Royal Gold Medal for architecture by the Royal Institute of British Architects.
- Barcelona has the busiest pedestrian street in Spain, Portal de l’Àngel, where more than 150,000 people pass every day.