Interesting facts about Barcelona
Interesting Facts about Barcelona.
According to an ancient legend, Barcelona was founded by Hercules, 400 years before the building of Rome. Other well-known legend says that the city was founded in the 3rd century by the Carthagninian general Hamilcar Barca (the father of the legendary Hannibal!). Who takes the credit? Hard to say…
– La Rambla, the most famous avenue in Barcelona, was a stream and its waters came from the mountains above the city. The word ramblas literally means torrent/stream.
– The most walked street in Spain is Portal de L’Angel. Approximately 3500 people walk down this shopping street every hour. wow.
– It is said that Enriqueta Martí, a serial killer known as The vampyre of Barcelona, lived in Raval… So be extra-careful while walking around this neighborhood at night… 😉
– Until 1897, the district of Gràcia was a separate town!
– Antoni Gaudi was not the first architect to work on the Sagrada Familia. Francesc del Villar was actually the first one who was commissioned to design the church. A year into the project he resigned and Gaudi took over and completely revamped the design.
– The great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt only took 20 years to build – with ancient tools, do not forget – while the Sagrada Familia… Well, 200 years just for the basilica.
– The Eiffel Tower was offered to Barcelona for the 1888 exposition and the town hall turned the project down. Gustav Eiffel offered it to Paris the following year. (Can you imagine the Eiffel Tower in here?! Crazy!)
– There were no beaches in Barcelona until 1992. The seaside of Barcelona was full of local industries, but it changed when the city hosted the Olympic Games. Now, Barna has seven beaches with a 4.5 km coastline. It doesn’t matter if they’re articificial – even National Geographic considered that Barcelona is the best Beach City in the world! De puta madre!
– Barcelona has 12 abandonad metro stations! It is said that they are haunted… The ghost stations with the longest history are Fernando and Correos, which were closed down in 1968 and 1972 respectively.
– In 2011, Barcelona held a metro tour on the first metro car of the city that went through the Lau Pau and Sagrada Familia Line. This tour ventured through the abandoned Gaudi station, where the passengers swore they saw shapes of ghosts (actors, we hope!)…
– The FC Barcelona museum at Camp Nou is the most visited museum in Barcelona, and the third most visited museum in the whole of Spain.
– Sala Parés (Carrer de Petritxol, nr.5), the art gallery where Picasso started to exhibit his paintings, is still open today and you can enter for free!- Unique in Europe, Barcelona’s Museum of Funeral Carriages houses an exquisite collection of 19 original pieces… A bit morbid, yes…
