Terrassa () is a city in central-eastern

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 ...

and in the province of Barcelona (

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 one of the two capitals of

Vallès Occidental Vallès Occidental () is a Comarques of Catalonia, comarca (county) in the Àmbit metropolità de Barcelona, Barcelona region in Catalonia (Spain). It has two capitals, Sabadell and Terrassa. Along with Vallès Oriental, it forms the historical Va ...

county, being the larger in both area and population. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from

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 ...

''Terracia'', either from earlier ''Terracium castellum'' (“earthen castle”), or meaning "terrace", "area of flat land". Historically, the name of the city has been spelled ''Terraça, Terraza, Terraca'' and ''Tarrassa'' in the native

Catalan language Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...

whilst it's been traditionally spelled ''Tarrasa'' in Spanish. The Spanish spelling is now largely out of use given its ties with the Francoist Regime and the sole official spelling being the Catalan ''Terrassa'' since 1978. Terrassa is known for its industrial past and present, its lively cultural scene, its industrial modernist architecture, its status as a " City of Film" and as the seat of several universities such as UPC, ESCAC, Institut del Teatre and EUIT. It was also awarded in 2024 the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

's " The Europe Prize" for cities with an outstanding commitment to European values. It is the site of Roman , a former Visigothic bishopric, which became a Latin Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

. Since 2004, it is again the see of a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. The city is located in the Catalan Prelitoral depression (Depressió Prelitoral), at the feet of the Prelitoral mountain range () and the average altitude of the city is 277 meters above sea level. It is 20 and 18 kilometres from

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 ...

and

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

respectively. Terrassa's location as the most-inland city in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region makes it sometimes be referred to as the "entrance to Central Catalonia". As of 2024, Terrassa is the third largest city in Catalonia, after

and l'Hospitalet de Llobregat. Terrassa is also the largest municipality in what's considered the second most important urban, economic and cultural center of Catalonia, the

Vallès El Vallès (or simply Vallès) is a historical county in Catalonia, Spain, located in the center of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range. It is nowadays represented by two separate administrative divisions (Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarques'') which a ...

region.

History

The remains that have been found indicate that the area where Terrassa stands has been inhabited since prehistory. In 2005, during the construction of a tunnel for one of the city's railway lines, a prehistoric site was found in Vallparadís Park, with stone tools and fossils of hunted animals dating back 800,000 to 1,000,000 years, making this one of the oldest prehistoric sites in Europe. Terrassa originated as the Roman town of ''Egara'' (''Municipium Flavium Egara''), which was founded during the time of the emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

(69–79 CE), alongside the torrent of Vallparadís (nowadays an urban park) close to the Iberian town of ''Egosa'', on the site of which some ceramics and coins have been found. In the 17th century it was the sight of the Terrasa witchtrials, where 6 women were arrested, tortured and convicted of witchcraft. Five of them were hanged on 27 October 1619 near a present-day railway bridge. Other important remains from the Middle Ages are the former cathedral, the castle of Vallparadís (from 1344 to 1413 a

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

monastery and today a municipal museum) and the tower of the castle-palace of the count-king. In the 19th century the city played an important role in the industrial revolution, specializing in woollen fabrics, and today there is a major '' Modernista'' legacy as a result of the city's importance at that time. Particularly notable ''Modernista'' buildings include the Masia Freixa (1907), the Vapor Aymerich, Amat i Jover

textile mill Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...

(1907) (now the Museum of Science and Industry of Catalonia), the Principal theater (1920), the city hall (1902), the Alegre de Sagrera house/museum (1911), the Industrial School (1904), the Gran Casino (1920), the Parc de Desinfecció (1920), and the Independència market (1908). Terrassa is a partner city of the Art nouveau network, a European network of co-operation created in 1999 for the study, preservation and development of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

. Terrassa is a famous movie production center in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and was named a City of Film by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. The city is home to the largest film studios in

and the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

, the Parc Audiovisual de Catalunya, where numerous movies and TV Shows such as REC, A Monster Calls and Operación Triunfo have been filmed.

Catastrophes

On 25 September 1962, after a long dry summer, between 212 and 252 litres of rain per square metre fell in three hours. It caused the rivers Llobregat and Besòs and their tributaries to overflow, creating a water avenue that caused 700 victims and heavy material losses. The

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

'' was the most damaged. In particularly Terrassa, with 327 victims. The reason of these numbers was that building was permitted around two dry streams used to bring rain water to the Llobregat river. They met in a wedge shape and were not properly channelized. When the streams overflowed it created what was called "the dead triangle", with more than a hundred victims in the Ègara neighbourhood alone.

Ecclesiastical history

The episcopal see of Ègara already existed by about 450 CE, when it was established on territory split off from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Barcelona, under the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tarragona.

Pope Hilarius Pope Hilarius (also Hilarus, Hilary; died 29 February 468) was the bishop of Rome from 461 to 468. In 449, Hilarius served as a legate for Pope Leo I at the Second Council of Ephesus. His opposition to the condemnation of Flavian of Constantinopl ...

confirmed its autonomy by denying a request around 469 to unite it with the Barcelona under its own first bishop, Ireneus. It comprised parts of these

Comarques of Catalonia The comarques of Catalonia (singular ''comarca'', , ), often referred to in English as counties, are an Subdivisions of Catalonia, administrative division of Catalonia. Each comarca comprises a number of municipalities of Catalonia, municipalitie ...

(Catalan districts) : Alt Penedès, Anoia, Baix Llobregat,

and

Vallès Oriental Vallès Oriental () is a comarca (county) in the Barcelona region in Catalonia (Spain). Its capital is Granollers. Along with Vallès Occidental it forms the historical Vallès region. In May 2015, Vallès Oriental lost four municipalities - C ...

. A Provincial Council of Tarragona was held there in 615. It effectively succumbed to the Arab (Muslim) conquest in the 8th century and was probably suppressed, its territory being (rather nominally) returned to the Diocese of Barcelona. The Marian cathedral continued to exist until 718, when it was taken over during the

Umayyad conquest of Hispania The Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (; 711–720s), also known as the Arab conquest of Spain, was the Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania in the early 8th century. The conquest re ...

, but was rebuilt in the 12th century, and remains part of a monumental complex of ancient

Visigothic The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

- Romanesque churches of Sant Pere de Terrassa and Sant Miquel on the site. After the Catholic

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

of the region in the tenth century, the see was not restored, its territory being incorporated in the (mother) diocese of Barcelona. Why a request to restore the bishopric by its Metropolitan of Tarragona, Cesareo, wasn't honored by Pope John XII (955–964) is unclear. In 2004,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

created the new Diocese of Terrassa on territory taken from the Archdiocese of Barcelona. Its seat is the Cathedral of Holy Sprit.

Diocese of Egara

;Suffragan Bishops of Egara * Ireneo (450? – death 465) * Saint Nebridio (516? – 527?), who was possibly transferred to Barcelona, which had a homonym incumbent in 540. * Tauro (546? – ?) * Sofronio (589? – 592?) * Ilergio (594? – 610?) * Eugenio (633? – ?) * Vincenzo (653? – ?) * Giovanni (683? – 693?) ; Titular see of Egara In 1969

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

created the

of Egara. The title has been held by: * Justo Goizueta Gridilla, O.A.R. (14 January 1970 – retired 15 February 1978), as Bishop-Prelate of Territorial Prelature of Madera (Mexico) (1970.01.14 – 1988.02.02), previously Apostolic Administrator of same Madera (1967 – 14 January 1970); died 1991 * Juan Francisco Sarasti Jaramillo, C.I.M. (8 March 1978 – 23 December 1983) as

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cali (

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

) (8 March 1978 – 23 December 1983); later Bishop of

Barrancabermeja Barrancabermeja () is a municipality and city in Colombia, located on the shore of the Magdalena River, in the western part of the department of Santander. It is home to the largest oil refinery in the country, under direct management of ECOP ...

(Colombia) (23 December 1983 – 25 March 1993), Metropolitan Archbishop of

Ibagué Ibagué () (referred to as San Bonifacio de Ibagué del Valle de las Lanzas during the New Kingdom of Granada, Spanish period) is the capital of Tolima Department, Tolima, one of the 32 departments that make up the Republic of Colombia. The city ...

(Colombia) (25 March 1993 – 17 August 2002), Metropolitan Archbishop of above Cali (17 August 2002 – retired 18 May 2011) and Apostolic Administrator of Buenaventura (Colombia) (21 February 2004 – 29 April 2004) * Paulius Antanas Baltakis, O.F.M. (1 June 1984 – 17 May 2019) * Luis Miguel Romero Fernández, M. Id. (20 March 2020 – present), Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre, New York City

Notable sites

The churches of Sant Pere (Saint Peter)

These three churches were built close to the site of old Ègara to be the seat of the Ègara

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

, which was founded around 450 CE and remained in existence until the 8th century. This episcopal complex follows the Byzantine model of antiquity, with two churches (Sant Pere and Santa Maria) and a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

(Sant Miquel). After a long period of construction, the churches were finished in the then-current manner about the 11th and 12th centuries and in Romanesque style, on the site of the pre-Romanesque buildings of the Visigothic period. The church of Santa Maria contains outstanding works of art, and there are murals dating from the Romanesque period to the Gothic. There is also an altar stone dating from the 10th century and medieval and Romanesque tombstones (one of which documents the name of the Roman town of Egara). In the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

there are three Gothic

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

s. * Santa Maria (Saint Mary) the old Cathedral **

Apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

from the 6th century **

Nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

from the 11th century with exterior

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

-style decorations **Romanesque

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es of Saint Thomas Becket from the 12th century **Frescoes from the 13th century * Sant Pere (Saint Peter) **Transept and apse from 9th to 10th centuries **Nave from the 12th century **

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

from the 10th century (geometric designs) **Stone altarpiece of Sant Pere from the 10th century **Gothic frescoes from the 13th century * Sant Miquel (Saint Michael) **The

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

plan and the walls are the originals from the 6th century **Frescoes from the 7th and 8th centuries in the apse * Other items ** Altarpiece of Sant Pere (1411) by Lluís Borrassà ** Altarpiece of Roser (1587) ** Altarpiece of Sant Ruf (17th century) **Altarpiece of Sant Miquel (1450–51) by Jaume Cirera and Guillem Talarn **Gothic altarpiece of Sant Abdó i Sant Senén (1460) by Jaume Huguet **Polychrome sculpture of Saint Mary from the 14th century

Other

The city is heir to a rich medieval, ''Modernista'' and industrial legacy, and possesses an extensive network of libraries, historical archives and museums. * The museum of Terrassa, municipally-owned, has various sections: ** Castle/ Charterhouse of Vallparadís, in the Park of Vallparadís ** Visigothic-Romanesque churches of Sant Pere (Saint Peter) ** Casa Alegre de Sagrera, ''Modernista'' house in Carrer Font Vella ** Tower of the Palau, the only vestige of the castle-palace of the count-kings of Catalonia in Terrassa ** Center of medieval interpretation of the city of Terrassa ** Convent of Sant Francesc,

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

decorated with polychromed ceramics (1671–1673) * Museum of Science and Industry of Catalonia, in the former Aymerich Amat i Jover mill, managed by the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...

Municipal Government

The Municipal Council has 27 seats and according to the result of the local elections of May 2023 is formed by: * All for Terrassa (Tot per Terrassa, TxT) – 11 seats (33,46%) *

Socialists' Party of Catalonia The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (, PSC–PSOE) is a social democratic political party in Catalonia, Spain, resulting from the merger of three parties: the Socialist Party of Catalonia–Regrouping, led by Josep Pallach i Carolà, the Socia ...

(Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya, PSC) – 7 seats (20.91%) * Vox (Vox) - 3 seats (10,49%) *

Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia (, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also in Valencia, the Balearic Islands and t ...

(Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC) – 2 seats (7.56%) * Together for Catalonia (Junts per Catalunya, JUNTS) – 2 seats (7.56%) * People's Party (Partit Popular, PP) - 2 seats (6,56%) The municipal government is formed by a coalition of Tot per Terrassa, ERC and JUNTS. The Mayor is Jordi Ballart (TxT).

Transportation

Terrassa is well connected with Barcelona's port and airport by highway and railway. The C-58 and C-16 also link the city with (

Manresa Manresa () is the capital of Bages county, located in the central region of Catalonia, Spain. Crossed by the river Cardener, it is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged aro ...

), ( Girona, France), and (

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

). The railway reached Terrassa in 1856, and nowadays two lines serve the city. The first, operated by Renfe, connects with Barcelona and

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

, and the second, operated by FGC, with Barcelona. Recently FGC extended its line to the north of the city, building three new stations; one of them acts as a rail hub with the Renfe line. This extension is known as the Terrassa Metro. Several interurban bus lines connect Terrassa with the closest cities and towns such as

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city and municipality in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, where it is one of the two capitals, the other being Terrassa. It is located on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona, a ...

, Castellar del Vallès,

Martorell Martorell () is a municipality, county, and city that forms part of the Baix Llobregat Comarques of Catalonia, comarca, in Catalonia, Spain, primarily known for its medieval Pont del Diable, Devil's bridge. It lies at the confluence of the Llobr ...

, Rubí, Sant Cugat del Vallès and Vacarisses. Transport inside the city is provided by 14 bus lines operated by a municipal company (Transports Municipals d'Ègara). In the future, when the three new FGC stations and the two planned for the Renfe line are in use, the railway will also serve as urban transport.

Culture

Music and theater

A lot of musicians and actors are based in Terrassa because of the large number of music schools, a long amateur theater tradition and the local seat of the Institut del Teatre. Since 1982, the Terrassa Jazz Festival has been especially outstanding, with guests like

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...

, Tete Montoliu,

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

. Local bands and musicians such as Doctor Prats, Lildami or

Miki Núñez Miguel "Miki" Núñez Pozo (born 6 January 1996) is a Spanish singer and television personality from Terrassa. He gained national recognition after placing sixth in series ten of the reality television talent competition '' Operación Triunfo. ...

have also developed a national and international following.

Traditional Catalan Culture

The city is also home to a lively catalan culture scene. Compared to other cities its size, like

or l'Hospitalet de Llobregat it houses a significant number of ''colles'' (groups) of different catalan cultural traditions. Most notably the Minyons de Terrassa, one of the three ''colles castelleres'' ( human tower groups) of the city, is considered among the best in the world and were the first to complete a 10-story human tower in 1998. Alongside the Minyons, the city also houses two other ''colles castelleres'': the Castellers de Terrassa and the University's ''colla'', the Bergants del Campus Terrassa. The city is also home to a multitude of ''diables'' and ''bestiari de foc'' ( fire-centric groups) such as the Diables de Terrassa, Pàjara de Terrassa, Drac de Terrassa, Drac Baluk Asharot i Diables de Ca n'Aurell, Bitxo del Torrent Mitger, among many others. The ''bestiari'' (traditional catalan processional figures representing animals) extends also to non-fire figures such as the water-spewing Hipodragona, Cuca Japonesa or the Papallona de Sant Pere or the purely processional figures like the Àliga de Terrassa or the Mulassa de Terrassa. In the realm of Gegants, the city has a very prominent ''colla'' which manages over 3 pairs of processional giants, as well as a ''colla gegantera'' (processional giant group) from the Les Fonts district and the Gegants Bojos de Terrassa group. Several Sardana-dancing groups as well as Esbart dancers, two Bastoners groups, Ball de Gitanes dancers and Trabucaires also call the city home.

Mass media

Terrasa has a local newspaper, the ', that is published daily from Tuesday to Saturday, as well as several radio stations: Ràdio Terrassa/

Cadena SER La Cadena SER (the SER Network) is a Spanish radio network established in 1924, with a regular listenership of 4,139,000 reported in 2018. The acronym SER stands for Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión (Spanish Broadcasting Company). Cadena SE ...

Vallès on 828 AM and 89.4 FM, with more than 75 years of history behind it, being one of the pioneering radio stations in Catalonia and Spain; the municipal radio (Noucincpuntdos, 95.2 FM); and Radio Star de Terrassa, the city's cultural station, on 100.5 FM, which was founded in 1984 and is one of the historic local radios of Catalonia. Also, the city has several local channels – TV20 Locàlia Vallès and Canal Terrassa, with an audience of more than 50,000 viewers. In addition, there is the free newspaper ''Terrassa Societat'', published monthly with a circulation of 50,000, and ''Terrassa Month'', published of Monday through Friday and also covering local events. Since 2005 the municipal digital newspaper e-newsterrassa.com, in Catalan, has been on line ''(as for 2013, this digital newspaper has been taken down)''. The municipal Web site www.terrassa.cat receives no fewer than 150,000 monthly visitors.

Sports

Terrassa was a pioneer in the introduction of

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

and

korfball Korfball ( ) is a ball sport, with similarities to netball, basketball, and ringball. The objective is to throw a ball into a netless basket that is mounted on a pole. Each team is composed of four female players and four male players. The s ...

in Catalonia and played an important role in the introduction of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. The most important sport in the city is field hockey. During the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, Terrassa was the city where the field hockey competition was played. The great number of hockey players from Terrassa who have participated in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

over the years has led to Terrassa's being referred to as the "most Olympic city in the world". Between 1928 and 2004, Terrassa sent 124 athletes to the Olympic Games, the majority of whom were hockey players. Three local field hockey clubs, Atlètic Terrassa, Club Egara and Club Deportiu Terrassa have all won the División de Honor de Hockey Hierba and the Copa del Rey de Hockey Hierba. Atlètic Terrassa and Club Egara have also won the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup. Other local sports teams include Club de Rugby Carboners de Terrassa, CN Terrassa (

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

), Terrassa FC (association football), CP San Cristóbal (association football) and Sferic Terrassa (

). Terrassa is the home and birthplace of

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

and

Spain national football team The Spain national football team () has represented Spain in men's international Association football, football competitions since 1920. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. Spain i ...

midfielders

Xavi Xavi () is a Catalan given name, usually used as a nickname for Xavier. Notable people with the name include: Football * Xavi Hernández (born 1980), Spanish football manager and former player * Xavi Andorrà (born 1985), Andorran footballe ...

and Dani Olmo. The city's castells teams are the Minyons de Terrassa and the Castellers de Terrassa. On 22 November 2015, Terrassa's Plaça Vella was the scene of the world's first successful ''4 de 10 amb folre i manilles'', completed by the Minyons.

Twin towns

Terrassa is twinned with five cities: *

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, Nicaragua *

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, Morocco Terrassa also signed a protocol of special relations cooperation with: * Otavalo, Ecuador

Notable people

* Joseph Oller (1835–1922), entrepreneur * Domingo Cirici Ventalló (1878–1917), writer * José María Cunill Postius (1896–1949), paramilitary leader * Teresa Torrelles (1908–1991), anarcha-feminist activist * Cristina Lacasa (1929–2011), writer * Joana Biarnés (1935–2018), photographer * Jaime Comas (1936–2021), screenwriter and producer * Marta Pessarrodona (born 1941), writer * Francesc Abad (born 1944), artist * Eulàlia Grau (born 1946), artist * Jordi Camí (born 1952), scholar in pharmacology * Josep Roig Boada (born 1957), composer and producer * Assumpta Escarp i Gibert (born 1957), politician * Concha García Campoy (1958–2013), journalist * Sergi Belbel (born 1963), playwright * Josep Guijarro (born 1957), journalist and writer * Pere Navarro (born 1959), politician * Lluís Puig (born 1959), art director * Enric Millo (born 1960), politician * Josep Rull (born 1968), politician * DJ Skudero (born 1976), mákina DJ and producer * Aleix Villatoro i Oliver (born 1979), politician *

(born 1980), association football player and manager * Jordi Ballart (born 1980), politician * Cristian Canton Ferrer (born 1980), writer, musicologist and pianist * Aleix Alcaraz (born 1990), racing driver *

(born 1996), singer * Dani Olmo (born 1998), footballer

References

Sources and external links

Terrassa City Council

Government data pages

The best things to do in Terrassa

; Bibliography – ecclesiastical history * D. Mansilla, lemma 'Egara' in ''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques'', vol. XIV, Paris 1960, coll. 1462–1466 {{Authority control Municipalities in Vallès Occidental