Location:

Barcelona is located on the northeast coast

of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the
Mediterranean Sea. It is located just at the
coast of the Mediterranean Sea and 120km
South of the Pyrenees and the French
border. The plateau in which Barcelona is
settled is about 170 km² of which 101 km²
are occupied by the city itself.
Barcelona is divided into the following 10 municipalities
Ciutat Vella, El Ensanche.Sants-Montjuïc, Les Corts,
Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, Gracia, Nou Barris, San Andrés and
Sant Martí.
,
Country Spain
Coordinates 41°23′N 2°10′E
Area 101,4 km²
Population 1.621.537 inhabitants
(2009)
Population density 15.991,49
inhabitants/kù²
Current Mayor Jordi Hereu Boher

Relief:

Barcelona is flat and has very little slopes.

This is due to the fact that Barcelona is located
between two rivers, the river Besós on the
North and the river Llobregat on the South.
The highest place of all the city is the Mount
Tibidabo (on the Northeast).

The Coastline

The coastline of Barcelona has changed over time: in

prehistoric times the coastline was on the nowadays
plaza Catalonia. The place in which the first
settlement of Barcelona was founded did not exist 150
years before. These “new areas” are the product of
the accumulation of the sediments of the sea currents
from the North. These sediments would be deposited
by the breakwater of the port built in 1640. Finally
the old island of Maians became a part of the mainland
and became the base of the new settlement called
 “Barceloneta”.
Nowadays the coastline consists of a touristic beach
and also an important port.

The image shows how the coastline has changed over time.

Climate:

Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate, which means that it has mild, humid
winters and warm, dry summers. Atlantic west winds often arrive in Barcelona
with low humidity, producing no rain. Some years, the beginning of June is still
cool and rainy, like April and May. Together with August, September, October
and November are the wettest months of the year. The driest are February,
March, June and July. As in many parts of Catalonia, the annual weather
pattern varies greatly from year to year. On average, the rainy seasons are
spring and autumn, and the dry ones are winter and summer. Barcelona and
London have the same annual rainfall, but London's climate is not as irregular
as Barcelona's.
December, January and February are the coldest months, averaging
temperatures of 9 °C at the Airport and over 10 °C in the city. July and August
are the hottest months, averaging temperatures of 24 °C. The highest
temperature recorded in the city centre is 38.6 °C. The coldest temperature
recorded was in the 19th century −9.6 °C.

Information about 2008 temperatures and rainfall in Barcelona.

Average Climograph for Barcelona (2000-2007). Barcelona has a very

irregular climate, it can vary a lot from one year to another.
 Origin of the name:

There are two legends about the foundation of Barcelona. One attributes the
founding of the city to Hercules 400 years before the building of Rome. The
second legend attributes the foundation of the city directly to the
Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, who named the city Barcino
after his family, in the 3rd century BC.

Historical development and reasons for growth:

The first signs of a settled population in Barcelona appeared around 1700 BC.
But the settlement does not grow so quickly until the 6-7th Century BC. During
the Second Punic War, the Carthaginians took the city and expanded it at the
orders of Amílcar Barca, the father of Hannibal. After, the Romans defeated
the Cartaginians and captured the city and changed its name to Colonia Julia
Augusta Paterna Faverita Barcino on the 218 BC. But the Romans just called it
“Barcino”. About 15 BC, the Romans transformed the town into a castrum
(Roman military camp) centered on the Mount Taber. It gradually grew in
wealth and importance, because it had a appropriate situation and an excellent
harbor. The city minted its own coins. In the 2nd Century , when the population
was around 6000 inhabitants, a wall was built around the city
When the Visigoths arrived, in the 5th Century, they converted it in the most
important of the Hispanic cities. During the 7th Century the city was captured
by the Arabs but the land returned to Catholic hands in 801.The Islamic
attacks did not stop until 985 when all the city was destroyed. The period
called the Condal period which followed, in which the rebuilding of the city was
lead by Borrell II. During the XII, XIII and the XIV centuries the city was
one of the most important ones of the Western Mediterranean coast. It had a
very important commercial function.
In the second half of the 14th Century a bad period starts for Barcelona with
huge economic, social and political problems. Later, Barcelona emerged again
with a greater economic power than before, thanks to the fusion with the rest
of the country just formed (Spain) and the later trades with America.
In 1856 the walls were destroyed and in 1897 the city expanded by the
innovating idea of Idelfonso Cerdá called “El Ensanche” ( The X). Barcelona
hosted two Universal Expositions in 1888 and 1929.

The urban project suggested by Idelfonso Cerdá. The darker parts are the
old part of the city.

In the beginning of the 20th Century the city grew economically (from the
World War I). In 1929 there was an important crisis and the Spanish Civil War
stopped the growth for a decade.

The Metro was built in 1940 and since then, it has evolved and now has two
fully automatized metro lines, 7 other metro lines, 4 trams and some buses.
 After Franco's death, the city emerged like the rest of the country and
grew economically, in part due to the accesion of Spain to the EU (1986).
Barcelona hosted important events like the Olympic Games in 1992.

Population:

The city of Barcelona has a population of 1.621.537 inhabitants (2009). The

density of population in Barcelona is of 15.991,49 inhabitants/km² .
 Population growth and changes.

As you see in the graph above, Barcelona had a population of 533,000 people
in 1900 which grew slowly until 1950 when it started absorbing a high number
of people from other less-industrialized parts of Spain. From 1936 to 1940,
due to the Spanish Civil War the population increased at a very low rate but
this period was followed by a “baby boom”. From 1970 to 1995 the population
decreased due to social policies (the enrichment of the society and the new
contraceptive methods) and also during the 1980s and 1990s more people
sought a higher quality of life in outlying cities in the Barcelona Metropolitan
Area. From 1995 to 2002 the population remained constant. In 2002, with
1,496,266 people, the city's population began to rise again, as younger people
started to return. There was more immigration than before from other
countries such as China, Romania and especially South America and this caused
a great increase in the prices of houses.
Barcelona's population peaked in 1979 with 1,906,998 people.
 Other information:

Language: Spanish is understood almost universally in Barcelona. 95% of the

population understand Catalonia's native Catalan language, while 74.6% can
speak it, 75% can read it, and 47.1% can write it.

Religion: most of the population state that they are Roman Catholic. There are
also a number of other groups including Evangelical, Jehovah's Witnesses and
Buddhists, and some Muslims due to immigration.

Barcelona is divided into 10 districts:

• Ciutat Vella ("The Old City"): .

• Eixample:
• Sants–Montjuïc:
• Les Corts:
• Sarrià-Sant Gervasi: .
• Gràcia:
• Horta-Guinardó:
• Nou Barris: .
• Sant Martí:.
• Sant Andreu:
The 10 districts of Barcelona .