Barcelona is one of the most famous and popular Spanish cities, inferior to the palm of the championship, perhaps, perhaps, to Madrid. Nevertheless, this city does not look like the capital of Spain – located in another region, with other customs and traditions, it is very peculiar. The densely populated, noisy Barcelona is a very beautiful place, although with an unaccustomed tourist it can be an easy shock due to the life boiling here.
In Barcelona, the population density is 16,000 townspeople per square kilometer. For example, in Moscow, this figure is only 4,8 thousand people.
In Barcelona, there are still some ancient traffic lights with lanterns installed on their tops – this is Barcelona’s first traffic light, installed on Comte Urgell Street in 1929, and his brother at the crossroads of Buenos Aires and Londres streets.
On the main pedestrian street of Barcelona – Boulevard La Rambla you can see pits from the heels of shoes of prostitutes, who were forbidden to appear here only in the middle of the last century.
On one of the walls of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona there is a magic square filled with figures. Their sum in any direction – vertically, horizontally or diagonally – is 33.
On the windows of the church of Santa Maria del Mar the coat of arms of the football club of Barcelona is imprinted. The fact is that the team donated funds for the restoration of the church in the 60s of last century.
With its unique architecture, Barcelona owes the amazing talent of local creator Antonio Gaudi. The Temple of the Holy Family, which has been built on donations since 1882 and has not been completed so far, is also his project, which is not only the most famous long-term construction of the world, but also one of the main attractions of Barcelona. It is planned that the construction will be completed in 2026.
The famous seafarer Christopher Columbus, after the discovery of America, arrived in Barcelona to report on the results of his voyage to the monarchs. For this reason, a monument to Columbus is erected in the center of Barcelona, although, contrary to the original plan, the statue does not look towards the New World. Inside the statue there is an elevator, on which you can climb to the observation deck.
The Barcelona port is the largest of all that is in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, it is one of the oldest marine harbors – its history began more than 2000 years ago.
A significant part of the city’s beauties and attractions was built for the Expo of 1929 and the Summer Olympics of 1992 that Barcelona hosted.
Barcelona is a maritime city, but the beaches here began to be built only 25 years ago. Before that, the entire coastline was used exclusively for the needs of industry.
The hymn of the city since 1992 is the song “Barcelona”, originally recorded by opera diva Montserrat Caballe and Queen soloist Freddie Mercury for the Olympics.
On the Canaletes fountain in Barcelona there is a sign that says: “Everyone who makes at least a sip from this fountain will love Barcelona with all their hearts and come back here.” It is said that this prophecy almost always turns out to be true.
Every year before the summer season begins, the sand on the beaches of Barcelona is sifted by 50 centimeters in depth.
The Barcelona Opera House is considered one of the most chic in Europe. In 1994, the old building burned to the ground, but it was rebuilt for donations. Many opera stars specially conducted concerts, all proceeds from which were transferred to the construction of the theater.
The great artist Pablo Picasso demanded that the museum with his works be opened in Barcelona.
The Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, opened in the middle of the last century, is still the largest in Europe. From its stands for football matches can watch simultaneously up to 100 000 spectators.
In the zoo of Barcelona until 2003, lived the world’s only male gorilla-albino named Snezhok. His offspring is quite numerous, but not a single individual with white hair among the cubs was found.
