Badalona (, , , ) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Barcelonès Barcelonès () is the most populated comarca of Catalonia, Spain. It contains Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well a ...

county, in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

(

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

). It is located to the north east of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, on the left bank of the Besòs River and on the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, in the Barcelona metropolitan area. By population, it is the third largest city in Catalonia and the twenty-third in Spain. It became a city in 1897.

Names

The name Badalona comes from ancient Iberian word ''Baitolo'' according to the legend of several bronze coins of the end of the 2nd century BC found in the city. This word was the origin of the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

name ''Baetulo'' that was as the Romans named the new city they founded off the coast of present Badalona. The oldest mention of the name Baetulo is from ''De Chorographia'' of

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest known Roman geographer. He was born at the end of the 1st century BC in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nea ...

(43–44 AD), who use the same name for the Besòs river (named ''Bissaucio'' during the Middle Ages). Following the Roman era, during the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

the name ''Baetulo'' evolved to ''Bitulona'', which was the most common name but not the only one, because it is found in the Latin written documents other versions as ''Bedelona'', ''Bitilona'', ''Betulona'', ''Bedalona'' and even ''Vitulona''. The current name is documented already in 997 and by the 14th century was the most used and generalized.

History

The oldest traces of settlement date from the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

(about 3500–2500 BC). Archaeological finds consisting of carved stone and flint tools have been discovered in the Seriol hill and Manresà areas along with tombs with grave goods in the quarters of Sistrells and Llefià. Deposits from the

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

have been found in old brickyards (dated about 1800–1500 BC) and in the ''masies'' of Can Butinyà and Can Mora in the Canyet quarter (1500–1100 BC). Before the Roman settlement of Hispania, the territory of Badalona was populated by Iberians who lived on the Boscà hill (198 metres above the sea level), from where it is possible to see the coastline. The settlement dates to at least the 4th century BC but was totally abandoned by the 1st century AD due to

Romanization In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and tra ...

. Despite the presence of the Iberians, the city's origins are usually dated to around the year 100 BC, when the Romans founded a city ''ex novo'' on Rosés hill (26,8 metres) next to the coast. The Roman town plan was based on their common scheme of the ''

cardo A ''cardo'' (: ''cardines'') was a north–south street in Ancient Rome, ancient Roman cities and military castra, camps as an integral component of Urban planning, city planning. The ''cardo maximus'', or most often the ''cardo'', was the main ...

'' and ''

decumanus In Roman urban planning, a ''decumanus'' was an east–west-oriented road in a Ancient Rome, Roman city or ''Castra, castrum'' (military camp). The main ''decumanus'' of a particular city was the ''decumanus maximus'', or most often simply "the ...

'', occupying some 10 ha, with a line of walls. The Roman city was very dynamic, especially during the reign of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, with a specialised viniculture that produced wine for export all over the empire. From the 3rd century, the city went into decline and was almost depopulated as people fled to rustic ''villae''. However, the few remains from

Late antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

prove that Baetulo was never abandoned. The current city of Badalona was formed in the 10th century when a new urban nucleus was built over the old Roman city and around the old forum and temple, which was turned into a church. At the same time, a rural nucleus emerged outside the town walls. This rural-urban dichotomy would remain until the mid-18th century. Sant Jeroni de la Murtra Monastery, built in the 14th century, is where the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella I of Crown of Castile, Castile () and Ferdinand II of Aragon, King Ferdinand II of Crown of Aragón, Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of ...

would spend their summers. According to some authors, this is also where they received

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

after his first voyage to the Americas. During the first half of the 19th century, Badalona remained an agricultural and fishing centre. However, this changed in 1848 with the construction of the railway connecting the cities of

Mataró Mataró () is the capital and largest town of the Maresme county in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, Maresme coast, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, north-east of Barcel ...

and

, which brought a station to the village. This furthered the industrialization and economic development of Badalona and led to the progressive decline of the traditional economic sectors. Due to the arrival of new industries, Badalona also became an important centre of the

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

. Thanks to this, the village began to attract newcomers, doubling its population from 5,733 (1851) to 10,485 (1857). By the end of the century Badalona had around 19.000 inhabitants. The demographic growth gave rise to urban development with an '' ensanche'' plan covering all along the coast from Sant Adrià to Montgat. In 1897, the city received the title of city from the queen regent Maria Christina of Austria. The city's demographic growth continued mostly uncontrolled in the first third of the 20th century. This entailed the construction of new neighbourhoods without urban infrastructure and poor connections to the city centre. During the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera the city council tried to alleviate these problems by developing infrastructure, building a new school, market and slaughterhouse and expanding the sewage network; however, this was not enough. During the Second Republic, Badalona was often in turmoil, as would be the case during the civil war, when the city was bombed due to its importance as an industrial centre. After the end of the war, in 1940, the mayor Frederic Xifré was executed by the Francoists. Franco's dictatorship brought about the decline of Badalona's varied pre-war cultural life. The period was also marked by the arrival of immigrants, mainly from the south of Spain, which further accelerated the city's demographic growth, precipitating the emergence of

shanty town A shanty town, squatter area, squatter settlement, or squatter camp is a settlement of improvised buildings known as shanties or shacks, typically made of materials such as mud and wood, or from cheap building materials such as corrugated iron s ...

s with unhealthy conditions. The city's population increased from 92,200 in 1960 to 201,200 only fifteen years later. During the mandate of mayor Felipe Antoja, the city received poor migrants from Barcelona who lived in shanties; with the creation of poor neighbourhoods, Badalona had some of the lowest-quality housing in the country. Urban expansion also disturbed historical buildings and archaeological sites. After the death of Franco, and especially from 1979, the city found a new social vitality through the organised neighbours' movement, which fought to improve infrastructure in their neighbourhoods, to combat real estate speculation, and to obtain urban improvements. On 29 January 1976, Badalona held the first protest to be tolerated without violence from the Spanish authorities in the post-Franco era. The city has also gone through a transformation from an industrial to a service economy. Badalona was a subsite of the 1992 Olympic Games, hosting the basketball and boxing competitions. Though Badalona is included in the Barcelona conurbation, it maintains its own identity, especially in the central neighbourhoods.

Climate

Administrative divisions

Badalona has 34 neighbourhoods and 6 districts. Before the 20th century, the municipality was divided in 5 traditional quarters known as la Sagrera, Llefià, Sistrells, Canyet and Pomar. However, due to the growth of the population during the 20th century, the city was administratively divided into more neighbourhoods and new districts grouping each one several of them. The current division is dated of 1980, except for a modification in 2011 which reduced the districts from 8 to 6. The districts and their neighbourhoods are as follows: * District 1: Canyadó, Casagemes, Centre, Coll i Pujol, Dalt de la Vila, El Manresà and El Progrés. * District 2: Montigalà (western section), Nova Lloreda, Sant Crist de Can Cabanyes, Sistrells, La Pau and Puigfred. * District 3: Montigalà (eastern section), Canyet, Mas Ram, Bufalà, Pomar, Pomar de Dalt, Bonavista, Les Guixeres and Morera. * District 4: La Salut, Sant Antoni de Llefià, Sant Joan de Llefià, Sant Mori de Llefià. * District 5: Gorg, La Mora, Congrés, Can Claris and El Raval. * District 6: Artigues, El Remei and Sant Roc.

Transportation

Badalona has a Renfe train station R1 from

–

Blanes Blanes () is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, comarca of Selva (comarca), Selva in Province of Girona, Girona, Catalonia, Spain. During Roman rule it was named Blanda or Blandae. It is known as the ...

, as well as a harbour. There are also links to Barcelona via the Barcelona Metropolitan Transport (TMB) metro (underground) and bus system, as well as the Trambesòs line.

Population

Badalona has the second-largest Moroccan and Pakistani populations of Catalonia. Other significant communities include Chinese and Indians.

Economy

The economy of Badalona is mainly based on the service sector, although traditionally was an important industrial centre. The primary sector as agriculture and fishing were also remarkable. However, those activities declined throughout the 20th century. In 2017 Badalona's GDP worth 4.122,9 million Euros, of which 3.020 (79,9%) corresponds to services, 501,8 to industry (13,3%), to construction (6,9%) and a tiny part (less than 1%) to agriculture. About the primary sector, in the one hand since 2004, agriculture in Badalona basically consists only of the vineyards of the masia of Can Coll, and more recently, since 2019, vineyards haven been planted next to the monastery Sant Jeroni de la Murtra by a cooperative. Both farms are in the neighbourhood of Canyet. Since 2012 Badalona is part of Alella DO. On the other hand, fishing is a residual sector, the lack of a port in the city until 2005 made the fishers going to work to other ports like

, Vilanova i la Geltrú or

. The port, managed by Marina Badalona, is dedicated mainly to

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

, however it also has a fishing part and a fish market, but there are few fishers nowadays. Industry was a key sector in Badalona for many years, since the arrival of the train in 1848. The old village grown and appeared a lot of factories from different sectors (chemical, metallurgical, food and liquors, etc.). All changed the last decades of the 20th century, many industries left the city because the contamination. Since then Badalona developed specific industrial zones as Les Guixeres, where the city council constructed the Badalona International Business Center, with the aim of improving the services, external projection, exchanges and competitiveness in the European and American market of the companies based in Badalona. The main sectors are microelectronics and robotics, followed by packaging and aerosols, textile machinery and industrials molds.

Culture

In May, in occasion of the celebration of Saint Anastasi, the patron saint of Badalona, activities and festivals are organized all around the city. The most important celebration takes place the day before Saint Anastasi Day when, at night, people gather at the maritime promenade to participate in the popular Cremada del Dimoni (Devil-Burning)--similar to the famous Valencian Falles. During these festivities, the Badalona giants are exhibited.

Tourism

Badalona is popular stop for tourists. The city has its own touristic route featuring the old town of Dalt de la Vila with stops in the Church of Santa Maria, the Old Tower and some medieval streets, besides some modernist houses. From there and following Costa street, it shows the Baix a Mar or Centre area, which concentrates a wide range of shops, restaurants, bars, and cafes. Key tourist stops include: * Monastery of Sant Jeroni de la Murtra. * Old Roman ''Baetulo'', in the Museum of Badalona. * Iberian settlement of turó d'en Boscà. * City beach. * Annual Burning of the Devil during Festes de Maig.

Sport

The city's most important sport complex is the Palau Municipal d'Esports de Badalona (Municipal Sports Palace), which won the Mies Van der Rohe award in 1992. The Palace was the setting for basketball competition during the Olympic Games in 1992. Nowadays, it is home of the basketball team from Badalona, Joventut Badalona, also known as la Penya. This place will also be the centre of the Badalona Capital Europea del Bàsquet, which is intended to be a theme park celebrating basketball – with a basketball museum, shopping center, cinemas, basketball courts, a harbour, indoor karting and more activities.

Twin towns

* Alcanar, Spain * San Fernando, Spain *

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, Spain *

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, Chile *

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden *

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, Spain

Notable people

* Llorenç Brunet (1873–1939), illustrator * Joan Amigó (1875–1959), architect * Lluïsa Cunillé (born 1961), playwright *

Jordi Dauder Jordi Dauder i Guardiola (5 March 1938 – 16 September 2011) was a Spanish actor. Dauder was a veteran actor with a prolific career that includes over a hundred films, plays and television series. He developed to the immense majority of hi ...

(1938–2011), actor * Julià de Jòdar (born 1942), writer * Enric Juliana (born 1956), journalist * Daniel Sirera (born 1967), chairman of the People's Party * Jorge Javier Vázquez (born 1970), TV personality * Melani Olivares (born 1973), actress * Juan Magán (born 1978), DJ and singer * Isaac Sánchez "Loulogio" (born 1983), comedian * Pau Ribas (born 1987), basketball player * Cristina Agüera Gago (born 1990), politician * Mireia Belmonte (born 1990), swimmer * Luis Garcia (footballer, born 1978) former

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...

player * Héctor Bellerín (born 1995), football player

Notes

References

* Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). ''Guia de Catalunya'', Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. (Spanish). (Catalan). *

External links

* *
Official site

Government data pages

Information
from the Diputació de Barcelona {{Authority control Populated places in Barcelonès