considered a historical nationality in its Statute of Autonomy.
Located in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, it occupies a
territory of about 32,000 km² that limits to the north with France
and Andorra, to the east with the Mediterranean Sea along a maritime
strip of about 580 kilometers, to the south with the Valencian
Community (Castellón) and to the west with Aragón (Teruel, Zaragoza
and Huesca). This strategic situation has favored a very intense
relationship with the territories of the Mediterranean basin and
with continental Europe. Catalonia is made up of the provinces of
Barcelona, Gerona, Lérida and Tarragona. Its capital is the city of
Barcelona.
As of 2019, 7,675,217 people live in Catalan
territory in a total of 947 municipalities, only 64 of which have
more than 20,000 inhabitants (in which more than 70% of the Catalan
population lives). Two thirds of the population live in the
metropolitan area of Barcelona. It constitutes a territory with a
high population density and highly industrialized, whose economy is
the second among the autonomous communities, generating 19.0% of the
Spanish gross domestic product (GDP), only surpassed by the
Community of Madrid. Regarding GDP per capita, it is in fourth
position, after the Community of Madrid, the Basque Country and
Navarra.
Its human development index (0.916) is the fourth
highest in Spain, behind Navarra (0.926) and ahead of La Rioja
(0.910). The social services development index places it in ninth
position (5. 08 points), behind Aragón (5.15) and ahead of the
Valencian Community (4.65). In the PISA report it is in seventh
place in reading (500 points), and sixth in mathematics (500
points). ) and sciences (504 points), less than 5% away from the
first autonomous community (Castilla y León and Navarra).
Landscape Outline
coast
The Costa Brava in the northeast
alternates with rocky bays and sandy, but also stony beaches.
Further southwest are the Costa del Maresme, the Costa del Garraf
and the Costa Daurada, which mostly consist of sandy beaches.
Central Catalan Depression
Fertile plain between the coastal
mountains and the mountains of the Pyrenees.
Pyrenees
The
Pyrenees with their many national parks extend along the border with
France. They are excellent for mountain hiking and adventure sports.
The region of Catalonia is administratively divided into 4 provinces
Barcelona Province (Vegeria Barcelona and La Catalunya Central)
Girona Province (Vegeria Girona)
Province of
Tarragona (Vegeria Camp de Tarragona and Terres del Ebre)
Province of Lleida (Vegeria Lleida and L´Alt Pirineu)
The
provinces are divided into 41 comarques (municipal associations)
Aiguestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici
Catalonia has a multitude of different landscapes that are close
together: the mountains of the Pyrenees, the green hills of the
north, the farms of the west and the many beaches of the south.
Worth visiting are:
Montserrat
Monastery - an unusual mountain with a monastery on the top.
He is very famous among the Catalans. Arriving by train
(Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat from Plaça d'Espanya to
Montserrat-Aeri) or by bus (start in the morning from Plaça de
la Universitat).
Volcanoes near the town of Olot and La
Fageda d'en Jordà a very pretty forest area with extinct
volcanoes.
La Llacuna - Beautiful Mediterranean and secluded
village, with typical hospitality and landscapes.
Setcases -
Small town near the Vallter 2000 ski area.
Girona: Arab Baths and Baroque Cathedral of Santa Maria with
11th century Tapestry of Creation
Lleida: Old Cathedral
(Romanesque) and Camps Elisis Park with mermaid fountain
nine
early Romanesque churches in the Vall de Boí, World Heritage
Collegiate Church of Sant Vicenç of Cardona (30 km north of
Manresa)
Neolithic rock paintings of the so-called Levantine
art in 60 different places in Catalonia (mainly in the province
of Tarragona), World Heritage
fauna
Catalonia has a
greater variety of bird species than anywhere else on the
Iberian Peninsula because of its geographical location and the
diversity of its landscape, which ranges from dry steppes to
rocky coasts and mountains to the largest wetlands in Europe.
95% of all bird species known in the Iberian Peninsula and 50%
of all bird species known in the Palearctic region (Europe,
North Africa and Asia north of the Himalayas) live here. Some of
the most desirable species are the bearded vulture, black
woodpecker, wallcreeper, Bonelli's eagle, black-fronted shrike,
little bustard, pintail sandgrouse and Audouin's gull. The main
observation sites are Cap de Creus, Aiguamolls de L'Empordà,
Barcelona's Llobregat Delta, Parc de Garraf, the Ebro Delta, the
Lleida steppes and of course the Pyrenees. There are some
agencies that organize excursions or give advice for free, such
as B. Catalan Bird Tours and Oliva Rama Tours.
railways
Tren del Ciment, La Pobla de Lillet historic narrow gauge
railway
Tren dels Llacs, railway with diesel locomotive from
Lleida to Balaguer, then further with steam locomotive to La
Pobla de Segur. reservation needed
To see a bullfight you have to go to another region of Spain, as
bullfighting has been banned in Catalonia since early 2012.
Adventure sports can be practiced in many places such as B.
Llavorsí possible.
A Catalan specialty are the castells, the
man-made towers often reach heights of more than 10 m.
Mountain bike and road bike tours through various nature parks
in and around Barcelona Pedals Barcelona
Catalonia is one of the 17 autonomous regions of Spain. Because
of its linguistic, cultural and historical peculiarities, the
Spanish constitution also designates it as a separate
“nationality” alongside the Basque Country and Galicia.
Historically, the region belonged to the Crown of Aragon.
Where the name of the region of Catalonia comes from is
debatable. One legend came from a medieval historian, Pere
Tomic. He attributes the name to a German knight named Otger
Cataló. This knight, who is said to have performed heroic deeds
under Charlemagne in the fight in the Spanish March, then gave
his name to the country south of the Pyrenees.
The area of today's Catalonia was already a thriving province in Roman times and was called Hispania Tarraconensis. Later it was conquered by the Alans, around 415 by the Visigoths, in 711 by the Moslem Arabs. The latter were not completely expelled until the beginning of the 9th century. by the warlike natives with the help of Louis the Pious of Aquitaine. From this time onwards, the country divided into 15 counties by Ludwig formed the so-called Spanish mark of the Frankish Empire. After the death of Charlemagne (888), the Counts of Barcelona, who had meanwhile become powerful, knew how to make themselves independent, and the Margraviate of Barcelona or the "Principality of Catalonia" came into being, which was an independent state until it was united with Aragon by the marriage of the heiress of this country with Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona (1137).
In 1479, Catalonia and Castile were incorporated into the
Spanish monarchy. However, it retained its original liberal
constitution and only lost it through Philip V after the War of
the Spanish Succession, in which Catalonia had stood by Philip's
opponent, Charles of Austria.
In the second half of the
19th century, Catalonia developed into the engine of
industrialization within Spain. For a long time (partly to this
day) Barcelona – and not Madrid – was considered the most
important economic metropolis. This gave the region wealth
(compared to the more backward south and interior) and
self-confidence. The Catalan language and culture also
flourished during this phase (the so-called Renaixença). During
the Second Spanish Republic (1931-39), Catalonia enjoyed
extensive autonomy rights. During the Spanish Civil War
(1936-39), the region was a stronghold of the Republicans and
was only taken by the nationalist troops under Francisco Franco
towards the end of the war. Under the rule of the dictator
Franco, autonomy was abolished and the independent Catalan
language and culture was suppressed.
After Franco's death in 1975, Catalonia received its current
statute of autonomy. It has its own regional government called
the Generalitat de Catalunya, which consists of a parliament, a
president and an executive council. This has long sought to
expand its powers over the central government in Madrid. An
important point of contention concerns the desire for
independence in taxation. The background is that Catalonia has a
significantly higher economic output than most other regions and
many Catalans do not want "their" money to be transferred to
other, poorer parts of the country.
There has been a
strong Catalan nationalist movement for decades (although
'nationalism' does not necessarily mean aggressive or xenophobic
aspirations, just the view that Catalonia is a separate nation).
This demands either more far-reaching autonomy rights or even
complete state independence from Spain. A referendum on
independence was rejected by the central government and ruled
illegal by the Spanish Constitutional Court. The regional
government held it anyway - with hindrance by the Spanish police
and national guard. 43% of eligible voters took part, of which
92% voted for independence.
The majority of independence
supporters in the Catalan parliament and the regional president
Carles Puigdemont took this as an opportunity to proclaim
Catalonia's independence on October 10, 2017. This triggered a
deep political crisis that continues to this day. The Spanish
central government overthrew the regional government and took
direct control of Catalonia itself. Leading Catalan politicians
were either imprisoned or fled the country. In the early
regional elections in December, the Catalan nationalist parties
again won a narrow majority. Since then, everyday life has
largely returned to normal, but the political future is still
open.
The region has produced numerous well-known personalities of international importance. These include e.g. B. the painters and graphic artists Joan Miró (1893-1983) and Salvador Dalí (1904-1989), the architect Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926), the writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón (* 1964), the soprano Montserrat Caballé (* 1933) and the tenor José Carreras (b. 1946), the cellist Pablo Casals (1876–1973), the actors Jordi Mollà (b. 1968), Ariadna Gil (b. 1969), Daniel Brühl (b. 1978) and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey (b. 1986 ) as well as the clown Charlie Rivel (1896–1983). In sports, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch (1920-2010), tennis player Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (*1971), footballers Pep Guardiola (*1971), Xavi (*1980), Carles Puyol (*1987), Gerard Piqué and Cesc Fàbregas (both b. 1988), basketball player Pau Gasol (b. 1980) and motorcycle racer Marc Márquez (b. 1993). In the world of gastronomy, chef Ferran Adrià (b. 1962) stands out as a representative of "molecular gastronomy".
The main languages of the region are Catalan and Spanish. Both are
taught in the schools, which is why the majority of residents have
mastered both. Catalan (Català) is not a dialect of Spanish (which
patriotic Catalans attach great importance to), but an independent
Romance language with around 4 million native speakers who, apart from
Catalonia, also live in the Valencia region, on the Balearic Islands, in
the Pyrenees state of Andorra, in the in the southern French department
of Pyrénées-Orientales (Roussillon) and in the municipality of Alghero
in Sardinia (Italy). Catalan is related to Spanish, French and Italian,
so if you understand one of these languages you should at least be able
to make out some of the signs and inscriptions.
The language
question is also linked to the political question of Catalonia. There
are a few nationalist Catalans who refuse to speak Spanish on principle.
If you want to appear positive to locals, you can at least say a few
words in Catalan, such as: B. Bon Dia (Hello) and Adéu (Goodbye), even
if the conversation then continues in Spanish. On the other hand, there
are - especially in the big cities - a large number of immigrants from
other Spanish regions or Latin America who do not speak Catalan, but
only Spanish. Spanish is called Castellano (Catalan Castellà) in
Catalonia.
With younger and educated people in the larger cities,
you have a good chance of communicating in English; in the tourist
strongholds on the coast, it may even be in German.
By plane
By far the largest airport in the region is Barcelona-El
Prat Airport (IATA: BCN), 15 km south of the Catalan capital. It also
has a number of direct connections from Germany, Switzerland and
Austria. The main airlines represented here are Vueling, Ryanair,
EasyJet and Lufthansa. Directly at Terminal 2 there is a station for the
local train (Rodalies de Catalunya), line R2 North, which connects every
half hour with the city center of Barcelona and beyond with the
north-eastern suburbs up to Maçanet-Massanes. Alternatively, you can
take the Aerobús to the center of Barcelona. There are then further
connections to all parts of Catalonia.
Other airports in
Catalonia are:
Girona Airport (IATA: GRO); also referred to as
"Barcelona-Girona") - Flights are mainly offered by Ryanair (e.g. from
"Frankfurt"-Hahn and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden), otherwise there are various
seasonal and charter connections. Convenient for getting to the Costa
Brava (Lloret de Mar, l'Estartit, Blanes) and to the winter sports areas
in the Pyrenees. The bus journey to Barcelona takes 90 minutes, a bus
journey to Girona costs €15 including return. After being marketed as a
low-cost airport for Barcelona by Ryanair in the 2000s, it has lost
significantly in flight movements and passengers in recent years, and
most companies are now flying to the "real" Barcelona airport again.
Reus Airport (IATA: REU) – 100km south-west of Barcelona, near Tarragona
on the Costa Daurada. Mainly leisure airlines from the British Isles and
BeNeLux. The only connection from the German-speaking area is with
Ryanair from "Frankfurt"-Hahn.
By train
Catalonia is connected
to the high-speed rail network of both the Spanish and French railways.
The main long-distance train stations are Barcelona-Sants, Girona, Camp
de Tarragona, Lleida-Pirineus and Figueres-Vilafant.
A French TGV
(via Nîmes and Montpellier) runs twice a day from Gare de Lyon in Paris
to Figueres, Girona and Barcelona (Paris–Barcelona in 6½ hours). Other
international connections are with the Spanish AVE from Marseille (4½
hours to Barcelona) or Lyon (a good 5 hours).
From Madrid you can
take the AVE every hour to Barcelona in 2½-3 hours, every two hours to
Lleida (journey time 2 hours) and Tarragona (2½ hours).
Parallel
to the Mediterranean coast, Euromed trains run about every two hours
(faster than an Intercity, but not quite as fast as the AVE) from
Valencia via Tarragona to Barcelona (a total of 3:15 hours), four times
a day also from Alicante (about 5 hours); there are also slightly slower
Talgo trains on the same route. From Seville (5½ hours) and Málaga (5:45
hours) there are direct AVE connections twice a day via Córdoba, Lleida
and Tarragona to Barcelona. From northern Spain, Alvia or Intercity
trains run directly to Barcelona from Bilbao, Gijón, Irun, Pamplona or
Valladolid, otherwise you have to change trains in Zaragoza.
Night trains (Trenhotel) connect Barcelona, Tarragona and Lleida with
Galicia (A Coruña, Vigo, Ourense).
Coming from Germany, you first
go to Paris, where you can change to the TGV to Catalonia (you still
have to change stations within Paris). The fastest connection from
Karlsruhe to Barcelona takes 10½ hours, from Frankfurt a. M. a good 11½
hours, from Cologne just under 12 hours. From Switzerland you can either
drive via Paris or via Lyon and Montpellier. The fastest connection from
Basel to Barcelona takes around 9 hours.
A special railway route
from France to Catalonia runs right through the Pyrenees, via the border
station of Latour-de-Carol/Enveitg. This can be reached by taking the
regional express train (TER) from Toulouse and then changing to the
Rodalia line 3 of the Catalan local transport to Barcelona. However,
this is only for mountain lovers and railway enthusiasts for whom the
journey is part of the destination (the Toulouse-Latour de
Carol-Barcelona journey takes over 7 hours). Latour-de-Carol is also the
terminus of the Petit Train Jaune, an electrically operated narrow-gauge
railway that starts in Villefranche-de-Conflent (Pyrénées-Orientales
department).
Within Catalonia there are very good train connections from Barcelona
to the other three provincial capitals (Lleida, Tarragona and Girona).
Some trains run across the Pyrenees, it is also possible to reach the
eastern part by train to la Tour de Carol (France). When traveling from
Barcelona to the beaches of the Costa Daurada, the train is the best
choice as it skirts the coast on its way to Tarragona. With the
exception of Portbou and Blanes, the Costa Brava is not connected to the
rail network.
There is also a private train company, Ferrocarrils
de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC), which serves destinations near
Barcelona and some tourist routes. It also operates a mountain railway
in the Pyrenees.
Regional and long-distance buses are often the
only way to reach destinations in Catalonia by public transport. The two
main bus stations are:
Estació de Sants (Barcelona), mainly for
international routes and close to the train station of the same name,
good connections.
Estació del Nord, also in Barcelona and close to
Passeig de Sant Joan. Central station for medium and long-haul routes;
the nearest metro (line 1) and RENFE station is Arc de Triomf.
Catalonia's bus routes are operated by different companies, departing
from different stations.
At lunchtime (1.00 p.m. to max. 3.00 p.m.) many restaurants offer the
Menú del dia (set menu), usually consisting of a choice of four starters
and two main courses - and this for a reasonable price. Some bars also
offer combinations ("Plats Combinats") at reasonable prices, e.g. E.g.
hamburgers, eggs and chips. In the evening (20.00 to max. 23.00) the
menu is less varied. Catalan food is commonly called Cuina Casolana.
The famous rice dish paella is often prepared in Catalonia as arroz
negro/arròs negre (black rice), with the rice being colored with squid
ink.
Bacallà a la llauna is fried cod cooked in a garlic and white
wine sauce in the oven.
Xató consists of endive or frisée salad
with anchovies, tuna, bacalao (cod) and olives and a sauce of toasted
almonds or hazelnuts with migas de pan, bread crumbs with oil, vinegar,
garlic, salt and pepper.
Escalivada is a traditional dish of smoky,
grilled vegetables. It usually consists of roasted eggplant and peppers
with olive oil and sometimes onion, tomato, minced garlic and salt. It
can be served as tapas, as an accompaniment to grilled meat, fish, with
anchovies or olives in a salad, or as a topping for coca (Catalan
flatbread, similar to pizza).
Not to forget the good Catalan
wines Penedès, Alella, Pla de Bages, etc. Sangría of varying quality is
also served in most restaurants.
Catalonia is usually a safe region. However, beware of pickpockets in large crowds and do not stray unnecessarily from your vehicle in freeway parking lots. Tourist areas like Las Ramblas in Barcelona attract many thieves, so be vigilant in such areas - as a tourist you are always a target for thieves. They can see you, but you cannot see them. Don't carry all of your money and paperwork in the same bag or pocket. If you have been robbed, you should always go to the police.
In accordance with its geographical location, the Catalan Mediterranean coast is milder than the coastal sections further south. The heat record for Barcelona is 39.8°C. In comparison, 42.5 °C have already been measured in Valencia and even 47.2 °C in Murcia. The cold records are -13.0 °C for Girona and -10.0 °C for Barcelona.
A manuscript by Al-Udri (before 1085) is documented referring to
Talūniya, which could be an indication of the toponymic origin of the
area. The origin of the word Catalonia remains uncertain although
several possibilities have been pointed out.
The toponym as such
is found for the first time in written form around 111715 in the Latin
form that appears in the Pisan poem Liber maiolichinus de gestis
tumbanorum illustribus. In that text, in which the deeds that the
Pisans performed with the Catalans to address the conquest of Mallorca,
several references appear to Count Ramón Berenguer III (Dux
Catalanensis, Rector Catalanicus hostes, Catalanicus heros, Christicolas
Catalanensesque) as well as ethnic references such as Catalanenses or
Catalanensis and to their territory, Catalania. Later, the expression in
Catalonia also appears in some donations that King Alfonso II made to
his wife in 1174, as well as on various occasions (Cathalonia) in the
king's will and in songs of Occitan troubadours (Catalonha). times of
his son and successor Peter the Catholic, it is mentioned again in the
declaration of the Assembly of Peace and Truce of 1200, in which its
scope of validity is delimited: Haec est pax quam dominus Petrus (...)
constituit per totam Cataloniam, videlicet a Salsis usque ad Ilerdum.
The first time it appears in Catalan is in the Llibre dels fets of James
I the Conqueror, in the second half of the 13th century.
However,
the reason for this name is unclear. Some postulate that the word comes
from Gotholandia (country of the Goths) through Gothia or Gotia, which
was what the Franks also called the Hispanic March, due to the presence
of the Visigoth population in Septimania and the north of current
Catalonia after the fall from the Visigothic kingdom, although the
phonetic transformation is debatable.
Likewise, Gothoalania
(country of Goths and Alans) is suggested despite there being no
references to this second town in Catalan territory. A medieval
historian, Pere Tomic, suggests the existence around the 8th century of
a German knight named Otger Cathaló, to whom, due to his exploits,
Charlemagne dedicated his name to the lands south of the Pyrenees. This
theory is collected by Pedro de Medina in his Book of Greatness and
Memorable Things of Spain published in Seville in 1548.
Another
proposal suggests that many fortifications were built due to the
defensive needs of the Mark. Its guards were the Castilians who in low
medieval Latin would take the name castlanus from whose voice the
Catalan forms castlà, catlà and carlà arise. In these ways, the
foreigners who passed through their lands would have begun to name the
inhabitants that way and its territory (català > Catalonia, Catalaunia),
so Catalonia would mean "land of castles". However, this explanation has
been questioned due to phonetic difficulties. Modern authors such as
Ronjat (Grammaire historique des parlers provençaux modernes) and
Grammont (Sur la métathèse) defend that the toponym comes from an
alteration of the Latin referring to the Lacetani (LACETANI). The
transformation would occur by metathesis between -l and -c: lacetanos >
catelanos > catelans. This process must have occurred among the popular
strata and in remote times, prior to any scholarly influence. Currently,
this etymology and the one referring to the Goths are the most
widespread. In addition to those mentioned, there are even more less
known etymological proposals. For example, both Catalan and Castilian
could derive from a fusion of the Gothic words guta and athala, with the
meaning of "Noble Goth", or "Hidalgo Goth". In this sense, Otger Cathaló
could be Otger the Gothic nobleman.
An interpretation that
emerged in the 15th century, discarded among others by Antonio Agustín
and described as absurd by Félix Torres Amat, attempts to derive the
name of Catalonia from the Catalaunic Fields. According to this, the
name would derive from the Catalaunicus title of the Visigoth king
Turismundo. , whose dynasty came to dominate territories on both sides
of the Pyrenees. This entitlement has its antecedent in the following
events: On June 20, 451, in the Catalaunic Fields (region of the Gallic
Catalauni tribe, which may be linked to the Celtic-Belgian tribe of the
Catuvellaunos, mentioned by Dion Cassius) whose terminology gives the
name to the city of Châlons (Chatalan) and Champagne (Champs), a great
battle occurred between the Huns of Attila (with their allies
Ostrogoths, Gepids and Heruli), against the Romans of Flavius Aetius
(with their allies Visigoths and Alans), where more than twenty thousand
warriors died. In this battle, Attila, at the head of his horsemen,
attacked the Alans in the center, and the Ostrogoths attacked the
Visigoths from the right, while the Gepids and Heruli attacked the Roman
soldiers of Aetius, who dominated a region, from the left. hill. The
Visigoth king Theodoric I perished in the battle, so his son Turismund
was named king in the middle of the battle, later causing the Ostrogoths
to rout and turning the battle against Attila's confederation, which was
also forced to retreat. . After the battle, the Visigoth king Turismundo
returned to his capital Toulouse, where as a result of that victory, he
was titled as king Turismundo Catalaunicus, which was the germ of the
future Catalan name and of Pyrenean Catalonia.
Catalonia has several symbols that are more or less widespread among
its inhabitants, some of which have been made official. Article 8 of the
current Statute of Autonomy defines the flag, the holiday and the anthem
as national symbols. Several Catalan laws also declare these symbols as
national:
The flag is "the traditional one with four red bars on a
yellow background", whose origin is in the royal banner of the kings of
the Crown of Aragon, holders of the Principality of Catalonia.
The
holiday is September Eleventh, also known as Catalonia Day or Diada,
which commemorates the fall of Barcelona to the Bourbon troops.
The
anthem is Los Segadores, whose original lyrics date back to 1899,
although it is based on a popular romance from the 17th century, during
the Catalan Uprising.
In addition, it has other unofficial
symbols, such as the shield.
The Catalan donkey is a bet by a
nationalist citizen sector that arises in response to Osborne's bull. In
the cultural field, the Catalan language and the arts are representative
of Catalonia, as well as in folklore, the sardana, the dance of devils
and the correfocs, the giants and big heads and the castells.
The
autonomous government also has its own official symbol, called the
emblem of the Generalitat of Catalonia, which is used in all
institutional representation.
After the disintegration of the Carolingian Empire, the county of
Barcelona, which had been part of the Hispanic March of the Empire,
achieved de facto independence at the end of the 10th century and
managed to group around it, through family ties or vassalage, a part
important part of current Catalonia, mainly the counties of Gerona,
Osona, Besalú, Cerdaña and Ampurias. In the 12th century, the county of
Barcelona and the kingdom of Aragon were dynastically united through the
betrothal agreed between Ramiro II of Aragon and Ramón Berenguer IV of
Barcelona in 1137, by which the Barcelona count would marry the future
Aragonese queen Petronila. In the 14th century, it had a prominent
economic role within the framework of Mediterranean trade. With the
decline of the Crown of Aragon, Catalonia declined, which did not
prosper again until industrialization.
In the first third of the
19th century, Spain was invaded by Napoleon Bonaparte. Barcelona is
occupied by the French and Tarragona becomes the electoral capital of
the Catalan deputies, who are part of the Cortes of Cádiz, and
participate in the first constitution of the Spanish nation, in 1812.
From the second third of the In the 19th century, the Renaixença
developed, a cultural movement to recover Catalan as a language of
culture. In the following decades, political Catalanism took shape,
which was grouped into parties such as the Lliga Regionalista and later
Esquerra Republicana. After the first self-government projects that
culminated first in the Commonwealth of Catalonia (1913-1923) and then
in the restoration of the Generalitat of Catalonia and approval of the
Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1932 during the Second Republic, the
Civil War and the period Franco's regime (1939-1975) meant, both in
Catalonia and in the rest of Spain, the annulment of political freedoms,
in addition to the prohibition of Catalan in the official and
educational spheres, which were not fully recovered until the Democratic
Transition and the entry into force of the new Spanish Constitution of
1978, which recognizes the existence of autonomous communities within
Spain. Under the Constitution, a new Statute of Autonomy was approved in
1979 that recovered the official use of Catalan, later replaced by the
Statute of 2006, which after some modifications issued by the
Constitutional Court in 2010, due to its unconstitutionality, is
currently the current.
Catalonia has a relatively very marked geographic diversity, taking into account the relatively small size of its territory. The geography is conditioned by the Mediterranean coast to the east, with 580 kilometers of coastline, and the large relief units of the Pyrenees to the north.
The current geological state of Catalonia can begin to be described
from the first great changes of the Paleozoic. Initially, the territory
was part of an oceanic basin in which, due to orogenic rest, fine and
clayey sedimentary materials were deposited. The development of
Hercynian folding determined a more irregular sedimentation that
subsequently produced the emersion (of low altitude) of several
northwest-southeast-oriented areas such as the Ebro massif (current
central Catalan depression) and the Catalano-Balearic massif, which
arose at the end of the was. The sedimented materials of the time were
transformed into gneiss, schist and slate that emerges today in the
northern half of the coastal mountain ranges and the axial Pyrenees.
The Mesozoic era once again covered the areas emerged during the
previous era, which caused a quiet sedimentation under the sea,
generating a large amount of calcareous material. Today this material is
found in the southern half of the coastal mountain ranges and in the
Pre-Pyrenees.
At the beginning of the next era, the Cenozoic, the
Eurasian and African tectonic plates come into contact and a back of
folds and mountain ranges gently begins to rise through Alpine
orogenesis that will give rise, among others, to the Pyrenees. This
thrust also affects the movement of the Catalan-Balearic massif towards
the Southwest, covering the Ebro massif, still submerged, which causes
materials to be deposited that will give rise to the future central
Catalan depression. On the coastline, conglomerates deposited by rivers
accumulate and will give rise to the outstanding elevations of the
Montserrat, San Lorenzo del Munt massifs, etc. Meanwhile, towards the
interior of the basin, sand and clay accumulate, which will give rise to
stoneware. When the Ebro massif closed, in the shape of a gulf, a large
salt lake was created. Its waters were exposed to intense evaporation
that finally gave rise to large saline deposits from which until
recently salt was still extracted in Súria and Cardona. The second half
of the era eroded a large part of the Catalan-Balearic massif through
decompression, remaining in a narrow line that makes up the pre-coastal
depression, the plain of Cerdaña, Ampurdán, etc. At the end of the
period, the alpine movements influence the emergence of volcanoes in the
Olot area that will last until the Quaternary and the glaciers of the
Pyrenees end up shaping the territory.
The relief of Catalonia presents, broadly speaking, three large
general morphostructural units: the Pyrenees, the mountain formation
that connects the Iberian Peninsula with the European continental
territory and is located north of Catalonia; another unit formed by an
alternation of elevations and plains parallel to the Mediterranean
coast, called the Catalan Mediterranean System or Catalan Coastal
Mountains and a last structural unit located between the previous ones
called the central depression that makes up the eastern sector of the
Ebro Valley.
The Catalan Pyrenees represents almost half the
length of the entire Spanish Pyrenees, as it is distributed over more
than 200 kilometers. Traditionally, the Axial Pyrenees, the main one,
have been differentiated from the Pre-Pyrenees (southern in Catalan
territory), which are mountain formations parallel to the main mountain
ranges, although at a lower altitude, less steep, and with a different
geological formation. Both units are wider in the western sector than in
the eastern sector, and that is where they have their highest peaks. The
highest elevation in Catalonia, which is located north of the Pallars
Sobirá region, is the Pica d'Estats with an altitude of 3,143 m. Along
the border with France, it is followed by Puig Pedrós with 2914 m and
Puigmal with 2910 m. The Besiberri massif reaches 3029 m. In the
Pre-Pyrenees, several mountain ranges and peaks stand out, such as the
Cadí mountain range (Vulturó, 2648 m) or the Pedraforca mountain range
(Pollegó Superior, 2497 m).
The Catalan Mediterranean System is
based on two mountain ranges more or less parallel to each other and to
the sea following a northeast-southwest orientation and they are the
Litoral Mountain Range, the closest to the sea, and the Pre-Litoral
Mountain Range behind the previous one. The Coastal Mountain Range is
less extensive and at a lower altitude (Turó Gros, Sierra del Montnegre,
773 m) while in the Pre-coastal Range the range is broader and at a
higher altitude (Turó de l'Home, 1706 m). Within the system there is a
series of flat lands, whose largest entities form the Coastal Depression
and the pre-coastal depression. The Coastal Depression is located on the
edge of the coast and is prior (except for some sectors) to the Coastal
Mountains. The pre-coastal depression is located in the interior,
between the two coastal mountain ranges, and constitutes the base of the
flat lands of Vallés and Panadés. Other larger plains are the Selva
Depression and the Llano del Ampurdán, mostly in the regions of La Selva
and Ampurdán respectively. Finally, the System also includes the
Transversal Cordillera, which are late formations north of the
Precoastal Cordillera and in contact with the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees,
thus giving rise to medium altitudes and volcanoes in the Garrocha area
that are now extinct.
The central Catalan depression is a plain
located between the Pre-Pyrenees and the Pre-Litoral Mountain Range. The
southern regions of the province of Lérida and the central regions of
Barcelona occupy this territory. Its lands are located between 200 and
600 meters of altitude in a continuum from west to east, although it has
some intermediate foothills. The plains and the water that comes down
from the Pyrenees have transformed this area into large crop fields in
which numerous irrigation canals have been built.
Catalonia enjoys a Mediterranean climate, although with great variations in temperature between the coastal coast, with a mild climate, temperate in winter and very hot in summer; the interior has a continental Mediterranean climate, with cold winters and very hot summers; and the mountainous areas close to the Pyrenees, which have a high mountain climate, with sub-zero minimums and abundant snow in winter, annual rainfall above 1000 mm and less hot summers.
Catalonia belongs almost entirely to the Mediterranean basin. The
Catalan hydrographic network presents two large hydrographic basins, the
Ebro hydrographic basin and the internal basins of Catalonia of a
similar size over the territory (15,038 km² —46.84%— and 16,513 km²
—51.43%— respectively. ), both pouring into the Mediterranean, which is
accompanied by the Garonne basin, which pours its waters into the
Atlantic and extends over 554 km², 1.73% of the Catalan territory.
The Ebro basin in Catalonia mainly uses the Segre River as its
largest tributary, whose basin alone reaches 7,455 km², and to which the
Noguera Pallaresa (2,811 km²) and Noguera Ribagorzana (1,013 km²) basins
are added as tributaries. . All rivers follow a Pyrenees-Ebro axis.
After the influx of the Segre, the Ebro heads towards the Delta,
irrigating through other tributaries a territory of 3,757 km², largely
located in the Ebro Lands area.
The internal basins of Catalonia
are usually divided into those rivers that originate in the Pyrenees and
those that originate in the Catalan Coastal Mountains. The basins that
make up the Pyrenees-Mediterranean axis are made up of the Llobregat,
Ter, Fluvià, Muga and Tec rivers (which runs towards Roussillon). These
basins run through an area of 9622 km². The remaining basins, following
the so-called Mediterranean axis, arise both in the Coastal and
Pre-coastal Mountain Range and in the Empordán Plain and irrigate their
waters for 6890 km². The most important rivers are (from north to south)
the Daró, Tordera, Besós, Foix, Gayá, Francolí and Cenia.
The
smallest of the Catalan basins, that of the Garonne River, runs mainly
through the Aran Valley. It receives water from numerous rivers and
ravines that come down the slopes of the valley's mountains, and within
the Catalan territory its longest tributaries are the Unhòla River, the
Nere River and the Varradòs River.
The Ebro basin contributes an
average of 18,700 hm³ annually, while the internal basins only have
2,020 hm³ per year. The imbalance is caused by the previous contribution
of the Ebro (around 6,700 hm³/year) to which is added the Pyrenean
contribution of the Segre (around 12,000 hm³/year) to the south of the
province of Lleida. It is around the regions of the central depression
that these waters have been used to build numerous irrigation canals.
The Urgel Canals (478 hm³), the Aragón and Catalonia Canal (362 hm³) and
the future Segarra-Garrigas Canal (342 hm³) stand out. However, despite
its reduced flow, of all the Spanish basins, it is the Internal Basins
of Catalonia where water is used the most for human consumption (518
hm³). This imbalance has promoted the use of groundwater in the coastal
and eastern regions, of which Catalonia has many reserves. In any case,
it is common that in periods of low rainfall there are supply cuts to
populations, even in spring. For this reason, several river transfer
options have been considered. For water supply there are 28 reservoirs,
of which ten operate in the Segre basin. The oldest is Camarasa, built
in 1920, and the largest are Canelles (679 hm³, shared with Aragón),
Rialb (402.8 hm³), Santa Ana (236.6 hm³, shared with Aragón) and
Susqueda (233 hm³).
There are few significant lakes in the
territory. Most are found in the Catalan Pyrenees in the form of small
lagoons (estanys), originated by ancient glacial cirques. Of these, the
Aigüestortes National Park and Lake San Mauricio are famous, although
the largest of all is Lake Bañolas, of karst origin.
The Catalan coast is marked by a general line of more than 500 km in length, although in definition it reaches 754.8 km. The coast tends to be straight without major accidents. The only maritime features are formed by the contact of the Pyrenees with the sea, forming Cape Creus, next to which is the Gulf of Roses. Later, up to Blanes, the Costa Brava appears, characterized by low cliffs and hidden coves. Then follows a long line of Maresme beaches, parallel to the Coastal Mountain Range, and which is only intersected by the various commercial and fishing ports. Barcelona's coast is characterized by artificial beaches and a large commercial port that extends for more than nine kilometers. The southern part of the port was developed on the plain of the Llobregat delta, which behind the port draws a smooth coastline of just over 18 km. Then the Garraf massif articulates the coasts in notable cliffs and until after Sitges the coast is not rectilinear again (except again for numerous ports) and facing south, up to the height of the port of Tarragona. This is the second largest port in Catalonia and extends for more than five kilometers before entering Cape Salou. The beaches in this area take the name of Costa Dorada in their tourist aspect. Towards the south the coast is gentle again, and is characterized by less human occupation. The last major geographical feature is determined by the Gulf of San Jorge and the lowlands of the Ebro delta, where there are islands and peninsulas, such as Punta del Falgar to the north and La Banya to the south, which is linked to the delta by the Trabucador beach. The sand on Catalan beaches is generally golden, and with a certain tendency to be grainy in the north and finer in the south.
Despite the population and industrialization of Catalonia, much of
the soil remains intact at the hands of man. The forest landscape is
distributed over 18,257 km² (2002), and is especially appreciated in the
mountainous areas of the north and the coast. This includes light and
dense forests (sclerophyllous, deciduous and aciculifolia) as well as
the vegetation of humid areas. These forests occupy 56.8% of the Catalan
surface. By extension, the next cover is occupied by crops, extending
over 32.5% of the territory (10,448 km²). Of these, dryland agriculture
stands out, (7069 km²), spread across many regions and being
characteristic of Segarra, Solsonés, Bages and Noya among others.
Rainfed fruit cultivation extends mainly to the south of Ponent and the
Ebro Lands. Regarding the vine, the vineyards that year extended over
769 km², mainly in Panadés. The extent of irrigation is more restricted
(2611 km²) and is distributed mainly through the Segriá, Plana de Urgel
and surrounding areas, especially through the numerous irrigation
canals, as well as the Ebro delta, and to a lesser extent, in the
Ampurdán, Cerdanya and the coast of Barcelona. The cultivation of
irrigated fruit trees is less extensive, and occurs especially in Segriá
and Campo de Tarragona.
In 2002, the human presence had an area
of 1,520 km² (4.7% of the Catalan territory) and is generally
concentrated on the coast, especially in the Barcelona metropolitan
area. The extension of the urbanizations stands out, greater than that
of the urban centers, and later the area destined for industrial and
commercial use (229 km²).
Finally, the unused or unusable land
constituted 5.4% (1740 km²) and extended mainly across the Pyrenean
peaks in the form of clear vegetation or meadow. The surface occupied by
water (from rivers, lakes or dams) was 150.5 km², only 0.5% of the
Catalan surface.
The protection of the Catalan natural environment has grown rapidly
in recent years. As of 2006, the protected land territory amounted to
9,608 km², practically 30% of Catalonia. The spaces differ in degree of
protection; In this sense, the park with the greatest rank and antiquity
is the only national park in Catalan territory, the Aigüestortes i
Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, inaugurated in 1955. However, it
was already in 1932 that it was intended to protect some areas of the
Pyrenees in the so-called Macià Plan.
Until after the democratic
restoration and the autonomous government, legislation was not passed
again to protect natural spaces. Currently, several administrations (the
Ministry of the Environment, the Generalitat of Catalonia and the
Provincial Council of Barcelona, together with several consortia of
municipalities) are responsible for overseeing, protecting and promoting
protected spaces. The Generalitat, in addition to co-managing the
Aigüestortes Park, manages a network of eleven natural parks, three
Natural Sites of National Interest, a nature reserve (Llobregat Delta)
and a marine reserve (Medas Islands). For its part, the Barcelona
Provincial Council has a Network of Natural Parks (Xarxa de Parcs
Naturals) directed by the Natural Spaces Area of the Provincial Council
that extends the protected spaces by 12 parks with different degrees of
protection, some managed together with the Generality. In addition to
these parks, there is a more extensive network of specific spaces
protected by less specific laws whose objective is to combine the
diversity of the Catalan territory and its local flora and fauna. This
network, called the Plan for Areas of Natural Interest (PEIN), also
incorporates the aforementioned natural and national parks that do have
specific legislation. As of April 2007, the spaces included in the PEIN
amounted to 165.
The population of Catalonia on January 1, 2015 was 7,504,008
inhabitants, with a percentage of people of immigrant origin of 14.49%.
The city of Barcelona is home to more than 1.6 million people in
just over 100 km² of area.
Around the capital there are two and a
half million more people who reside within a radius of less than 25 km
from the capital. In the first metropolitan ring are the cities of
Hospitalet de Llobregat, Badalona and Santa Coloma de Gramanet. The main
towns in the second crown are Terrasa, Sabadell, Mataró, Moncada and
Reixach, Granollers, Martorell, Molins de Rey, San Feliú de Llobregat,
Gavá and Castelldefels. A population of more than four million
inhabitants is concentrated in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. The
second urban agglomeration in Catalonia is the one formed by the
Reus-Tarragona agglomeration.
The rest of the population of
Catalonia is based on the north coast (Costa Brava), the south coast
(Costa Dorada), the valley of the Llobregat River to Manresa, and the
inland cities of Lérida (to the west) and Gerona (to the northeast).
Catalonia, organized as an autonomous community, is defined as a nationality in its Statute of Autonomy, under the provisions of the second article of the Spanish Constitution, which recognizes and guarantees the right to autonomy of the nationalities and regions that make up Spain.
In Catalonia there are four public administrations, with different
levels of responsibility and political powers: the General
Administration of the State, the Generalitat of Catalonia, the
provincial councils, and the town councils.
The General
Administration of the State deals with different issues such as security
(armed forces), justice, the management of ports and airports, RENFE
trains, and the coasts, among the most notable competencies. Over the
last few years, the National Police Corps and the Civil Guard, within
the framework of transfer of powers, have been relieved of most of their
powers due to the progressive deployment over the territory of the Mozos
de Escuadra, the regional police. The State Administration in Catalonia
is coordinated from the headquarters of the Government Delegation. The
Government Delegate is appointed directly by the Government of Spain by
decree.
The Generalitat of Catalonia, the institutional system in
which the self-government of Catalonia is politically organized, has
broad powers and manages different areas, such as: education, social
affairs, transit, determination of economic and trade policies, etc. The
Generalitat is also responsible for the construction of public
facilities such as hospitals, primary and secondary schools,
universities, residences for the elderly, among others.
Catalonia, like other Spanish autonomous regions, has extensive powers transferred by the State. Currently, the Generalitat has powers in matters such as culture, tourism or housing. In other areas, such as credit management, banking and insurance, it is responsible for legislative development and execution of the basic legislation of the State. Finally, in matters such as intellectual and industrial property, it is responsible for the execution of state legislation.
Unlike the Basque Country and Navarra, whose tax relations with the State are regulated by their respective traditional regional systems, and the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, for which the organic law provided for in article 157.3 of the Constitution, of financing of the autonomous communities, establishes peculiarities, Catalonia, like the remaining communities, lacks special fiscal autonomy. Most taxes are collected by the State Tax Administration Agency, so its income depends on the transfers it receives from the central Administration.
In 1931 there was the first establishment of self-government for Catalonia, which disappeared after the Spanish civil war of 1936-1939. Later, in 1977, with the approval of the Spanish Constitution, Catalonia was granted the capacity for self-government in some matters. As of that date, the Parliament of the Generalitat, the Presidency of the Generalitat and the Government of the Generalitat, which are its main institutions of self-government, are created, as well as the rest of the bodies created by law of the Catalan Parliament.
In the Catalan territory, in addition to the Spanish Government, the Catalan Government exercises its executive powers and is made up of the president of the Generalitat, the first counselor, if applicable, and the counselors. Exercises executive function and regulatory power.
The Parliament of Catalonia is made up of one hundred and thirty-five deputies, elected for a period of four years by universal, free, equal, direct and secret suffrage. Parliament exercises legislative power, approves the budgets of the Generalitat and controls and promotes political and government action.
According to the provisions of article 152.1 of the Constitution, the
Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia completes the judicial
organization in the territorial area of Catalonia.
Under the
provisions of the Statute of Autonomy, Catalonia is governed by Catalan
civil law, the conservation, modification and development of which is
the exclusive responsibility of the Generalitat. Likewise, in accordance
with article 35 of the Statute of Autonomy, a law of Parliament
regulates the figure of the Grievance Trustee (equivalent to the
Ombudsman), who ensures the defense of the fundamental rights and public
liberties of citizens in their relations with public administrations.
The main political formations in Catalonia -political parties,
candidacies and coalitions-, present in the Parliament of Catalonia, are
the following:
The Ciudadanos-Partido de la Ciudadanía party,
born from the civic and cultural platform Ciutadans de Catalunya;
The
joint list Junts per Catalunya ("Together for Catalonia"), formed by the
Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCat) and the Democratic
Convergence of Catalonia (CDC).
The coalition Esquerra Republicana de
Catalunya-Catalunya Sì ("Republican Left of Catalonia-Catalonia Yes"),
composed of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), Reagrupament
Independentista (RI) and Catalunya Sí (CAT-SÍ).
The Party of
Socialists of Catalonia, an independent party associated with the
Spanish Socialist Workers Party, formed after the merger of the three
regional socialist parties that existed during the Transition: Partit
Socialista de Catalunya-Congrés, Partit Socialista de
Catalunya-Reagrupament and the Catalan Federation from the PSOE;
The
Catalunya en Comú-Podem (“Catalonia en Común- Podemos”) coalition, made
up of Catalunya en Comú, Barcelona en Comú, Initiative per Catalunya
Verds, Esquerra Unida i Alternativa, Podemos and Equo;
The Popular
Unity Candidacy-Constituent Call coalition, of which the Popular Unity
Candidacy, Drassanes Collective, Constituents for Rupture,
Internationalist Struggle, En Lucha, Corriente Roja, Els
Verds-Alternativa Verda, Endavant, Poble Lliure, Arran, are members.
Student Union of the Catalan Countries, Union Workers Coordinator and
various local parties;
The Popular Party of Catalonia, the delegation
of the Popular Party in the Catalan autonomous community.
The
controversy of Catalonia as a nation
In the proposal of the Statute
of Autonomy approved in 2006 and currently in force, the Parliament of
Catalonia approved the definition of Catalonia as a nation. However,
exercising its superior powers, the Congress of Deputies amended that
proposal and excluded the definition of « nation" of the articles of the
new Statute - although a reference is maintained in the preamble to what
the Catalan Parliament approved at the time, as follows: "The Spanish
Constitution, in the second article, recognizes the national reality of
Catalonia as a nationality" —. Likewise, the Catalan legislators
introduced another reference to the national character of Catalonia,
protected by the current legal system, which is found in article 8.1 of
the 2006 Statute, by stating that Catalonia, defined as a nationality in
article 1, has as "symbols "national" the flag, the holiday and the
anthem.
In the opinion of the Government of the Nation, and the
ruling party that supported its approval, the text of the preamble only
has declarative and not legal value. In the opinion of the spokesperson
for the Socialist Parliamentary Group, in his intervention, on behalf of
the ruling party, during the debate in the Congress of Deputies of the
Statute, the preamble has "political, legal and interpretative
importance." The Popular Party, in that Then the main opposition party,
on July 31, 2006, presented an appeal before the Constitutional Court
against the new Statute for the possible unconstitutional use of the
term "nation" in the preamble - among many other aspects -, which was
admitted for processing by the High Court and which was resolved
declaring the Statute partially unconstitutional. The Ombudsman did the
same on September 19 of the same year.
On October 27, 2017, the Parliament of Catalonia proceeds to vote to
convert Catalonia into a Republic, in a secret vote and with the absence
of the 53 deputies of the parties opposed to the independence process -
PP, PSC and Ciudadanos - for consider that the Spanish Constitution does
not allow it. It was a vote against the decisions of the Constitutional
Court and of the Parliament's own lawyers, who previously warned the
Board that it could not formalize any resolution in this regard in
accordance with current legislation. and the opinions of the
Constitutional Court. The motion goes ahead by seventy votes in favor,
ten against and two blank, but said declaration of independence is
provisionally suspended by the Constitutional Court on October 31 after
a request in this regard from the PSC.
On October 27 in the
afternoon, the Senate approves the Government's request to activate
article 155 of the Constitution by 214 votes in favor, 47 against and
one abstention, alleging the Catalan Government's repeated violation of
the laws in force in their sovereign desires. The Spanish Government
dismisses the Catalan Government, calling elections for December 21,
2017, and transferring the work of the ministries to those of the
corresponding ministries. All political parties end up accepting the
call for elections, even the Catalan nationalists despite their initial
reluctance. He also takes control of the Mozos de Escuadra, the Catalan
regional police, dismissing Major Trapero due to his legal problems, and
putting his number two in charge. The decision is accepted without
incident by the members of the regional police force.
On October
30, the State Attorney General requests that the Parliament Board and
the Government of the Generalitat be charged with sedition, rebellion
and embezzlement of funds. The latter, supposedly for embezzling public
funds to finance the referendum declared illegal by the Constitutional
Court that took place on October 1 of the same year.
The former
president of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont, fled to Belgium along
with four former councilors with the intention of internationalizing the
problem. After accepting the complaint of the State Attorney General for
processing, the judge of the National Court, Carmen Lamela, summons the
dismissed members of the Catalan Government for November 2. Due to the
flight of Puigdemont and other councilors, after appearing in court he
declares unconditional imprisonment for the Catalan vice president Oriol
Junqueras and seven other former councilors7 for crimes of sedition,
rebellion and embezzlement of funds. The complaint is presented to the
Parliament Board. before the Supreme Court for being qualified members
and is accepted, but their statement is postponed from November 2 to
November 9 of the same month.
Finally, Judge Lamela refers the
open case to the Supreme Court by assessing that her defendants are part
of the same investigation conducted by Judge Pablo Llarena in the High
Court, but she maintains the investigation into the development of the
independence referendum of October 1 of 2017, also considered
unconstitutional.
Catalonia is organized territorially into regions, municipalities and provinces. Historically, it has also been organized into regions and veguerías, the latter name recovered with the new Statute of autonomy.
The provinces constitute the oldest administrative division still in force in Catalonia. They start from the grouping of municipalities and take the name of their capitals. The Judicial Branch starts from the provincial division to establish the judicial districts, grouping the municipalities that are awarded under the same judicial headquarters.
The Generalitat of Catalonia established an administrative division
into forty-one regions, the governing bodies of which are the Regional
Councils. The regional division of Catalonia has its origin in a decree
of the Republican Generality of 1936, which was valid until the end of
the Civil War. The regional division was again adopted by law of
Parliament in 1987. This division was based on geographical and local
market criteria, which largely coincides with previous territorial
entities of great tradition. There are only four regions (Bergadá,
Cerdaña, Osona and Selva) that include municipalities belonging to two
provinces, while the rest do so fully maintaining the same municipal
borders.
The Aran Valley deserves special attention since,
although it is included within the regional organization, it enjoys
greater autonomy, in accordance with Law 16/1990, on the special regime
of the Aran Valley, approved by the Parliament of Catalonia.
The municipality is the territorial base of Catalonia where there are 947, of which as of 2017 (INE), 488 had less than 1,000 inhabitants. 121 have more than the population to be considered a city, and 64 have more than 20,000 inhabitants (where more than 70% of the Catalan population lives).
Catalonia is a territory with an industrial tradition since the 19th
century. Currently, industry, tourism and services are the main economic
sectors of Catalonia. The average annual growth of the period 1995-2004
in real terms was lower than the Spanish average. In 2014, the Catalan
economy grew by 1.4%, the same percentage as the Spanish average and
above the European average. According to the same official sources,
Catalonia is in fourth place in the classification of communities
according to GDP per capita in Purchasing Power Parities and is the one
that contributes the most to the total Spanish GDP (18.7%, year 2014).
The unemployment rate in Catalonia, at the end of 2014, was 19.9%:
20.2 for men and 19.6 for women.
Industry, construction, tourism
and services are the main economic sectors of Catalonia.
Catalonia is the first tourist destination in Spain: the 16.7 million
tourists it received between January and December 2014 represent 25.8%
of the total arrivals registered throughout Spain, and represent an
increase of 7.2% compared to to the same period of the previous year.
The main tourist destinations in Catalonia are the city of Barcelona,
the beaches of the Costa Brava in Girona and the Costa Dorada in
Tarragona (where the PortAventura World tourist complex is also
located), and the Pyrenean area, where there are 10 ski resorts:
Baqueira Beret, La Molina, Espot Esquí, La Masella, Port Ainé, Vall de
Núria, Boí Taüll, Port del Comte, Rasos de Peguera, Tavascan and Vallter
2000.
Housing is the biggest source of debt for Catalans. In this
sense, it should be noted that Catalonia is, after Madrid, the second
community in Spain where the price of housing is most expensive: an
average of 3,397 euros are paid per square meter, according to data from
the Appraisal Society as of December 31, 2005. By city, however,
Barcelona is the most expensive city in Spain, with an average price of
3,700 euros per square meter.
From a financial point of view, it
is worth highlighting the great implementation and tradition that
savings banks have in Catalonia, even greater than private banks. An
example is that of the 46 Spanish savings banks, 10 are Catalan.
Particularly noteworthy are the Barcelona Savings and Pensions Bank,
known as laCaixa, which is the first savings bank in Europe, and Caixa
Catalunya. As for banks, the most important in Catalonia is Banco
Sabadell, the fourth largest Spanish banking group.
The Barcelona
Stock Exchange, which traded almost 212,825 million euros in 2014, is
the second most important in Spain after the Madrid Stock Exchange. In
2018, the contracting volume was 166,994 million euros.
For its
part, the Barcelona Fair organizes all types of international
exhibitions and conferences on various sectors of the economy.
Catalonia has its own regional police, called Mozos de Escuadra, under the provisions of the Law on Security Forces and Bodies. The Mozos de Escuadra were gradually replacing the State security forces and bodies, the Civil Guard and the National Police Corps, which depend directly on the Ministry of the Interior, with the Catalan regional police assuming powers in public security, which include some of the functions that both the Civil Guard and the National Police had been performing until now, mainly in matters of citizen security and traffic. The State maintains in Catalonia, once the deployment is completed, a limited number of agents to carry out the functions attributed exclusively to the General Administration of the State such as terrorism and drug trafficking, surveillance of ports, airports, coasts and borders, customs, control of entry and exit from the national territory, general immigration regime, extradition and expulsion, emigration and immigration, official identity documents, trafficking in weapons and explosives, tax protection of the State, smuggling and tax fraud and the other functions that the Constitution and the law establishes.
It is worth highlighting the integrated fare system used in public transport in all its provinces in Catalonia. T-Mobilitat will be the latest advance in transport integration, allowing the citizens of Catalonia to use a single ticket for all participating modes of transport that are currently divided into four different integrated systems.
Scientific and technological research has been one of the pillars of
the development of Catalonia. Among the most famous Catalan scientists
it is worth mentioning Narciso Monturiol, the astronomer José Comas y
Solá, the climatologist Eduard Fontserè, or the biochemist Joan Oró.
Currently, a large economic investment is being made by public
administrations and private entities to maximize scientific and
technological research, not only in university centers but in private
institutions. In this area, the work of institutions such as the Higher
Council for Scientific Research in Catalonia stands out.
In this
sense, it is worth highlighting the upcoming inauguration of the
Biomedical Research Park that is being built in Barcelona, and which
will be the most important in Europe in the biomedical field; the 22@
neighborhood project in Barcelona, which encourages the installation of
all types of leading companies in the European technological field; and
the launch with the inauguration by Presidents Montilla, Zapatero and
the Minister of Science and Innovation, Cristina Garmendia, of the
synchrotron in Sardañola del Vallés. In Terrassa you can visit the
Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia, and in Barcelona the
CosmoCaixa, formerly called the Museum of Science.
The most internationally renowned Catalan painters are Salvador Dalí,
Joan Miró and Antoni Tàpies, all of them belonging to the 20th century.
Pablo Picasso from Malaga was also closely linked to the pictorial
environment of Catalonia, who lived his youth in Barcelona, where he
trained as an artist and initiated Cubism by painting, among other
works, The Young Ladies of Avignon. Other Catalans who have also left
their mark in the world of plastic arts are Ramón Casas, Josep Maria
Subirachs and Mariano Fortuny.
The most relevant pictorial
museums in Catalonia are the Dalí Theatre-Museum, in Figueras (Gerona),
the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, the Antoni Tàpies Foundation, and the
Joan Miró Foundation, both in Barcelona, where the National Museum of
Art is also notable. of Catalonia (MNAC), the Museum of Contemporary Art
of Barcelona (MACBA), the Center for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona
(CCCB), and CaixaForum Barcelona.
Music is one of the most vigorous sectors of the cultural industry in
Catalonia, both due to the number of musical activities and events that
take place throughout the year, as well as the network of music venues,
and the number of producers, composers , performers and groups of
different genres that emerged in Catalonia.
Composers: The most
internationally renowned Catalan composers are Pau Casals, Isaac Albéniz
and Enrique Granados, although in the 20th century artists such as
Xavier Cugat, Leonora Milà, Xavier Montsalvatge, Tete Montoliu and
Federico Mompou, among others, also stood out.
Singer-songwriters:
They proliferated especially in the second half of the 20th century, and
especially in the field of music in the Catalan language, due to the
Nova Cançó movement. Artists such as Lluís Llach, Joan Manuel Serrat,
Maria del Mar Bonet, and Francesc Pí de la Serra stand out in this area.
In the Spanish language, Serrat himself (who combines works in Catalan
and Spanish) and Manolo García have stood out. Currently, Carlos Sadness
is an exponent in the alternative scene.
Performers and musical
ensembles: The cellist Pau Casals and the pianist Alicia de Larrocha are
the most prestigious classical music performers in Catalan music. From
the field of opera, the sopranos Montserrat Caballé and Victoria de los
Ángeles and the tenors José Carreras and Jaume Aragall stand out. In the
field of pop and rock, since the second half of the 20th century,
numerous performers have emerged in Catalonia, especially in the Spanish
language: Los Sírex, Santabárbara, Loquillo y Los Trogloditas, El Último
de la Fila, Jarabe de Palo, Los Rebeldes , Sergio Dalma or Mónica
Naranjo are the greatest exponents. In the 1990s, the Catalan rock
phenomenon occurred, in which groups such as Els Pets, Sopa de Cabra or
Sau and singers such as Quimi Portet stood out, who revitalized pop rock
in Catalan. With Catalan rumba, artists such as El Pescaílla, Peret,
Gato Pérez, Los Manolos and, lately, Estopa, who have fused rumba with
pop-rock, have stood out.
Musical venues: The most important stages
in Catalonia are located in the city of Barcelona. Particularly
noteworthy are the Lyceum, the Palace of Catalan Music, the Auditorium –
official headquarters of the Barcelona and National Symphony Orchestra
of Catalonia (OBC) – and the National Theater of Catalonia. The largest
pop and rock concerts usually take place at the Palacio Sant Jordi, the
Palacio de los Deportes in Barcelona, and even in stadiums such as the
Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium or the Camp Nou.
Musical activities:
Apart from the frequent concerts and musical activities that are
scheduled in the main stages of Barcelona, various international music
festivals take place in Catalonia on an annual basis. In Barcelona, the
highlights include the Primavera Sound Festival, for electronic music,
which is held in the month of May for three days, the Sónar Festival, in
June for electronic and multimedia music, and the Grec Festival, much
more eclectic, which during the month July offers varied proposals in
different settings in the city. Outside Barcelona, the Vic Live Music
Market, the Peralada Festival, the Terrassa Jazz Festival, the Tarragona
International Dixieland Festival and the Pau Casals de Vendrell
International Music Festival stand out. Another notable annual event is
the Catalonia International Record Fair.
One of the best-known manifestations of Catalan popular culture are
the castellers: the erection of human castles by collas castelleras
(clubs) that compete with each other. This practice, originally from the
lands of Tarragona, specifically the city of Valls, spread throughout
Catalonia and in recent years has received a great social boost thanks
to television broadcasts and the creation of new collas.
The
sardana is the Catalan popular dance par excellence, although the cane
dance, the moixiganga and the jota from the Ebro lands, very similar to
the Aragonese jota, are also traditional.
Musically, habaneras
are characteristic of Catalonia, especially in the seaside towns of the
Costa Brava. In the summer months, open-air folk songs proliferate,
always accompanied by the tasting of burnt rum. Catalan rumba is also
very representative of popular culture.
On the designated dates
or major festivals, other elements of Catalan popular culture are always
present: the parades of giants and big heads and the correfocs with
devils and firecrackers. One of the most traditional festivals in
Catalonia is the Patum de Berga, declared by UNESCO as oral and
intangible heritage of humanity on November 25, 2005.
The
tradition of Tió de Nadal is also significant, on Christmas Day or,
depending on the house, on the eve the Tió is put on the fire and made
to "shit." Now the Tió is no longer burned, he is only forced to
repeatedly "shit" gifts for the little ones by repeatedly lashing out
with his cane accompanied by the so-called Tió songs.
In addition
to the manifestations of traditional Catalan culture, in Catalonia you
can also enjoy cultural manifestations typical of other Spanish regions
as a result of the great immigration that the territory has received in
the last century and a half. In this sense, the activities of the
population of Andalusian origin are especially notable, and have their
maximum expression in the organization of the April Fair of Catalonia.
Several languages are spoken in Catalonia, of which the main ones are
Spanish and Catalan (which in other territories is called the Valencian
language). According to the Statute of Autonomy, both languages, along
with Occitan (in its variant Aranese), are official. In addition,
Catalan is considered the language of Catalonia, while Occitan is
considered the language of the Aran Valley. Catalans are generally
bilingual and know the two main languages, although they differ
regarding which language they have as their mother tongue. According to
2013 data, 99.7% of Catalans know how to speak Spanish while 80.4% know
how to speak Catalan. Furthermore, the use by each speaker of one or the
other language frequently depends on the social environment in which
they live. to express itself.
Catalan extends beyond the
territory of the community, as it is spoken in a large part of the
Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, the eastern strip of Aragon,
Andorra, the French Pyrenees-Orientales and the Sardinian town of
Alghero. In Catalonia the two main blocks of the language are spoken.
The eastern dialect includes the central dialect, the majority, spoken
in the northern regions of Tarragona, Barcelona, and Gerona, in whose
Pyrenean region traces of northern Catalan already appear. The western
one is typical of the western regions of Catalonia (Lérida and the south
of Tarragona) and shows similar features to the Valencian one, with
which it forms a continuum and at whose intersection is the Tortosino.
Catalan is especially prevalent outside the metropolitan area of
Barcelona and Campo de Tarragona. The Generalitat has been developing
legislation that promotes and protects the social use of Catalan. In
2008, Catalan was considered the mother tongue of 35.4% of Catalans, the
native language of 46% and the language of habitual use of 47.6% (the
percentages also include speakers who jointly consider Spanish and to
Catalan as a mother tongue, own language or habitual language).
In Catalonia, Catalan remained the habitual language in absolute terms
between 1980 and 2008, instead of going backwards as in the Valencian
Community or Roussillon. The decline in relative terms that occurred in
the period 2003-2008 is due to the significant arrival of immigrants to
Catalonia, more than half a million in that period, 36% of whom have
Spanish as their mother tongue. Other studies, such as The Second
Generation in Barcelona: A Longitudinal Study (March 2009), applied to
the metropolitan area of Barcelona, point out that approximately 80% of
immigrants in the study area considered prefer to use Spanish, a higher
percentage than those who speak it because of its origin. The authors
believe that this is because the immigrants have settled in
neighborhoods where Spanish is more common.
With respect to
territorial distribution (2013 data), the use of Catalan (exclusive, not
counting those who also regularly speak Spanish) is predominant in the
functional areas of the Girona Regions (51.5%), Tierras del Ebro (
73.8%), Poniente (61.9%), Central Catalonia (63.0%) and Upper Pyrenees
and Aran (61.3%), where Catalan as a habitual (exclusive) language is
used by more than 50%. of the population. The lowest degrees of
exclusive use occur in Campo de Tarragona (38.6%) and the metropolitan
area of Barcelona (27.8%). Regarding the 2003 data, a percentage decline
in exclusive habitual speakers is observed. of Catalan in all areas,
ranging from 8.8% in Poniente to 16.5% in Campo de Tarragona.
The
Generalitat of Catalonia has carried out work to promote and enhance the
use of Catalan as the priority language in Catalonia. Both the Statute
of Autonomy of 1979 and that of 2006 define Catalan as the language of
Catalonia. The 2006 Statute further indicates that:
The language of
Catalonia is Catalan. As such, Catalan is the language of normal and
preferred usenote 1 of the public administrations and the public media
of Catalonia, and it is also the language normally used as a vehicle and
for learning in education.
Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, article
6.1.
In 2013, Spanish was the most spoken language in Catalonia,
surpassing Catalan not only as a habitual language, but also as a mother
tongue and identification language,65 both in relative and absolute
figures. The Spanish of Catalonia tends to predominate in urban areas,
especially in the metropolitan area of Barcelona and in the Campo de
Tarragona, while Catalan predominates in the rest of Catalonia. The
variation of these data with respect to previous measurements is
determined in part by the significant increase in immigration of foreign
population in the period 2001-2008. In 2007, the number of residents
born abroad, of which a considerable number came from Latin American
countries, represented 16.4% of the resident population in Catalonia.
The Spanish spoken in Catalonia has disparate features , without showing
a specific dialect. Some Spanish speakers who are originally from other
regions of Spain show phonetic and dialectal features typical of their
land of origin, while others neutralized these features, either at will,
through contact with Catalan speakers, due to the influence of the
media, etc Catalan speakers who speak Spanish show some influences from
their mother tongue78 and their traits are, sometimes, stereotyped as
those of Catalans when speaking in the Spanish language. In 2008,
Spanish was the mother tongue of 58.8% of Catalans,66 the native
language of 55.3% and the usual language of 57.9% (the percentages
also include speakers who jointly consider Spanish and Catalan as a
mother tongue, own language or habitual language).
Aranese is the
mother tongue of 22.4% of the population of the Aran Valley, the native
language of 27.1% and the usual language of 23.4%.
The immigrant
or foreign community settled in Catalonia often maintains their mother
tongue to communicate with their relatives or speakers of the same
language who also reside in the territory. Apart from the Spanish spoken
by immigrants from Latin America, Arabic and Romanian stand out above
all, although their number extends considerably in cities that, like
Barcelona, with inhabitants of up to 180 nationalities,80 show a wide
linguistic repertoire, from which, in addition to those mentioned,
include French, Portuguese, German and English. The statistical survey
of linguistic uses of the Generalitat carried out in 2003 also revealed
the significant presence of Galician speakers.
In the current Catalan territory, several languages have existed
throughout history. The first known, or partially known, is the Iberian
language, which is the etymological origin of several place names, in
the same way that in the northeastern part of the region there are place
names whose origin is in Aquitanian (proto-Basque); They know exactly
the linguistic habits of their speakers. The study of the Greek
colonization and implantation of Empordà shows the use of Ionic Greek as
a local language; The settlers perhaps had a certain bilingualism in
Iberian to carry out their commercial exchanges. There is also a good
number of Celtic toponyms, presumably of a variety related to Gaulish
(Besalú < Bisuldunum, Verdú < Virodunum, etc.). The arrival and
establishment of the Romans is clearer and the implementation of Latin
is more evident, especially in ceramics and place names. The conquest of
Hispania and victory of the Romans was only possible after the victory
over the Carthaginians, although the brief presence of this Phoenician
people did not leave notable influences in current Catalonia. For a time
it was believed that Barcelona was a Carthaginian foundation, with the
establishment of a population of that ethnic group, although it was
later rejected and this was believed to be a Roman establishment on a
previous indigenous population. Romanization, which began in the 2nd
century BC. C. penetrated deeply into the Iberians who gradually left
their language to adopt Latin, although in some Pyrenean areas some form
of Basque continued to be spoken for a few more centuries, it is
believed that at least until the 9th century on the basis of toponymy. .
The arrival of Jewish, Hebrew-speaking communities established in
Barcelona or other cities as early as the 4th century is possible.
Later, with the arrival of the Germanic peoples, a Gothic-speaking
population was established that occupied the strata of power, although
they progressively adopted some Roman customs and their language, which
had already evolved to the late stage and showed some differences
between the provinces. However, the manifestation of substantial
differences did not come until the 9th century, after the entry of the
Muslims into the Iberian Peninsula. This population, of Arab and Berber
origin, was not numerous but they assumed the power spaces of the
Visigoths and gradually expanded their culture and their Arabic
language. Its presence in the current Catalan territory was greater in
the south (the so-called New Catalonia) where some place names and a
greater Muslim archaeological presence remain. The Christian Reconquest
was taking territories of the Emirate of Córdoba first and of the taifas
of Lérida and Tortosa later, in whose territories the local, more
Arabized population was sometimes taken over or repopulated with
inhabitants from the Catalan counties. This ethnographic mixture was
generally peaceful, although sometimes the rulers promoted the
Christianization of society; Over time, the language of the Christians
took precedence, and by the 11th century the social elite was already
using Catalan romance in their literary and legal texts. Catalan is the
language of the Crown whose literary expression reaches its period of
splendor in the Middle Ages. The use of the Castilian language in
Catalonia seems to begin with the election in 1412 of Ferdinand I as
king, of Castilian origin, whose court adopted that language, and who
would gradually gain international prestige due to the Castilian
demographic and cultural weight.
In the following centuries,
merchants, writers and the upper classes of society progressively
adopted the Spanish language, whose economic interests and cultural
references were oriented towards the Peninsula and America, while the
lower and rural classes continued to maintain familiar and popular use.
of Catalan. The evolution of this process increased its intensity due
to the political imposition that followed the defeat of the Austrian
side (whose greatest support within Spain was the Crown of Aragon) in
the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714 and the Decrees of New Plant
of 1716, which considered Catalonia a conquered territory and which
caused the suppression of its charters. The prevailing Bourbon policy
led to the unification of the State in all its aspects, of which
language was no exception. Catalan was relegated in favor of Spanish in
the administration, the army, religion, history, justice, teaching,
commerce and the arts through legislative imposition. However, Catalan
continued to remain the family language. The political and cultural
situation of the 19th century allowed the emergence of the Renaixença
("Renaissance") cultural movement that motivated many writers to once
again adopt the Catalan language for their literature; This movement
promoted the prestige of the language. Later, Catalanism would defend
Catalan from a political front, and already into the 20th century,
Catalan had a wide variety of means of dissemination. However, political
tensions led to the prohibition of the language on several occasions,
such as with the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. During the Second
Spanish Republic, the co-official status of Catalan introduced by the
statute of autonomy of Catalonia allowed the use of both languages in
the administration and Catalan was allowed in teaching; However, the
Civil War and the Franco dictatorship gave way to the prohibition of its
public dissemination and teaching; This, together with the migratory
movement of the 1960s and 1970s from other regions of Spain, posed
obstacles to the presence of the Catalan language in Catalonia. The
democratic transition introduced in the Constitution the possibility of
adopting co-official languages, which in the Catalan statute meant the
co-official status of Catalan alongside Spanish for the autonomy of
Catalonia. In 2010, Aranese was introduced as the third official
language of Catalonia, although preferentially used only in the Aran
Valley.
The legal consideration of languages has changed substantially since
the democratic Transition. The 1978 Constitution mentions in its third
article Spanish as "the official Spanish language of the State", as well
as the other Spanish languages "official in the respective Autonomous
Communities according to their Statutes". In line with this, the
Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1979 makes Castilian and Catalan
official as official languages (Catalan of Catalonia, and Castilian as
it is the official language of the Spanish State). The 2006 Statute also
ensures that "all people have the right to use both and the citizens of
Catalonia the right and duty to know them." The same article specifies
that the language of Catalonia is Catalan, and "as such, Catalan is the
language of normal and preferred use by public administrations and the
media." of public communication in Catalonia, and it is also the
language normally used as a vehicle and for learning in education.
Finally, Aranese (the name given to the Occitan language in the Aran
Valley) has been considered since 2006 as the language of Catalonia.
that territory and also official in Catalonia. The same Statute of
Autonomy dedicates a chapter (Title I, Chapter II: Linguistic rights and
duties) that determines the right not to be discriminated against for
linguistic reasons and guarantees the validity and uses of both
languages in the Public Administration and other official institutions.
.
The same statute stipulates respect for Catalan sign language
(CSL) and obliges public authorities to guarantee its use and
protection.
The gastronomy of Catalonia has a great culinary tradition. Their
culinary processes have already been described in documents since the
15th century. It offers a wide variety of products from both the sea,
the mountains and the garden. Sometimes the mixture of both is
characteristic, as is the case of the mar i muntanya. Catalan cuisine
has provided a whole series of typical dishes from the region with fish
stews such as suquets or zarzuela, escudella (a type of stew),
calçotada, and salvitxada. Typical of Catalonia is pa amb tomàquet,
bread with tomato that accompanies many meat or sausage dishes, and with
which sandwiches are made. Sauces such as aioli and romesco are the most
characteristic sauces of Catalan cuisine.
The richness of
sausages made in the Osona region is notable, especially the Vich
salchichón. Sausages of various compositions.
As for pastries,
the Catalan cream, the panellets, which are made especially in November,
the Menjar blanc, etc. are famous.
Catalonia is also
distinguished by its great winemaking tradition. The areas of Panadés,
Alella, El Priorato and Segre are great producers of a wide variety of
wines. The best known and exported is Panadés cava, whose production is
led by family companies such as Freixenet and Codorníu.
It should
be noted that Catalonia offers a wide variety of restaurants with
cuisine from all Spanish regions, as well as international cuisine.
Although Barcelona is the city with the greatest number and variety of
restaurants, the most prestigious, and distinguished with the most
Michelin stars in 2012, are Sant Pau de Carme Ruscalleda, located in San
Pol de Mar, and El Celler de Can Roca. in Gerona. Other gastronomic
references have been El Bulli by Ferran Adrià, which was located in
Rosas (Gerona), closed on July 30, 2011; the Can Fabes restaurant in
Santi Santamaria, located in San Celoni and the ABaC restaurant in Jordi
Cruz Mas.
The three main festivities of Catalonia are the following:
Saint
George (April 23). Pattern of Catalonia. Laborable day. The holiday is
celebrated with the tradition of giving roses and books to loved ones,
the purchase of which is made mainly at stalls selling roses and books
on the streets.
San Juan (June 24). Holiday. The festival is actually
celebrated the night before, with the tradition of organizing large
festivals to welcome summer, lighting bonfires and setting off
firecrackers. The shortest night of the year is, in turn, the most
festive, along with the end of the year. It is tradition to end the
dinner eating coca de San Juan and toasting with cava.
Catalonia Day
(September 11), official holiday of the community. Holiday. The fall of
Barcelona to the troops of Philip V on September 11, 1714 is remembered,
which caused the abolition of the Principality's own laws and
institutions. Parliament declared it a "national holiday" in its first
law after its reestablishment, in 1980.90 The day is prolific in
symbolic acts and demonstrations of a political nature.
Catalonia has 15 holidays throughout the year: nine days set by the
General Administration of the State, five set by the Generalitat of
Catalonia, and one set by each municipality in honor of its patron
saint. The 14 non-working days, except for the holidays of each
municipality, are:
1 of January New Year.
January 6: Epiphany
of the Three Wise Men.
May 1: International Labor Day.
Holy Week:
Good Friday.
Holy Week: Easter Monday.
June 24: San Juan Festival.
August 15: Assumption of Mary.
September 11: Catalonia Day, popularly
Diada.
October 12: National Holiday of Spain.
November 1: All
Saints' Day.
December 6: Spanish Constitution Day.
December 8:
Immaculate Conception.
25th December, Christmas.
December 26:
Saint Stephen.
Catalonia is a community with a great sporting tradition, especially
since the end of the 19th century, when great clubs were founded in all
areas, which, in some cases, were the first to be founded in Spain in
their discipline. Sports and physical activity are deeply rooted in
Catalonia, where there is a large network of sports centers and
facilities, both public and private.
The most popular sports
among Catalans are football, basketball and tennis. He also has a
passion for athletics, handball, roller hockey, water polo, cycling,
motor racing, motorcycling, golf and skiing. It is worth mentioning the
large number of ski resorts located in the Catalan Pyrenees, and in
neighboring Andorra, to which many Catalans travel. Water sports are
also popular, which can be practiced on any of the coastal beaches.
The sporting tradition of Catalonia has resulted in the organization
of the most important international sporting events. Well, it has been
the scene of the only Olympic Games held to date in Spain, in 1992
(Barcelona 92), the Mediterranean Games of 1955, the world athletics and
swimming championships, and the Eurobasket held on two occasions.
Catalonia also hosted, in 1982, various matches corresponding to the
Soccer World Cup that was held throughout Spain. In 2018 it hosts the
XVIII Mediterranean Games.
In some disciplines such as football,
Catalonia has its own main team, which competes unofficially in sporadic
friendly matches.
Soccer is the king of sport. The most important clubs are Fútbol Club Barcelona and Girona Fútbol Club, which play in the first division of Spanish soccer, and RCD Espanyol, currently in the Spanish second division. The first is currently considered one of the best soccer teams in the world, winning the title of Spanish league champion 26 times, and the Champions League five times, in addition to other important titles; although it is also worth highlighting other historical ones such as the Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, the Lleida Esportiu Club, the Center d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club, the Club Esportiu Europa, or the Terrassa Futbol Club.
Catalonia has a great tradition in motor sports. It has the Circuit
of Catalonia where the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Catalan
Motorcycle Grand Prix are held every year.
In the discipline of
rallies, the Rally Catalunya stands out, the most emblematic event in
Spain and the only one that counts towards the World Rally Championship,
and the Rally Costa Brava, which was counted towards the European Rally
Championship and in 2010 became a test. for historic vehicles. Other
notable events that were eligible for the Spanish Rally Championship
are: the Osona Rally, the Salou-Costa Daurada Rally, the Playa de Aro
Rally, the Lana Rally, the Girona Rally, the Dos Cataluñas Rally, the
Criterium Montseny-Guilleries, the Rally de las Cavas, the Rally Baix
Ebre or the Rally Barcelona-Andorra.
In Spain, the only officially recognized teams are those belonging to
the Spanish federation of each sporting discipline and are those that
compete in official international competitions. However, some Catalan
sports federations have achieved official recognition by the
international federations of their respective disciplines. These
federations have teams in fourteen sports disciplines, none of them
Olympic, that participate officially at the international level
representing Catalonia, which for this reason is nominated as a "sports
country."
Currently, the fourteen official Catalan teams at the
international level are futsal, football, pitch & putt, Australian
football, bodybuilding, taekwondo, twirling, kickboxing, karate,
icestock, racquetball, mountain running, mountain skiing, climbing and
bowling.
In the rest of the sporting disciplines, the Catalan
teams officially participate in Spanish regional competitions or in
international friendly events.
Catalonia is, together with the Community of Madrid, the Spanish community with the largest number of media, both audiovisual and written. There is a large number of media in both Catalan and Spanish, and even a large number of bilingual media.
Televisió de Catalunya, a public company owned by the Catalan
Audiovisual Media Corporation, has six channels that broadcast entirely
in Catalan: the generalist TV3, the cultural content channel El 33, the
news channel 3/24, the sports channel Esport3, the one dedicated to the
public children's SX3 and the international TV3CAT. TV3 competes in
audiences with national television stations that broadcast in Catalonia
in Spanish: both those owned by Televisión Española - which from its
production center in San Cugat del Vallés produces content in the
Catalan language - and the private ones Antena 3, Cuatro , Telecinco and
La Sexta. The latter has one of its headquarters in Barcelona, while the
other three private networks, with headquarters in Madrid, have
production centers in Catalonia, from where they broadcast various
programs.
Other television stations with a smaller audience,
although with a notable presence, are 8tv, a private television station
of the Godó Group that broadcasts in Catalan, the Canal Català de
Televisió, Barça TV, and local television stations, whose greatest
exponent is Barcelona Televisió, which also broadcast in Catalan.
The two main Catalan press and magazine publishing groups have
historically been the Godó Group and the Zeta Group. Each of the groups
has a wide variety of headlines, both general and sports newspapers, and
magazines. In recent years there has been a significant crisis in this
type of press in Spain to the point that groups such as Grupo Zeta have
had to close some of their most historic journalistic titles (such as
Interviú magazine).
The two main Catalan general information
newspapers are El Periódico de Catalunya, from Grupo Zeta, and La
Vanguardia, from Grupo Godó, both with editions in Catalan and Spanish.
They are the two newspapers with the largest circulation and
distribution in Catalonia, ahead of nationally distributed newspapers
such as El País or El Mundo, which also have branches in Catalonia. Also
noteworthy are the newspapers published only in Catalan, El Punt Avui
and Ara. Catalunyapress and Crónica Global are also worth mentioning as
digital media. In the provinces of Barcelona, Tarragona, Gerona and
Lérida there are numerous regional newspapers written in Catalan, and of
a more local scope. The most notable are El 9 Nou, Segre, La Mañana,
Regió7, Diari de Girona and Diari de Tarragona.
In the field of
sports information, Sport (Grupo Zeta) and Mundo Deportivo (Grupo Godó)
stand out. Both are written entirely in Spanish. In the Catalan
language, L'Esportiu stands out.
The radio station with the largest audience in Catalonia is Catalunya
Ràdio, the public radio station belonging to the Catalan Radio and
Television Corporation. It has an audience of 570,000 listeners
according to the latest General Media Study, which makes it the fifth
station with the largest audience in Spain despite only broadcasting in
Catalonia and in the Catalan language. The corporation also has a
24-hour news station, Catalunya Informació. The second channel with the
most listeners is RAC 1 (Grupo Godó), which also broadcasts entirely in
Catalan, and the third is Cadena SER, which has its flagship on Radio
Barcelona (the first radio station founded in Spain). . The rest of the
stations are further away in terms of number of listeners: three that
broadcast entirely in Catalan, COM Ràdio (public radio belonging to the
Provincial Council of Barcelona), Ràdio 4, and Onda Rambla; and the
state channels that broadcast in Spanish: Radio Nacional de España,
Cadena COPE, Onda Cero and Punto Radio.
This autonomy also has
many local radio stations and the presence of Third Sector radio
stations (non-profit), with the self-managed Radio Pica and Radio Bronka
being the best known.
Communication groups and producers
Catalonia is home to strong communication groups that operate both in
the audiovisual sector and in the press, book and magazine publishing,
and film production. The most relevant are the Godó Group, the Planeta
Group, and the Zeta Group. Also very notable, especially in the
audiovisual field, are the production companies Gestmusic, El Terrat and
Mediapro. It is also worth noting the Catalan Audiovisual Media
Corporation, a public company of the Catalan autonomous administration,
owner of Television of Catalonia and Catalunya Ràdio, among other media.
Given its extension, UNESCO's plan for the protection of cultural and natural assets known as World Heritage Sites has classified numerous works found in Catalonia as such. The first assignment was several works by Antonio Gaudí in 1984 for his contribution to modernist architecture, to which some more were added in 2005 and grouped under the same entity. These works are Park Güell, Palacio Güell, Casa Milá, the Nativity façade and the crypt of the Sagrada Familia, Casa Vicens, Casa Batlló and Colonia Güell. In 1991, the Poblet Monastery was added to the list, where numerous monarchs of the Crown of Aragon rest. Seven years later, the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Arc of the Iberian Peninsula was added under the same title, which extends along the peninsular Mediterranean coast, to which Catalonia contributes with numerous samples. In 2007, the Palace of Catalan Music and the San Pablo Hospital were declared as such in the same entity, both modernist works by Luis Doménech Montaner. In 2000, two groups were added to the list: the one formed by the Romanesque churches of the Bohí Valley and the archaeological complex of Tarraco. The last addition was that of the Patum of Berga, in 2005, categorized as Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.