Culture of Barcelona
Encyclopedia
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
is more dominant, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
is a bilingual city: Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
are both official languages and widely spoken. Since the arrival of democracy
Spanish transition to democracy
The Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...
, the Catalan culture (very much repressed during the dictatorship) has been promoted, both by recovering works from the past and by stimulating the creation of new works.
Museums
Monastery of Pedralbes
The Monastery of Pedralbes is a Gothic monastery in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is now a museum, housing collections from Barcelona City's History Museum.-History:...
, one of the best examples of Catalan Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
, the Museum-House Verdaguer, dedicated to poet Jacint Verdaguer
Jacint Verdaguer
Jacint Verdaguer i Santaló is regarded as one of the greatest poets of Catalan literature and a prominent literary figure of the Renaixença, a national revival movement of the late Romantic era. The bishop Josep Torras i Bages, one of the main figures of Catalan nationalism, called him the...
, the Park Güell
Park Güell
Park Güell is a garden complex with architectural elements situated on the hill of El Carmel in the Gràcia district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built in the years 1900 to 1914...
Interpretation Centre and several other minor sites.
The Museum of the History of Catalonia, opened in 1996, covers the story of Catalonia since prehistoric times and administers the monuments that belong to the Generalitat de Catalunya
Generalitat de Catalunya
The Generalitat of Catalonia is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Catalonia....
. The Archaeology Museum of Catalonia
Archaeology Museum of Catalonia
The Archaeology Museum of Catalonia was created under the Museums of Catalonia Act in 1990 by the Department of Culture of the Government of the Spanish of Catalonia, in Spain. The head office is located in the former Palace of Graphic Arts, which was built for the 1929 World's Fair, in Barcelona...
covers the story of Catalonia up to the Middle Ages, and of the cultures it came into contact with, and also runs several other archaeological sites in Catalonia.
The National Museum of Art of Catalonia
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya , abbreviated as MNAC, is a museum of Catalan visual art located in Barcelona, Catalonia. It is housed in the Palau Nacional, built for the 1929 World's Fair...
possesses a well-known collection of
Romanesque art
Romanesque art
Romanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
, including wall-paintings from Romanesque churches and chapels around Catalonia that have been transferred to the museum, Gothic art from the 13th–15th centuries, Renaissance and Baroque art from the 16th-18th centuries, Modern art from the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, as well as the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection.
The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art
Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art
The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art is situated in the Plaça dels Àngels, in El Raval, Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Spain. The museum opened to the public on November 28, 1995. Its current director is Bartomeu Marí . Previous directors were Daniel Giralt-Miracle , Miguel Molins , Manuel J...
, usually known as MACBA (acronym of Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona), focuses on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art, though it also includes foreign works. Adjacent to the MACBA, the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona
Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona
The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona is one of the most visited exhibition and arts centres in the city of Barcelona.Situated in the Raval district, the Centre’s core theme is the city and urban culture...
, or CCCB, hosts temporary exhibitions, a cinema, concerts and other cultural events.
The works of Joan Miró
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...
are found in the museum of the Fundació Joan Miró
Fundació Joan Miró
The ' is a museum of modern art honoring Joan Miró and located on the hill called Montjuïc in Barcelona, Catalonia.-History:...
, together with guest exhibitions from other museums around the world, while the Picasso Museum
Museu Picasso
The Museu Picasso in Barcelona, Spain, has one of the most extensive collections of artworks by the 20th century Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. This is one of the most popular and most visited museums in Barcelona. The museum is housed in five adjoining medieval palaces in Barcelona's La Ribera.The...
features early works by Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
and his Las Meninas
Las Meninas (Picasso)
Las Meninas is a serie of 58 paintings that Pablo Picasso painted in 1957 by performing a comprehensive analysis, reinterpreting and recreating several times Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez. The suite is fully preserved at the Museu Picasso in Barcelona and is the only complete series of the artist...
series. The Fundació Antoni Tàpies
Fundació Antoni Tàpies
The Fundació Antoni Tàpies is a cultural center and museum, located in Carrer d'Aragó, in Barcelona, Catalonia , dedicated mainly to the life and works of the painter Antoni Tàpies....
holds a collection of Tàpies
Antoni Tàpies
Antoni Tàpies i Puig, 1st Marquess of Tàpies is a Catalan painter. He is one of the most famous European artists of his generation. After studying law for 3 years, he devoted himself from 1943 onwards only to his painting...
works.
The Museu Marítim de Barcelona, founded in 1929, is a nautical museum situated in historical Barcelona's Royal Shipyard complex, with the purpose of illustrating Catalan seafaring culture and maritime history. CosmoCaixa
CosmoCaixa Barcelona
CosmoCaixa Barcelona is a science museum located in Barcelona, Spain. Formerly known as the Science Museum of Barcelona, it closed for renovations in 1998 and reopened in 2004 under its current name. The museum features a variety of exhibitions, permanent and temporary, that showcase the...
(formerly the Science Museum) is a science museum
Science museum
A science museum or a science centre is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in museology have broadened the range of...
run by La Caixa
La Caixa
La Caixa , formally Caixa d'Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona , is currently Europe’s leading savings bank and Spain's third largest financial institution, with a network of over 5,500 branches, more than 8,100 ATMs, a workforce in excess of 27,000 and more than 10.7 million...
Foundation that received the European Museum of the Year Award
European Museum of the Year Award
The European Museum of the Year Award , established in 1977, is presented each year by the European Museum Forum , under the Council of Europe...
in 2006.
The Erotic museum of Barcelona is the first Museum of erotic art and culture where the visitor can contemplate the development of eroticism through the various artistic and cultural facets of the human being. The Museum's assets consist of more than 800 pieces of great historical value, spanning various cultures' erotic manifestations of both a ritual/religious as well as recreational nature.
Architecture
The Barri Gòtic
Barri Gòtic
The Gothic Quarter is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. It stretches from La Rambla to Via Laietana, and from the Mediterranean seafront to Ronda de Sant Pere....
("Gothic Quarter" in Catalan) is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. Many of the buildings date from medieval times, some from as far back as the Roman settlement of Barcelona. Other historical areas include El Raval
El Raval
El Raval is a neighbourhood in the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona, Spain. The neighborhood, especially the part closest to the port, was also informally known as Barri xinès, meaning "Chinatown" El Raval is one of the two historical neighborhoods that border the la Rambla...
and El Born
Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera
Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera is a neighborhood in the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona, Catalonia . It is formed by the former neighborhoods of Sant Pere, Santa Caterina and la Ribera....
.
Catalan modernisme
Modernisme
Modernisme was a cultural movement associated with the search for Catalan national identity. It is often understood as an equivalent to a number of fin-de-siècle art movements, such as Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, Secessionism, and Liberty style, and was active from roughly 1888 to 1911 Modernisme ...
architecture (often known as Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
in the rest of Europe), developed between 1885 and 1950 and left an important legacy in Barcelona. A great number of these buildings are World Heritage Sites. Especially remarkable is the work of architect Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect his highly individual and distinctive style and are largely concentrated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.Much of Gaudí's work was...
, which can be seen throughout the city. His best known work is the immense but still unfinished church of the Sagrada Família
Sagrada Familia
The ' , commonly known as the Sagrada Família, is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí...
, which has been under construction since 1882, and is still financed by private donations: as of 2007, completion is planned for 2026. Other examples of his work are the Palau Güell
Palau Güell
The Palau Güell is a mansion in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí for the Catalan industrial tycoon Eusebi Güell.It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí"....
, the Park Güell
Park Güell
Park Güell is a garden complex with architectural elements situated on the hill of El Carmel in the Gràcia district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built in the years 1900 to 1914...
, the Casa Milà (La Pedrera) and the Casa Batlló
Casa Batlló
Casa Batlló is a building restored by Antoni Gaudí and Josep Maria Jujol, built in the year 1877 and remodelled in the years 1904–1906; located at 43, Passeig de Gràcia , part of the Illa de la Discòrdia in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Spain...
. Many turn-of-the-century buildings were constructed in the context of the huge widening of the city which came with the construction of Eixample
Eixample
The Eixample is a district of Barcelona between the old city and what were once surrounding small towns , constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries....
and the incorporation of other municipalities into a larger Barcelona. This was based on Ildefons Cerdà
Ildefons Cerdà
Ildefons Cerdà i Sunyer was the progressive Catalan Spanish urban planner who designed the 19th-century "extension" of Barcelona called the Eixample.-Biography:...
's linear mid-19th century urban plan, which was revolutionary at the time and which is still notable for allowing new architecture to be built on unused ground.
Another notable architect was Lluís Domènech i Montaner
Lluís Domènech i Montaner
Lluís Domènech i Montaner was a Spanish Catalan architect who was highly influential on Modernisme català, the Catalan Art Nouveau / Jugendstil movement. He was also a Catalan politician....
, who designed the Palau de la Música Catalana
Palau de la Música Catalana
The Palau de la Música Catalana is a concert hall in Barcelona. Designed in the Catalan modernista style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for the Orfeó Català, a choral society founded in 1891 that was a leading force in the Catalan cultural movement...
, the Hospital de Sant Pau
Hospital de Sant Pau
The present Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in the neighborhood of El Guinardó, Barcelona, Catalonia , is a complex built between 1901 and 1930, designed by the Catalan modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Together with Palau de la Música Catalana, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
and the Casa Lleó Morera. Josep Puig i Cadafalch
Josep Puig i Cadafalch
Josep Puig i Cadafalch was a Spanish Catalan Modernista architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona...
's Casa Ametller can also be seen on Passeig de Gràcia. Adolf Florensa, one of the first architects to adapt structures from the Chicago School
Chicago school
Chicago school may refer to:* Chicago school * Chicago school * Chicago school * Chicago school * Chicago school * Chicago School of Professional Psychology...
, was in charge of many original works in Via Laietana, the Palace of Communications and Transports of the 1929 World Exposition and most especially the new urban plan of the Gothic Quarter.
Since the constructive work done for the 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
and with grand-scale urban regeneration taking place in time for the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures
2004 Universal Forum of Cultures
The 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures - was a 141-day international event that took place in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from May 9 to September 26, 2004.-History:...
, Barcelona has become a center for avant-garde architecture, starting with the Hotel Arts
Hotel Arts
The Hotel Arts is a 44-story, 483 room luxury hotel on the seafront of Barcelona, in Catalonia.Contrary to popular belief, it was not built to service the 1992 Summer Olympics, though its construction was part of the big changes underwent by the city to prepare the Games. It remains one of the...
and its twin the Torre Mapfre
Torre Mapfre
Torre Mapfre is a skyscraper in the Port Olímpic , the maritime neighborhood of the Old City of Barcelona in Spain. It is named after its owner, Mapfre, an insurance company....
. Among those works, the Torre Agbar
Torre Agbar
The Torre Agbar is a 38-storey tower located between Avinguda Diagonal and Carrer Badajoz, near Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, which marks the gateway to the new technological district of Barcelona, Spain. It was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel in association with the Spanish firm B720...
is one of the ones that has caused more disparaging opinions. As a result of its unusual shape, the building is known by several nicknames, such as "el supositori" (the suppository
Suppository
A suppository is a drug delivery system that is inserted into the rectum , vagina or urethra , where it dissolves.They are used to deliver both systemically-acting and locally-acting medications....
), "l'obús" (the shell
Shell (projectile)
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...
) and some more eschatological ones.
Barcelona won the 1999 RIBA
Riba
Riba means one of the senses of "usury" . Riba is forbidden in Islamic economic jurisprudence fiqh and considered as a major sin...
Royal Gold Medal
Royal Gold Medal
The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture....
for its architecture, the first (and as of 2011, only) time that the winner has been a city, and not an individual architect.
World Heritage Sites in Barcelona
- Works of Lluís Domènech i MontanerLluís Domènech i MontanerLluís Domènech i Montaner was a Spanish Catalan architect who was highly influential on Modernisme català, the Catalan Art Nouveau / Jugendstil movement. He was also a Catalan politician....
, Palau de la Música CatalanaPalau de la Música CatalanaThe Palau de la Música Catalana is a concert hall in Barcelona. Designed in the Catalan modernista style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for the Orfeó Català, a choral society founded in 1891 that was a leading force in the Catalan cultural movement...
and Hospital de Sant PauHospital de Sant PauThe present Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in the neighborhood of El Guinardó, Barcelona, Catalonia , is a complex built between 1901 and 1930, designed by the Catalan modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Together with Palau de la Música Catalana, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
, included in the list in 1997. - Works of Antoni GaudíAntoni GaudíAntoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect his highly individual and distinctive style and are largely concentrated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.Much of Gaudí's work was...
, including Park GüellPark GüellPark Güell is a garden complex with architectural elements situated on the hill of El Carmel in the Gràcia district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built in the years 1900 to 1914...
, Palau GüellPalau GüellThe Palau Güell is a mansion in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí for the Catalan industrial tycoon Eusebi Güell.It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí"....
, Casa MilàCasa MilàCasa Milà , better known as La Pedrera , is a building designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built during the years 1905–1910, being considered officially completed in 1912...
, Casa VicensCasa VicensCasa Vicens is a family residence in Barcelona , designed by Antoni Gaudí and built for industrialist Manuel Vicens. It was Gaudí's first important work. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí" in 2005....
, Sagrada FamíliaSagrada FamiliaThe ' , commonly known as the Sagrada Família, is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí...
(Nativity façade and crypt), Casa BatllóCasa BatllóCasa Batlló is a building restored by Antoni Gaudí and Josep Maria Jujol, built in the year 1877 and remodelled in the years 1904–1906; located at 43, Passeig de Gràcia , part of the Illa de la Discòrdia in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Spain...
, Crypt in Colonia Güell. The first three works were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1984. The other four were added as extensions to the site in 2005.
Performing arts
Liceu
The Gran Teatre del Liceu , or simply Liceu in Catalan and Liceo in Spanish, is an opera house on La Rambla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain...
opera theatre, the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya
Teatre Nacional de Catalunya
Teatre Nacional de Catalunya is a public theatre in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain created by the Culture Department of the Catalan Government....
, L'Auditori
L'Auditori
L'Auditori is a modern building of 42,000 square metres designed by the architect Rafael Moneo, opened on 22 March 1999, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
, the several venues of Teatre Lliure
Teatre Lliure
The Teatre Lliure is a theatre in Barcelona considered one of the most prestigious in Catalonia. It was created in 1976 in the neighborhood of Gràcia by a group of professionals from Barcelona's independent theater scene. It became distinguished for its practice of presenting theater in Catalan,...
and the Palau de la Música Catalana
Palau de la Música Catalana
The Palau de la Música Catalana is a concert hall in Barcelona. Designed in the Catalan modernista style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for the Orfeó Català, a choral society founded in 1891 that was a leading force in the Catalan cultural movement...
concert hall. Other theaters include the Teatre Poliorama. The GREC festival takes place every summer and brings highly renowned performers and companies to Barcelona.
Barcelona is home to the Sónar
Sónar
Sónar is an annual three-day music festival held in Barcelona, Spain. It is described officially as a festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art. Music is by far the main aspect of the festival....
Music Festival as well as the Primavera Sound Festival
Primavera Sound Festival
San Miguel Primavera Sound, commonly known as Primavera Sound or simply Primavera, is an annual music festival which takes place in Barcelona, Spain in late May and, in some years, early June...
which both take place around May and June every year. Sónar is an electronica music festival split into three days with two main events on each day (Sónar By Night and Sónar by Day). Sónar by day is held close to Les Rambles, whereas Sonar by night takes place in a complex just outside the main city. Primavera Sound is more focused on a broader programming with also guitar rock and indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
related music. This festival is held in Parc del Fòrum and the black/blue triangled building of the Auditorium straight across where Sónar is held.
The Barcelona and Catalonia National Symphonic Orchestra (Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, usually known as OBC) is the largest symphonic orchestra in Catalonia. Founded by the violinist and conductor Eduard Toldrà
Eduard Toldrà
Eduard Toldrà Soler was a Spanish Catalan conductor and composer.Toldrà played an important role in the Culture of Barcelona. In 1944 he founded the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra at the Palau de la Música Catalana, where his deputy in 1957 was his friend Ricardo Lamote de Grignon...
in 1944 as Barcelona's Municipal Orchestra, it became the OBC in the 1994-95 season after the Generalitat de Catalunya and Barcelona's City Council constituted the OBC consortium. In 1999, the OBC inaugurated its new venue in the brand-new Auditorium (l'Auditori). It performs around 75 concerts per season and its current director is Eiji Oue
Eiji Oue
is a Japanese conductor.Oue began his conducting studies with Hideo Saito of the Toho Gakuen School of Music. In 1978, Seiji Ozawa invited him to spend the summer studying at the Tanglewood Music Center. While there, he met Leonard Bernstein, who became a mentor. Oue won the Tanglewood...
.
Film
The Filmoteca de CatalunyaFilmoteca de Catalunya
The Filmoteca de Catalunya is a film archive in Catalunya, Spain....
is Catalonia's central film archive, with a library and projection rooms. Its old location at Avinguda de Sarrià, in Eixample
Eixample
The Eixample is a district of Barcelona between the old city and what were once surrounding small towns , constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries....
, is to be replaced by a new building in El Raval
El Raval
El Raval is a neighbourhood in the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona, Spain. The neighborhood, especially the part closest to the port, was also informally known as Barri xinès, meaning "Chinatown" El Raval is one of the two historical neighborhoods that border the la Rambla...
during early 2011. The film prizes Premi Nacional de Cinema, Sant Jordi Awards and Gaudí Awards
Gaudí Awards
The Gaudí Awards, known in Catalan as Premis Gaudí, are Catalonia's main national film awards. The awards were established in 2009 by Acadèmia del Cinema Català ....
are awarded in Barcelona and promote local productions in both official languages of the community. There are also several film schools, among which the prestigious Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya, which is located in Terrassa
Terrassa
Terrassa is a city in the east central region of Catalonia, Spain, in the comarca of Vallès Occidental, of which it is the co-capital along with Sabadell, the historic capital....
but is a private member of the University of Barcelona
University of Barcelona
The University of Barcelona is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. It is a member of the Coimbra Group, LERU, European University Association, Mediterranean Universities Union, International Research Universities Network and Vives Network...
.
Libraries and archives
The National Library of CataloniaNational Library of Catalonia
The National Library of Catalonia is a Spanish National Library located in Barcelona. The mission of the Library of Catalonia is to collect, preserve, and spread Catalonian bibliographic production and that related to the Catalonian linguistic area, to look after its conservation, and to spread...
is the central library in the city, but there's a large network of public services and cultural centres scattered around the city which is owned by the Diputació de Barcelona, as well as many private libraries and libraries belonging to institutions such as universities.
Higher education
The Barcelona urban area includes several universities. There are four public universities: Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). Among the private: Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC), Universitat Ramon Llull (URL), Universitat Abat Oliva (UAO), Fundació Blanquerna or the distance university Universitat Oberta de CatalunyaUniversitat Oberta de Catalunya
The Open University of Catalonia is a private Internet-centered open university based in Barcelona, Spain.The UOC offers graduate and postgraduate programs in Catalan and Spanish in fields such as Psychology, Computer Science, Sciences of Education, Information and Knowledge Society and Economics...
(UOC). Barcelona is also the seat of the network Instituto de Altos Estudios Universitarios (IAEU), which offers postgraduate programmes. Other institutions offer such courses. MACBA, the city's contemporary art institution, has a postgraduate programme known as Independent Studies Programme. A summer university, the Progressive Summer University of Catalonia, takes places every year in the UB campus. Among the city's design and art schools, Escola Llotja, Eina
Eina
Eina is a village in Vestre Toten municipality, Oppland, Norway. The population is 677. The village is one of the destinations on the railroad track Gjøvikbanen, between Jaren and Raufoss....
or Elisava are some of the most important. The world-prestigious ESADE
ESADE
The Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas is a college associated with the Ramon Llull University located in Barcelona, Spain. ESADE is composed of three departments; the ESADE Business School, the ESADE Executive Language Center and the ESADE Law School...
headquarters is in Barcelona.
See also
- Traditions of CataloniaTraditions of CataloniaThere are quite a number of festivals and traditions in Catalonia. While most are of ancient origin, certain traditions are of relatively recent introduction. There are also some that are common to the whole Catalan society, but others are relevant only to a particular location...
- La Fura dels BausLa Fura dels BausLa Fura dels Baus is a Catalan theatrical group founded in 1979 in Barcelona, known for their urban theatre, use of unusual settings and blurring of the boundaries between audience and actor. "La Fura dels Baus" in Catalan means "vermin from the sewers"....
- Àlex OlléÀlex OlléÀlex Ollé is one of the 6 artistic directors of La Fura dels Baus, the Spanish Catalan theatrical group founded in 1979 in Barcelona and known for their use of unusual settings and a blurring of the boundaries separating audience and actor....
, an artistic director of La Fura dels BausLa Fura dels BausLa Fura dels Baus is a Catalan theatrical group founded in 1979 in Barcelona, known for their urban theatre, use of unusual settings and blurring of the boundaries between audience and actor. "La Fura dels Baus" in Catalan means "vermin from the sewers"....