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Gràcia
Gràcia (Catalan: [ˈɡɾasi.ə] ⓘ, lit. 'Grace'), is a district of the Mediterranean city of Barcelona, in the northeastern autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It comprises the barris (neighborhoods) of Vila de Gràcia, Vallcarca i els Penitents, El Coll, La Salut and Camp d'en Grassot i Gràcia Nova. Gràcia is bordered by the districts of Eixample to the south, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi to the west, and Horta-Guinardó to the east. A vibrant and diverse enclave of Catalan life, Gràcia was an independent municipality for centuries before being formally annexed by Barcelona in 1897, as a part of the city's expansions.
The district of Gràcia comprises five neighbourhoods:
Gràcia, located at the foot of the Serra de Collserola (to the north-northwest, from Central Barcelona), was established in 1626 by a Novitiate of Carmelites, whom established a convent called Nostra Senyora de Gràcia (Our Lady of Grace). Following the War of the Spanish Succession, Gràcia remained an independent municipality. Historically, many of the well-known streets and lanes of today's Gràcia were mere country roads linking the region to larger urban areas through the plain of Barcelona; Passeig de Gràcia, one such historic route, is now home to many international fashion stores, as well as restaurants, specialty shops and hotels, and has been described as "Barcelona's version" of the Parisian Champs-Élysées. [citation needed]
During the mid-1800s, along with much of the settled world, Barcelona rapidly industrialised, significantly expanding its city limits beyond the Roman walls and old city. The phenomenon of the 19th-century Industrial Revolution drew large numbers of Catalans from the surrounding countryside; this growing workforce spurred a shift from previously agrarian, agriculture-based economies to more urban, factory-centered industries, with focus on manufacturing, textiles and trade.
Between 1801 and 1850, the population of Barcelona increased over 50%, growing from nearly 115,000 to roughly 187,000 citizens; however, this rapid growth and rise in industrialisation created a number of unforeseen problems, including overcrowded living quarters, densely-crowded streets and poor public infrastructure. These issues all contributed to squalid conditions and general poverty, which created the breeding grounds for rampant disease, something which particularly affected the city's lower and working classes. Life expectancy plummeted to just 23 years for the poorest inhabitants, and 36 years for those from slightly wealthier backgrounds. The city's sewage system, already inadequately designed to handle such a rapid increase in population, was overwhelmed by the masses of people congregating on the tight streets, and the tightly constructed buildings offered little in terms of fresh air or ventilation. The Junta de Derribo, published in the 1840s provides an account of this period.[citation needed]
In 1854, the government of Barcelona recognised the need for an answer to these population issues, and began planning the construction of what would become the Eixample district. Situated between the old city of neighbourhoods such as El Raval, Barri Gòtic, and El Born, and the outlying municipalities of Gràcia, Sant Martí, Sants, and Montjuïc, the Eixample (alternatively known as L’Eixample in Catalan). These plans underwent a number of iterations. In 1855, the Ministry of Development, under the authority of the federal government in Spain at the time, commissioned Ildefons Cerdà, a Catalan urban planner, to design the new district. However, the local government, rejected Cerdà's plan in a politically-motivated decision [citation needed].
A subsequent project competition was held, but Cerdà's entry lost to one supported by the local city council, that of Antoni Rovira i Trias, another Catalan urban planner. Rovira i Trias played a central role in demolition of the 18th-century military installation, Ciutadella, which helped open Barcelona to the developments of the new century. Despite losing the contest, Cerdà's plan (which was heavily criticised at the time by his contemporaries as being overtly socialist) weathered the controversy and became the basis of the Eixample district, as it retained the support of the central Spanish government.
Over the next forty years, as the plan took hold and the city began to sprawl, the Eixample rapidly pushed Barcelona's borders closer and closer to the long-independent municipality of Gràcia. In 1897, Barcelona formally annexed the town of Gràcia, and it has existed since as a neighborhood of the Catalan capital. Although no longer independent, Gràcia has long maintained a distinct identity as a unique district of the diverse, larger metropolis to which it belongs.[citation needed]
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Gràcia
Gràcia (Catalan: [ˈɡɾasi.ə] ⓘ, lit. 'Grace'), is a district of the Mediterranean city of Barcelona, in the northeastern autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It comprises the barris (neighborhoods) of Vila de Gràcia, Vallcarca i els Penitents, El Coll, La Salut and Camp d'en Grassot i Gràcia Nova. Gràcia is bordered by the districts of Eixample to the south, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi to the west, and Horta-Guinardó to the east. A vibrant and diverse enclave of Catalan life, Gràcia was an independent municipality for centuries before being formally annexed by Barcelona in 1897, as a part of the city's expansions.
The district of Gràcia comprises five neighbourhoods:
Gràcia, located at the foot of the Serra de Collserola (to the north-northwest, from Central Barcelona), was established in 1626 by a Novitiate of Carmelites, whom established a convent called Nostra Senyora de Gràcia (Our Lady of Grace). Following the War of the Spanish Succession, Gràcia remained an independent municipality. Historically, many of the well-known streets and lanes of today's Gràcia were mere country roads linking the region to larger urban areas through the plain of Barcelona; Passeig de Gràcia, one such historic route, is now home to many international fashion stores, as well as restaurants, specialty shops and hotels, and has been described as "Barcelona's version" of the Parisian Champs-Élysées. [citation needed]
During the mid-1800s, along with much of the settled world, Barcelona rapidly industrialised, significantly expanding its city limits beyond the Roman walls and old city. The phenomenon of the 19th-century Industrial Revolution drew large numbers of Catalans from the surrounding countryside; this growing workforce spurred a shift from previously agrarian, agriculture-based economies to more urban, factory-centered industries, with focus on manufacturing, textiles and trade.
Between 1801 and 1850, the population of Barcelona increased over 50%, growing from nearly 115,000 to roughly 187,000 citizens; however, this rapid growth and rise in industrialisation created a number of unforeseen problems, including overcrowded living quarters, densely-crowded streets and poor public infrastructure. These issues all contributed to squalid conditions and general poverty, which created the breeding grounds for rampant disease, something which particularly affected the city's lower and working classes. Life expectancy plummeted to just 23 years for the poorest inhabitants, and 36 years for those from slightly wealthier backgrounds. The city's sewage system, already inadequately designed to handle such a rapid increase in population, was overwhelmed by the masses of people congregating on the tight streets, and the tightly constructed buildings offered little in terms of fresh air or ventilation. The Junta de Derribo, published in the 1840s provides an account of this period.[citation needed]
In 1854, the government of Barcelona recognised the need for an answer to these population issues, and began planning the construction of what would become the Eixample district. Situated between the old city of neighbourhoods such as El Raval, Barri Gòtic, and El Born, and the outlying municipalities of Gràcia, Sant Martí, Sants, and Montjuïc, the Eixample (alternatively known as L’Eixample in Catalan). These plans underwent a number of iterations. In 1855, the Ministry of Development, under the authority of the federal government in Spain at the time, commissioned Ildefons Cerdà, a Catalan urban planner, to design the new district. However, the local government, rejected Cerdà's plan in a politically-motivated decision [citation needed].
A subsequent project competition was held, but Cerdà's entry lost to one supported by the local city council, that of Antoni Rovira i Trias, another Catalan urban planner. Rovira i Trias played a central role in demolition of the 18th-century military installation, Ciutadella, which helped open Barcelona to the developments of the new century. Despite losing the contest, Cerdà's plan (which was heavily criticised at the time by his contemporaries as being overtly socialist) weathered the controversy and became the basis of the Eixample district, as it retained the support of the central Spanish government.
Over the next forty years, as the plan took hold and the city began to sprawl, the Eixample rapidly pushed Barcelona's borders closer and closer to the long-independent municipality of Gràcia. In 1897, Barcelona formally annexed the town of Gràcia, and it has existed since as a neighborhood of the Catalan capital. Although no longer independent, Gràcia has long maintained a distinct identity as a unique district of the diverse, larger metropolis to which it belongs.[citation needed]
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