La Rambla (Barcelona)
La Rambla ( Catalan and Spanish singular), also known as Les Rambles (Catalan plural) or Las Ramblas (Spanish plural) is a 1.2 kilometer long promenade in the center of Barcelona that connects Plaça de Catalunya with the Old Port . It is flanked on both sides by lanes for individual and bus traffic as well as by some magnificent and historic buildings. The old town district of Barri Gòtic extends northeast of the Rambla, and to the southwest the El Raval district, which also belongs to the old town, extends .
history
In Spain there are numerous roads called Rambla - in the original sense of the word this means a river bed that has dried out for most of the year and can therefore be used as a road. Only during the snowmelt in spring or when it rains heavily do these Ramblas carry water, which flows from the mountains towards the sea. Accordingly, the Rambla described here is said to have been the bed of a river called Malla . But there is no reliable evidence of this. According to the unconfirmed theories, the Malla River was diverted north in the Middle Ages in order to drain the Rambla permanently.
The Catalan geographer Pau Vila i Dinarès suspected, however, that there never was a Malla river and that the river theory was based only on a misinterpretation of the Hispano-Arabic loan word rambla = river bed . Colloquially, not only the river beds described above are referred to as Rambla, but the term stands for broad streets, mostly flanked by trees, and is therefore only a synonym for terms such as boulevard , promenade or avenue . What is certain, however, is that the Rambla described here was used as a sewer for centuries.
In the late Middle Ages, the built-up area of Barcelona had expanded in a south-westerly direction to the Rambla. In 1295 a city wall was built on the edge of the Rambla. Even after the incorporation of El Raval (1360), this wall was preserved, modernized and formed a barrier between El Raval and the rest of the city for more than 400 years. Numerous monasteries settled on both sides of this wall - especially in the course of the Counter Reformation from the second half of the 16th century. It was only with the demolition of this inner-city wall (1704 to 1829) that the Rambla began to be transformed into a modern promenade. Most of the monasteries were stormed, looted and burned down during the riots of 1835 (the Bullangues ). The subsequent disamortization dissolved the church property. Some buildings and squares that still exist today, such as the Gran Teatre del Liceu (1844), the Mercat de la Boqueria (1836) or the Plaça Reial (1848) , were then built on the open spaces .
In 1703 the rambles were planted with trees for the first time (poplars and aspens). From 1859 these trees were felled and replaced by plane trees from the Girona region. The Font de Canaletes fountain was inaugurated in 1860 . It has been officially allowed to sell flowers on the Rambla since 1853 - the tradition continues to this day in the Rambla de les Flors . From 1872 the first tram in Barcelona drove from the port over the Rambla to Gracia .
On the occasion of the 1992 Summer Olympics , the route of the marathon ran across the promenade .
In the terrorist attack in Barcelona on August 17, 2017 , at least 13 people were killed and over 100 injured on the promenade.
Surname
Rambla , a loan word from Arabic , means river bed . Accordingly, one would have to use the singular for the most famous boulevard in Barcelona: la rambla = the river bed . However, since the boulevard has a different suffix ( Rambla de Canaletes , Rambla dels Estudis etc.) at relatively regular intervals , the name of the entire street is often also put in the plural: Les Rambles (Catalan), Las Ramblas (Spanish). This is confusing as it is not the former course of several rivers, nor is it several different boulevards.
Sections of the Rambla
Each section is shaped differently. For example, there are only florists in the Rambla de Sant Josep. Street artists and musicians can be found on one of the other street sections, and until 2013 there was also a section for animal sellers. The individual sections from Plaça de Catalunya towards the port are listed below.
Rambla de Canaletes
The Rambla de Canaletes, which directly adjoins the Plaça de Catalunya, is known for the Font de Canaletes - legend has it that anyone who drinks from this fountain always comes back to Barcelona. This part of the Rambles is a popular meeting place for FC Barcelona fans . The name is derived from the water canals (Catalan: canaletes) that were integrated into the directly adjacent city wall.
Rambla dels Estudis
In earlier times, many university buildings lined this section, hence the name. Today only the Reial Acadèmia de Ciències i Arts de Barcelona : La RACAB (house number 115) remains of these teaching institutions .
Rambla de Sant Josep
This section is named after the former Josephiner monastery, on whose terrain the Mercat de la Boqueria is now located. This part of the street is popularly known as the Rambla de les Flors (Flower Rambla) because of the numerous permanently installed flower stands . In terms of organization, the flower sellers belong to the traders of the Boqueria market - for reasons of space, however, they do not sell their flowers directly in the market hall but on the promenade.
Rambla dels Caputxins
This section includes the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Cafe de l'Opera . In addition, from here you have access to the spacious Plaça Reial . Characteristic of the Rambla dels Caputxins are the waiters, who have to rush across the street countless times every day to bring food and drinks from the bars (located in the block) to the guests on the promenade.
Rambla de Santa Mònica
The Rambla de Santa Mònica, named after the patroness of the Augustinian order, who had a convent built here in the 17th century, closes the Rambla in the southeast. It is characterized by street artists in elaborate costumes and a regular arts and crafts market. Shortly after the end of the Rambles, in a roundabout at the port, stands the 68 meter high Columbus column . It has a tiny viewing platform that can be reached via an elevator inside the column.
St. George's Day
Rambla
Rambla in the north
Rambla de Sant Josep
Street performers on the Rambles
The Columbus Column at the end of the Rambla de Santa Mònica
La Rambla from the air
La Rambla with Christmas lights
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Web links
swell
Competition venues for the 1992 Summer Olympics
Coordinates: 41 ° 23 ' N , 2 ° 10' E