History of the Catalan Capital Barcelona

A strong Catalan identity has emerged in the aftermath of Franco’s rule. The province is the wealthiest part of Spain and for a long time held the balance of power in the Madrid parliament. To its people, Barcelona is not so much Spain’s second city as the capital of Catalonia, fervently European in both climate and culture. No other European city has reinvented itself as splendidly as Barcelona. A massive facelift, prior to the 1992 Olympics, converted the grand, old city into a chic, cosmopolitan metropolis, and the momentum continues as Barcelona becomes once more a leading centre of fashion and design. Without doubt, Barcelona today is the richest, fastest-growing, and most stylish city in Spain. It has an undeniable vibrancy a sense of pride and elegance - the result of Catalan re found self-confidence. Catalans will try to convince you that Barcelona. not Madrid, is Spain’s premier city, and they could well be right.

Spanish Civil War
The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 marked the start of one of Spain’s darkest periods and, under the dictatorship of General Franco, Catalan national identity was totally repressed. Catalan language was banned once more in schools, churches and public life. The region was deliberately deprived of investment and new industry, resulting in strikes and riots in Barcelona. But despite the decades of cultural, commercial and political repression that ensued, Catalonia managed to cling on to its identity: the Catalan Church retained its independence; artists and writers continued to work: and Barcelona emerged as a major publishing centre. Not until Francois death in 1975 and the new Spanish constitution of 1977 did Catalonia regain a measure of self-government. Eventually, in 1979,

Catalonia became an Autonomous Community within Spain, with its own semi-autonomous government controlling education, health, industry, trade, social services, culture, tourism and agriculture.