1.
Municipalities of Catalonia
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Catalonia is divided into 948 municipalities. Each municipality typically represents one significant urban settlement, of any size from village to city and this is not always the case, though. Many municipalities have merged as a result of rural depopulation or simply for greater efficiency, some large urban areas, for example Barcelona, consist of more than one municipality, each of which previously held a separate settlement. Each municipality is run by an elected by the residents at periodic nationwide local elections. The council consists of a number of depending on population. The town hall is located in the settlement, and deals with provision of local services. The main settlement is not always the biggest settlement, as new developments such as tourist resorts can become very big very quickly without achieving any political recognition. Boundaries between municipalities have their origins in ancient landholdings and transfers, and may appear quite arbitrary and illogical. Catalonias municipalities are grouped into 42 comarques and four provinces, occasional revisions of the boundaries of comarcas have resulted in municipalities moving from one comarca to another, see the list at Comarques of Catalonia
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
4.
Autonomous communities of Spain
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Spain is not a federation, but a highly decentralized unitary state. Some scholars have referred to the system as a federal system in all. There are 17 autonomous communities and two cities that are collectively known as autonomies. The two autonomous cities have the right to become autonomous communities, but neither has yet used this right and this unique framework of territorial administration is known as the State of Autonomies. The autonomous communities are governed according to the constitution and their own organic laws known as Statutes of Autonomy, since devolution was intended to be asymmetrical in nature, the scope of competences vary for each community, but all have the same parliamentary structure. Spain is a country made up of different regions with varying economic and social structures, as well as different languages. While the entire Spanish territory was united under one crown by the 16th century, the constituent territories—be it crowns, kingdoms, principalities or dominions—retained much of their former institutional existence, including limited legislative, judicial or fiscal autonomy. These territories also exhibited a variety of customs, laws. From the 18th century onwards, the Bourbon kings and the government tried to establish a more centralized regime, leading figures of the Spanish Enlightenment advocated for the building of a Spanish nation beyond the internal territorial boundaries. This culminated in 1833, when Spain was divided into 49 provinces and these were the Basque Country and Catalonia. This gave rise to peripheral nationalisms along with Spanish nationalism, therefore, economic and social changes that had produced a national cultural unification in France had the opposite effect in Spain. In a response to Catalan demands, limited autonomy was granted to Catalonia in 1913 and it was granted again in 1932 during the Second Spanish Republic, when the Generalitat, Catalonias mediaeval institution of government, was restored. During General Francos dictatorial regime, centralism was most forcefully enforced as a way of preserving the unity of the Spanish nation, peripheral nationalism, along with communism and atheism were regarded by his regime as the main threats. When Franco died in 1975, Spain entered into a phase of transition towards democracy, the then Prime Minister of Spain, Adolfo Suárez, met with Josep Tarradellas, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia in exile. An agreement was made so that the Generalitat would be restored and limited competencies would be transferred while the constitution was still being written. In the end, the constitution, published and ratified in 1979, found a balance in recognizing the existence of nationalities and regions in Spain, within the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation. The starting point in the organization of Spain was the second article of the constitution. In order to exercise this right, the established a open process whereby the nationalities
5.
Catalonia
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Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, located on the northeastern extremity of the Iberian Peninsula. It is designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy, Catalonia consists of four provinces, Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. The capital and largest city is Barcelona, the second-most populated municipality in Spain, Catalonia comprises most of the territory of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is bordered by France and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, the official languages are Catalan, Spanish, and the Aranese dialect of Occitan. The eastern counties of these marches were united under the rule of the Frankish vassal the Count of Barcelona, in the later Middle Ages Catalan literature flourished. Between 1469 and 1516, the King of Aragon and the Queen of Castile married and ruled their kingdoms together, retaining all their distinct institutions, Courts, and constitutions. During the Franco-Spanish War, Catalonia revolted against a large and burdensome presence of the Royal army in its territory, within a brief period France took full control of Catalonia, at a high economic cost for Catalonia, until it was largely reconquered by the Spanish army. In the nineteenth century, Catalonia was severely affected by the Napoleonic, in the second half of the century Catalonia experienced industrialisation. As wealth from the industrial expansion grew, Catalonia saw a cultural renaissance coupled with incipient nationalism while several workers movements appeared. In 1914, the four Catalan provinces formed a Commonwealth, and with the return of democracy during the Second Spanish Republic, after the Spanish Civil War, the Francoist dictatorship enacted repressive measures, abolishing Catalan institutions and banning the official use of the Catalan language again. Since the Spanish transition to democracy, Catalonia has regained some political and cultural autonomy and is now one of the most economically dynamic communities of Spain, the origin of the name Catalunya is subject to diverse interpretations because of a lack of evidence. During the Middle Ages, Byzantine chroniclers claimed that Catalania derives from the medley of Goths with Alans. Other less plausible theories suggest, Catalunya derives from the land of castles, having evolved from the term castlà or castlan. This theory therefore suggests that the names Catalunya and Castile have a common root, the source is of Celtic origin, meaning chiefs of battle. Although the area is not known to have been occupied by Celts, the Lacetani, an Iberian tribe that lived in the area and whose name, due to the Roman influence, could have evolved by metathesis to Katelans and then Catalans. In English, Catalonia is pronounced /kætəˈloʊniə/, the native name, Catalunya, is pronounced in Central Catalan, the most widely spoken variety whose pronunciation is considered standard. The Spanish name is Cataluña, and the Aranese name is Catalonha, the first known human settlements in what is now Catalonia were at the beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic. From the next era, the Epipaleolithic or Mesolithic, important remains survive
6.
Provinces of Spain
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Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces. The layout of Spains provinces closely follows the pattern of the division of the country carried out in 1833. The only major change of provincial borders since that time has been the sub-division of the Canary Islands into two rather than one. Historically, the provinces served mainly as transmission belts for policies enacted in Madrid, the importance of the provinces has declined since the adoption of the system of autonomous communities in the period of the Spanish transition to democracy. They nevertheless remain electoral districts for national elections and as references, for instance in postal addresses. A small town would normally be identified as being in, say, Valladolid province rather than the community of Castile. The provinces were the building-blocks from which the communities were created. Consequently, no province is divided more than one of these communities. Only two capitals of autonomous communities—Mérida in Extremadura and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia—are not also the capitals of provinces, seven of the autonomous communities comprise no more than one province each, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, and Navarra. These are sometimes referred to as uniprovincial communities, the table below lists the provinces of Spain. For each, the city is given, together with an indication of the autonomous community to which it belongs. The names of the provinces and their capitals are ordered according to the form in which they appear in the main Wikipedia articles describing them. Unless otherwise indicated, their Spanish-language names are the same, locally valid names in Spains other co-official languages are indicated where they differ
7.
Province of Barcelona
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Barcelona is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, the capital of the province is the city of Barcelona, and the provincial council is based in the Casa Serra on the Rambla de Catalunya in that city. See also List of municipalities in Barcelona, since the division by provinces in Spain and the division by comarques in Catalonia do not completely agree, the term comarques of the province of Barcelona would not be entirely correct
8.
Municipality
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It is to be distinguished from the county, which may encompass rural territory and/or numerous small communities such as towns, villages and hamlets. The term municipality may also mean the governing or ruling body of a given municipality, a municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district. The term is derived from French municipalité and Latin municipalis, a municipality can be any political jurisdiction from a sovereign state, such as the Principality of Monaco, or a small village, such as West Hampton Dunes, New York. The power of municipalities range from virtual autonomy to complete subordination to the state, municipalities may have the right to tax individuals and corporations with income tax, property tax, and corporate income tax, but may also receive substantial funding from the state. Similar terms include Spanish ayuntamiento, also called municipalidad, Polish gmina, Dutch/Flemish Gemeente, in Australia, the term local government area is used in place of the generic municipality. Here, the LGA Structure covers only incorporated areas of Australia, incorporated areas are legally designated parts of states and territories over which incorporated local governing bodies have responsibility. In Canada, municipalities are local governments established through provincial and territorial legislation, the Province of Ontario has different tiers of municipalities, including lower, upper, and single tiers. Types of upper tier municipalities in Ontario include counties and regional municipalities, nova Scotia also has regional municipalities, which include cities, counties, districts, or towns as municipal units. In India, a Nagar Palika or Municipality is a local body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more. Under the Panchayati Raj system, it directly with the state government. Generally, smaller cities and bigger towns have a Nagar Palika. Nagar Palikas are also a form of local self-government entrusted with duties and responsibilities. Such a corporation in Great Britain consists of a head as a mayor or provost, since local government reorganisation, the unit in England, Northern Ireland and Wales is known as a district, and in Scotland as a council area. A district may be awarded borough or city status, or can retain its district title, in Jersey, a municipality refers to the honorary officials elected to run each of the 12 parishes into which it is subdivided. This is the highest level of government in this jurisdiction. In the United States, municipality is usually understood as a city, town, village, or other local government unit, in the Peoples Republic of China, a direct-controlled municipality is a city with equal status to a province, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing. In Taiwan, a municipality is a city with equal status to a province, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei. In Portuguese language usage, there are two words to distinguish the territory and the administrative organ, when referring to the territory, the word concelho is used, when referring to the organ of State, the word município is used
9.
Comarques of Catalonia
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This is a list of the 42 comarques into which Catalonia is divided. A comarca is a group of municipalities, roughly equivalent to a US county or a UK district. However, in the context of Catalonia, the county can be a bit misleading, because in medieval Catalonia. Comarques have no relation to the counties that were ruled by counts. In some cases, comarques consist of areas and many small villages centering on an important town. This is the case of such as the Pla dEstany, centered on the town of Banyoles, or the Ripollès. In other cases, comarques are larger areas with many important population centers that have traditionally considered part of the same region. The current official division of Catalonia into comarques originates in an order of the semi-autonomous Catalan government under the Spanish Republic in 1936 and it was superseded after the 1939 victory of Francisco Francos forces in the Spanish Civil War, but restored in 1987 by the re-established Generalitat of Catalonia. As a result, some revisions to the division have been made periodically. The comarca exists as a local government area, and has a representative comarcal council, aran, which is included here, is officially not a comarca but a unique territorial entity with additional powers, but unofficially it is generally referred to as a comarca. Its current status was formalised in February 2015, comarcal revisions have taken place in 1988,1990, and May 2015. The other proposed new comarcas are, Vall de Camprodon, Selva Marítima, Alta Segarra, Segre Mitjà, in a non-binding referendum in July 2015, a majority of municipalities of the Lluçanès region of Osona voted to join a proposed new comarca of that name. The partial approval was seen as insufficient and the plan had not been put to parliament by the end of 2015 and it is also our source for which municipalities are in which comarca. Parts of the site are in English and Spanish, although most of it is in Catalan, Catalonia, La Franja and Northern Catalonia
10.
Pont del Diable
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The Pont del Diable, also known as Sant Bartomeu Bridge, is a medieval bridge crossing the river Llobregat and straddling the municipalities of Martorell and Castellbisbal in Catalonia, Spain. The bridge is restricted to pedestrians, the present bridge, featuring a large pointed arch, was constructed in 1283 on Roman foundations. The main clear span is 37.3 metres with a chapel on top. A secondary arch has a span of 19.1 metres, the bridge was destroyed in 1939 during the Spanish civil war by retreating Republican troops, but rebuilt in 1965 in a form generally similar to the gothic structure. It is now surrounded on three sides by road flyovers and railway lines, the original Roman bridge formed a part of the Via Augusta, and was the only bridge in the lower Llobregat valley until the 14th century. It still features a Roman triumphal arch at its eastern abutment and it is unclear how many spans the original Roman bridge had. List of Roman bridges O’Connor, Colin, Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, pp. 102f
11.
Llobregat
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The Llobregat is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain. Its name could have originated in an ancient Latin word meaning dark, the Llobregat originates at an elevation of 1,259 metres in the Serra del Cadí, within the limits of Castellar de nHug municipality, Berguedà comarca. The total length of the river is over 170 kilometres, at Martorell, the Roman Via Augusta crosses the river on the impressive Devils bridge, which dates from the High Middle Ages in its current form. The C-16 highway is known as the Llobregat Axis for its largest stretch follows the valley of the Llobregat. The river ends in the Mediterranean Sea forming the Llobregat Delta, in the municipality of El Prat de Llobregat, near Barcelona. The delta provided an extension of fertile land close to the city of Barcelona. Sabater & A. Ginebreda & D. Barceló, The Llobregat, ISBN 978-3-642-30938-0 Media related to Llobregat at Wikimedia Commons River Llobregat Water Reclamation Project
12.
Anoia (river)
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The Anoia is a river in Catalonia, Spain, most of whose course is within the comarca of the same name. Its source is in the municipality of Veciana at an elevation of about 650 metres and it passes through Igualada and crosses the Prelitoral Range at Capellades. It then passes through Gelida before joining the Llobregat from the right at Martorell
13.
Renfe Operadora
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The name Renfe is derived from that of the former Spanish National Railway Network, RENFE created on 24 January 1941 with the nationalisation of Spains railways. As per EU Directive 91/440, RENFE was divided into Renfe-Operadora, the Railway Sector Act,2003 separated the management, maintenance and construction of rail infrastructure from train operation. Renfe Operadora inherited the management model of the units of the old RENFE. However, control of some Cercanías services were transferred to Spains Autonomous communities, dirección General de Servicios de Larga Distancia, responsible for long-distance intercity and high-speed rail services. Dirección General de Servicios de Mercancías y Logística, responsible for freight services, the company operates some 12,000 km of railways,7,000 km of them electrified. The newer high-speed network has been built to the standard gauge of 1,435 mm in anticipation of its eventual connection to the rest of the European railway system. For this reason, the 1,435 mm gauge is generally termed European gauge in Spain, the Spanish high-speed system is called AVE. The logo incorporates a feature which resembles a bird, the high-speed lines are built to the standard European gauge. Construction of the rail line between Madrid and Seville began in 1988 and operation commenced in 1991. Train speed on the Seville line is 300 km/h, the second high-speed rail line was completed in 2007 with the inaugural service commencing at 06,00 on 20 February 2008. The operational speed on this route is 350 km/h, the greater part of the line was placed into service on 11 October 2003, with connection to Huesca from Zaragoza. The third high-speed line was opened in November 2005, followed by the spur from Córdoba to Málaga as far as Antequera in 2007. Another high-speed route from Madrid to Valladolid was opened in 2007, the line from Madrid to Valencia was opened in 2010, a line to Lisbon is being designed. Other lines operated by Renfe include Euromed, a line between Barcelona and Valencia. In addition to intercity transport, Renfe operates commuter train systems, known as Cercanías, in metropolitan areas, including Madrid. In some cities, Renfe shares the market with other railway operators. Renfe Operadora utilises the following rolling stock and commercial products inside of its two divisions, All classes are designated by three numbers, federación Castellano Manchega de Amigos del Ferrocarril Renfes official website
14.
Manresa
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Manresa is the capital of the Comarca of Bages, located in the geographic centre of Catalonia, Spain, and crossed by the river Cardener. It is an area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged around the basilica of Santa María de la Seo, Saint Ignatius of Loyola stopped to pray in the town on his way back from Montserrat in 1522. He also read in solitude in a cave near the town for a year, as such, the town is a place of pilgrimage for Catholics. It is believed the comarcal name Bages comes from a corruption of the Latin Bacchus due to the production of wine in the area. The wine was grown mainly in terraced vineyards, and many of these old terraces can be seen today, wine ceased to be the main product of the area as a consequence of phylloxera, but is still a very important part of the Manresa/Bages economy. During the Napoleonic invasion, the troops of Manresa defeated the French troops in the Bruch Pass. After the expulsion of Napoleons troops, Manresans rebuilt the town using the rubble, in the 13th and 14th centuries the Jews there were engaged in manufacturing, trading, money-lending, and in the cultivation of their vineyards and estates. The hostility of the Christians towards the Jews, which prevailed throughout Catalonia, was manifested in Manresa. In 1325 the Christian inhabitants of the tried to prevent the Jews from baking their Passover bread. The Jews in Manresa did not escape the persecution of 1391. After 1414 comparatively few Jews remained in the town, and in 1492 they sold their property for whatever they could get, at the beginning of the 15th century Manresa had 30,000 inhabitants, three centuries later it contained barely one-fifth of that number. Several members of the Zabarra family lived in Manresa, the town is not mentioned in the Shebeṭ Yehudah. Manresa has a subtropical, with cold winters and hot, moderately dry summers, while the rainiest seasons are spring. Three bridges cross the Cardener River, the 14th-century basilica of Santa Maria de la Seu stands on a rock above the oldest bridge. La Seu is the monument of Manresa. The church we can see today was designed by Berenguer de Montagut who also designed Santa Maria del Mar, the work began in 1325, but the church was not finished until the end of the 15th century. The municipal museum is housed in the cloisters of the 17th-century church of Sant Ignasi and this church is part of the Sanctuary Cave of Saint Ignatius, built over a cave in which Saint Ignatius of Loyola is said to have prayed and meditated
15.
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya
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Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, or FGC, is a railway company which operates several unconnected lines in Catalonia, Spain. The lines operated include metro and commuter lines in and around the city of Barcelona, tourist mountain railways, whilst most lines are conventional adhesion railways, the FGC also operates two rack railways and four funicular railways. FGC operates some of the Barcelona commuter rail network, all lines are overhead DC electrified at 1. 5kV. There are two systems, The Metro del Vallès and Línia de Balmes are standard-gauge lines that run from Plaça de Catalunya railway station to Av. Tibidabo, Reina Elisenda and Sant Cugat del Vallès, and then on to Sabadell or Terrassa, there is also an unelectrified metre-gauge freight line to the port of Barcelona, which diverges from the main line between Sant Boi and Cornellà. L6 and L7 used to be known as U6 and U7, s-prefixed lines are suburban lines, extending into metropolitan fare zone 2 or 3. R-prefixed lines are Interurban lines, extending beyond zone 3, lines R1-R4, R7 and R8 are run by Rodalies de Catalunya, R5 and R6 are run and operated by FGC. The FGC operates three mountain railway lines, The Montserrat Rack Railway, which runs from Monistrol, on FGCs suburban line to Manresa and this line re-opened in 2003, having opened in 1892 and closed in 1957. It is of metre gauge using the Abt rack railway system, the Vall de Núria Rack Railway, in the Pyrenees mountains of northern Catalonia. This is also of metre gauge using the Abt rack railway system, the Ferrocarril Turístic de lAlt Llobregat, which runs from La Pobla de Lillet to Clot del Moro, also in northern Catalonia. This line is of 600 mm gauge, and operates using adhesion only, the FGC also operates four funicular railways, The Funicular de Sant Joan, from the upper station of the Montserrat Rack Railway to the summit of the mountain of Montserrat. The Funicular de Santa Cova, also from the station of the Montserrat Rack Railway to a nearby shrine. The Funicular de Gelida, connecting the town of Gelida with its railway station, the Funicular de Vallvidrera, connecting a station on the Metro del Vallès suburban line to the top of the Tibidabo hill. On 1 January 2005, ownership of the non-electrified broad-gauge line from Lleida to La Pobla de Segur passed from RENFE to FGC. This is the most derelict line in Catalonia — the stretch from Lleida to Balaguer had been upgraded in the recent past, but from Balaguer northwards the track was in an appalling state. There are even plans to extend the line to the Pyrenees and possibly on to connect with railways in France — the plan when the line was built, but never carried out. In September 2012, FGC announced that it was planning to start operating freight services across the Spanish rail network, initial routes would be Barcelona – Sevilla and Barcelona – Madrid. FEVE History of rail transport in Spain List of FGC lines RENFE Transportation in Spain FGC website
16.
SEAT
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SEAT, S. A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer with its head office in Martorell, Spain. It was founded on May 9,1950, by the Instituto Nacional de Industria and it is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of the German Volkswagen Group. The headquarters of SEAT, S. A. are located at SEATs industrial complex in Martorell near Barcelona, SEAT today is the only major Spanish car manufacturer with the ability and the infrastructure to develop its own cars in-house. The plant was opened by King Juan Carlos of Spain on February 22,1993, a rail connection between SEATs Martorell and Zona Franca complexes facilitates vehicle and parts transportation between the two sites. In Wolfsburg, Germany, in the middle of a lake inside the Autostadt, in its 60 years, there was only a short period from 1953 to 1965 when the firm produced its cars exclusively for the domestic Spanish market. Until the early 1980s, however, most SEAT exports were sold with Fiat badging, as a response to SEATs bid for independence, Fiat committed themselves to selling 200,000 SEAT-built cars a year from 1981, compared to 120,000 the year before. At the end of 1983, just after SEAT had won its legal battle with Fiat, in Europe, they were represented in West Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Austria, and Greece. The UK, Ireland, and various Scandinavian markets were planned to be added in 1984 and this was in spite of the company only being able to export the Ronda, with the Fura to follow. Its core market remains Europe, while the most successful market outside of Europe in terms of sales for SEAT is currently Mexico, in Europe the brand has been launched in almost 40 countries across Northern, Western, Southern, Eastern Europe and Russia. In the years to come SEAT plans expanding in even more markets, SEATs further expansion plans in more markets outside of Europe have yet to be realised. In the past the company was considering a launch in the United States although this move has never been carried out. SEAT has been present in the Russian Federation since 2007, In India all Volkswagen group brands are assembled or imported except SEAT, Spain is the worlds eighth largest producer of automobiles and its car market stands among the largest in Europe. In this period there was only limited car production and only a few low volume local manufacturers catering mainly to the end of the market. The situation greatly deteriorated with the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939, the lack of interest shown by the foreign firms in the weakened post civil war Spanish market opened an opportunity for local interests. The initial Banco Urquijos project aimed at running the S. I. A. T, with the rest of Europe having entered the World War II, and Spain itself in ruins from its civil war, the project was delayed but not abandoned due to its strategic importance. The favoured bidders were Germanys Volkswagen and Italys Fiat, Fiats collaboration with the French company Simca proved Fiats ability to manage complex international projects. In Italy, Fiat dominated the market for vehicles under 12 horsepower, in 1947, the Banco Urquijo group had revived the S. I. A. T. The Banco Urquijo group, although a minority share holder, looked forward to assuming a role in the future as soon as the company was privatesed
17.
Audi Q3
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The Audi Q3 is a compact crossover made by Audi. The Q3 has a front engine, and entered production in 2011. Designed by Julian Hoenig in 2006, it was a vehicle with Liquid Silver body colour, 20-inch wheels, fabric folding roof, electrically controlled hood. The vehicle was unveiled at the Shanghai Motor Show in April,2007, the car uses the Volkswagen Group A5 platform of the Volkswagen Golf Mk5, the same as the Volkswagen Tiguan/SEAT Tribu compact SUVs. The Q3 slots above the Audi Q2 subcompact crossover SUV, design and development began following board approval in the second half of 2007. Julian Hoenigs design was chosen for production and frozen in 2009, the Q3 shares components, transmissions and engines with amongst other vehicles utilising the PQ35 platform, the Volkswagen Golf, Audi A3 and Škoda Yeti. The vehicle was unveiled in Auto Shanghai 2011, the vehicles went on sale in June 2011. Early models include 2.0 TFSI quattro,2.0 TDI,2.0 TDI quattro, indian models went on sale in 2012. Early models include 2.0 TDI quattro China models went on sale at the end of July 2012 as an import vehicle. The Changchun-made Audi Q3 entered market in April 2013, which included 35 TFSI,35 TFSI quattro,40 TFSI quattro,2.0 TDI quattro with 103 kW was introduced in 2012 for Germany market as part of 2012 Paris Motor Show premiere. 2.0 TDI quattro was introduced in 2012 for the UK market. It is a vehicle based on Audi Q3 with 2. 5Jx20 wheels in matt quartz, 255/45 off-road tires, 40mm wider front and rear track widths. The vehicle was unveiled in 2012 North American International Auto Show and it is a version of Audi Q3 with blue body colour,2.5 J x 20 wheels with 255/30 tires. The vehicle was unveiled in Auto China 2012 in Beijing, and later in 2012 Wörthersee Tour. Q3 jinlong yufeng is a version of Audi Q3 with 2. 5Jx20 wheels in matt quartz, 255/45 off-road tires, 40mm wider front and rear track widths, the vehicle was unveiled in Auto China 2012 in Beijing, and later in 2012 Wörthersee Tour. It is a version of Audi Q3 with 2.5 TFSI engine rated 340 PS and 450 N·m, 7-speed S tronic transmission, Energy Red body colour, the vehicle was unveiled in 2012 Wörthersee Tour. It is the first production model in a Q-series vehicle. The car accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds, infotainment options include MMI Navigation plus, Bose surround sound system with 14 loudspeakers with up to 465 watts of output power, Bluetooth car phone online advanced driver assistance systems
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Generalitat de Catalunya
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The Government of Catalonia or Generalitat de Catalunya is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia in Spain is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Generalitat had responsibility for an annual budget of €24 billion in 2006, rising to €33 billion in 2010. The Generalitat of Catalonia stems from the institution which ruled, in the name of the King of the Crown of Aragon. The first Catalan constitution is that of the Corts of Barcelona from 1283, another medieval precedent- the Diputació del General de Catalunya – which the 1931 legislators felt was appropriate for invoking as a legitimising base for contemporary self-government. Then, by the early 18th century, as the Nueva Planta decrees were passed in Spain, the president of the Generalitat at the time, Lluís Companys, was tortured and executed in October 1940 for the crime of military rebellion. Artur Mas, the leader of the Convergence and Union alliance, has been the president of the government since mid-December 2010. His party did not obtain a majority in the 2010 election. His election as president was enabled by support of the Socialists Party of Catalonia, on 18 June 2006, a reformed version was approved of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and went into effect in August. The current president of the Generalitat is Carles Puigdemont, previous president Artur Mas was recently charged by the Spanish government for civil disobedience, after he organised and staged a referendum on independence in 2014. The autonomous government consists of the Executive Council, the President, some people wrongly apply this name only to the executive council, however, Generalitat de Catalunya is the system of Catalan autonomous government as a whole. The region has achieved a greater degree of autonomy since 1979. After Navarre and the Basque Country regions, Catalonia has the greatest level of self-government in Spain, the Generalitat holds exclusive and wide jurisdiction in various matters of culture, environment, communications, transportation, commerce, public safety and local governments. In many aspects relating to education, health and justice, the region shares jurisdiction with the Spanish government, with few exceptions, most of the justice system is administered by national judicial institutions. The fields of law that are subject to autonomous legislation have been codified in the Civil Code of Catalonia consisting of six books that have successively entered into force since 2003. As an autonomous community of Spain, Catalonia is not recognized as a state by any sovereign state. However, as Catalonia has progressively gained a degree of self-government in recent years. For the most part, these relationships are with the governments of other powerful entities such as Quebec or California. In addition, like most Spanish autonomous communities, Catalonia has permanent delegations before international organizations, altogether, Catalonia has well over 40 representative offices worldwide
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International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
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Abrera
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Abrera is a municipality in the comarca of the Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the Llobregat river, to the south-east of Montserrat, the municipality is served by the FGC railway line from Martorell to Manresa, the S4 and R5 services stop at the station. Abrera is home to The SEAT Sport factory, panareda Clopés, Josep Maria, Rios Calvet, Jaume, Rabella Vives, Josep Maria. Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya, abreras Town Hall Government data pages Template, FGC line S4 Template, FGC line R5
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Sant Esteve Sesrovires
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Sant Esteve Sesrovires is a municipality in the comarca of the Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the bank of the Anoia river. Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria, Rios Calvet, Jaume, Rabella Vives, guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya
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Castellbisbal
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Castellbisbal is a municipality in the comarca of Vallès Occidental in Catalonia. It is situated on the bank of the Llobregat river at its confluence with the Rubí river. The town is served by the A-7 autopista, the main N-II road, the parish church of Sant Vincenç dates from the sixteenth century, while a Romanesque chapel is in Can Pederol de Baix. Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria, Rios Calvet, Jaume, Rabella Vives, guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya
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Sant Andreu de la Barca
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Sant Andreu de la Barca is a municipality in the comarca of the Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria, Rios Calvet, Jaume, Rabella Vives, guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya. Government data pages Template, FGC line S4
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Begues
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Begues is a municipality in the comarca of Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the south-west of the comarca, and its territory covers most of the Garraf massif including the peaks of el Montau. Begues is an important tourist centre, and it is connected with Avinyonet del Penedès, panareda Clopés, Josep Maria, Rios Calvet, Jaume, Rabella Vives, Josep Maria. Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya
25.
Castelldefels
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Castelldefels is a municipality in the Baix Llobregat comarca, in the province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, and part of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. It is located about 20 km southwest of Barcelona, just to the north of the massís del Garraf and is the last town on the coast before the comarca of Garraf, during the summer, many people from Barcelona and the countryside visit it. Nearby towns include Gavà, Viladecans, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Sitges, Castelldefels borders the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between Sitges and Gavà. The Olympic canal, called Canal Olímpic de Catalunya, built for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games of Barcelona is in the town, the main-belt asteroid 72037 Castelldefels, discovered in 2000, is named after the town. Between 1979 and 2011, the town was governed by the Socialists Party of Catalonia, the first democratic mayor after Constitution was Agustín Marina Pérez. In 2011, the conservative Peoples Party won a plurality of seats for the first time, in 2015, the eco-socialist Candela López of the ICV was elected mayor by a leftist government coalition. The town is also the location of the British School of Barcelona, there are ten public primary schools and three public secondary schools. A second railway line is due to be constructed from Cornellà de Llobregat to Castelldefels, panareda Clopés, Josep Maria, Rios Calvet, Jaume, Rabella Vives, Josep Maria. Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya, official site Artistic and historical buildings in Castelldefels Government data pages
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Esplugues de Llobregat
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Esplugues de Llobregat is a municipality of the Barcelona metropolitan area. It belongs to the comarca of Baix Llobregat, Barcelona province, Catalonia, during the recent decades Esplugues has evolved from a predominantly industrial city to a modern city with all services, preserving however its cultural and historical identity. Esplugues holds a natural area with parks and green spaces such as the Park of Solidarity, the Park of Torrents. From the mountain of Sant Pere Màrtir it is possible to enjoy a picturesque viewpoint of the entire town, the German School of Barcelona and the American School of Barcelona are located in town and attract wealthy expatriate families who decide to get their kids educated there. The city resides 11 km away from the Airport of Barcelona and it is linked to Barcelona through the following bus lines,57,63,67,68,157, metropolitan buses, and T1, T2 and T3 Trambaix lines. The only metro station in town in the one of Can Vidalet along the L3 line, two other stops are under construction and will be opened in 2018. The first nominal legal land section, a portion of land with a few homes. The first documents which talk about a town called Esplugues de Llobregat date from the 14th century, guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya
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Molins de Rei
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Molins de Rei is a municipality located 18 km from Barcelonas city centre, in the comarca of Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the bank of the Llobregat river, on the A-7 autopista from Valencia to La Jonquera. Its location has made Molins de Rei a strategic and dynamic municipality and its name, Molins de Rei, has its origins in the royal windmills that existed in this area, documented as early as 1188. These mills were built by order of the King Alfonso II, by 1208, a parish and church as well as a cemetery had been built in the town. In 1309, the town was part of the county of Pallars which belonged to the countess Sibil·la, when she died, the town changed owners to Hugo de Arborea and later on, it was transferred to the convent of Santa Clara in Sardinia. Again in 1366, the lands were purchased by Berenguer de Relat, in 1763 a bridge was built to cross the Llobregat river, by order of the King Charles III of Spain. This bridge turned the village into a location during the Peninsular War. During these attacks, several significant buildings were destroyed, such as the Palace of Requesens, the Palace of Recasens, ruined by a looting during the 19th century, dates from the 15th century. Outside the town are the ruins of the Castellciuró castle, built in 1066—perhaps over a previous Visigoth fortification—, remains include a tower and parts of the walls. The Romanesque chapel of Sant Pere de Romaní, known from 1011, has a shape, with a barrel vaulted ceiling. The Molins de Rei train station is served by RENFE railway lines R1 and R4 which run frequently to and from central Barcelona, taking roughly 25 minutes to, in addition, the town is served by the C-1413 road to Sabadell. Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga, 16th-century Spanish diplomat and politician Agustí Roc Amador, ski mountaineer and long-distance runner Margarita Xirgu, international actress. Miquel Carbonell Selva, portrait and landscape painter Lorca, Spain Chinandega, Nicaragua Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria, Rios Calvet, Jaume, Rabella Vives, guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya
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Olesa de Montserrat
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Olesa de Montserrat is a municipality in the comarca of Baix Llobregat, in Catalonia, Spain. Olesa de Montserrat is well known around the nearby places because of its oil and textile production. It achieved a record in 1996, with 726 persons acting onstage at the same time. Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya
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El Papiol
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El Papiol is a municipality in the comarca of the Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the bank of the Llobregat river, on the A-7 autopista from Valencia to La Jonquera. At West it borders on Castellbisbal and Pallejà, at North on Valldoreix and it is served by the RENFE railway line R4 from Barcelona to Martorell, Vilafranca del Penedès and Sant Vicenç de Calders, which is connected to the village center by a minibus service. It is also served by a bus service and a bus service from Barcelona to Esparreguera. Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria, Rios Calvet, Jaume, Rabella Vives, guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya. Moran i Ocerinjauregui, Josep, Pladevall, Antoni, Riera i Viader, Sebastià, Alier, Roger, Codina, Jaume, Pagès i Paretas, Montserrat, vol.8, Barcelonès i Baix Llobregat, Barcelona, Fundació Enciclopèdia Catalana
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El Prat de Llobregat
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El Prat de Llobregat, commonly known as El Prat, is a municipality in the comarca of Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the delta of the Llobregat river on the right bank, more than a quarter of the area of the municipality is occupied by Barcelona–El Prat Airport. Apart from the links to the airport, the town of El Prat is served by a railway station on the coast line from Barcelona to Valencia. The municipality also has a beach and a nature reserve at the Llac de la Ricarda i del Remolar. El Prat is famous for its blue-legged chickens, El Prat forms part of the metropolitan area of Barcelona. El Prat was founded between the years 1720 and 1740, when the town started to grow besides a path crossing. The first buildings to appear were the church, the hostel, and some houses built by the farmers of the delta. In 1917, the installation on the town of La Papelera Espanola, next, in 1923, three private aerodromes started operations in El Prat, due to the flat terrain of the municipality. That was the beginning of the connection between El Prat and the world of aviation, that would end up creating Barcelona International Airport after the unification of the three aerodromes in 1948. In 1926, another company, this time of the sector, called La Seda de Barcelona. That caused the final spurt of growth of El Prat, finally, with the next expansion, the population doubled in size once again, although has now reached a period of stability. Also Vueling Airlines has its office in the Parque de Negocios Mas Blau II in El Prat de Llobregat. Before its dissolution, Clickair had its office in El Prat de Llobregat. Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya, artistic and historical buildings in Prat de Llobregat El Prat City Council Government data pages
Spain
Catalonia
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