Viewing Barcelona
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c15 BC Roman colony of Barcino founded. Roman stone city walls built in AD 4. 531 Barcelona becomes a Visigothic capital. 711 Arabs gain control of Barcelona and call it Barjelunah. 801 Barcelona seized by Franks, making it part of Charlemagne's empire. 878 Guifré el Pilós (Wilfred 'The Hairy') founds the independent county of Catalonia. 1131-62 Reign of Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and union of Catalonia and Aragon. Barcelona becomes a major trading city. 1213-76 Reign of Jaume I. 1229 Jaume I conquers Mallorca, then Ibiza (1235), then Valencia (1238) from the Moors. 1249 Council of One Hundred (Consell de Cent) set up as the municipal government of Barcelona. 1298 Gothic Cathedral begun. 1323-24 Conquest of Corsica and Sardinia shows Barcelona's maritime supremacy. 1354 The Corts Catalans, legislative council of Catalonia, establishes the Generalitat to control city finances. 1355 Thousands of Jews massacred in Barcelona's Call. 1356 Martí I, last ruler of the House of Barcelona, dies heirless. Ineffective rule from Madrid. 1462-73 Catalan civil war. Economy deteriorates. 1492 Final expulsion of Jews. Discovery of America. 1516 Charles of Habsburg (Charles V), becomes King of Spain. 1640 Catalan Guerra dels Segadors (Revolt of the Reapers) against Castilian rule. 1714 City falls to Franco-Spanish army during the War of the Spanish Succession. The Nova Planta (1715) decree abolishes Catalan institutions and Catalonia becomes a mere province of Spain. 1808-13 Departure of Napoleonic troops following five years of French occupation. 1832 Spain's first steam-driven factory opens in Barcelona. 1844 Liceu opera house opens. 1859 Cerdà's plan for the Eixample is approved. 1882 Work begins on the Sagrada Família. 1888 Universal Exhibition attracts 2 million visitors. Late 19th to early 20th century The Eixample district is created, containing many Modernista buildings. 1899 FC Barcelona founded. First electric trams. 1909 Churches and convents looted and burned by anti-establishment rioters during Setmana Tràgica (Tragic Week). 1914-18 Spanish neutrality in World War I helps boost Barcelona's economy. 1921 First metro line opened. 1929 International Exhibition on Montjuïc. 1931 Second Spanish Republic. Francesc Macià declares Catalan independence. 1936 Franco comes to power. His army uprising is defeated by armed city workers. Civil War starts. 1939 City falls to Nationalists. Franco's troops occupy Catalonia. Catalan language banned and Catalan culture crushed during dictatorship. Economic decline. 1975 Following Franco's death, Juan Carlos I is declared king, and acknowledges the re-establishment of the Generalitat as the Parliament of an autonomous regional government of Catalonia. 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games on Montjuïc. 1994 Liceu opera house gutted by fire. It reopens in 1999. 1995-96 Opening of three new museums - the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, the Museu d'Història de Catalunya and the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona - reflects continuing pride in the Catalan nation. 2002 Gaudí International Year: a variety of events, exhibitions and festivals celebrating 150 years since the birth of architect Antoni Gaudí 2004 Barcelona hosts the Universal Forum of Cultures, sponsored by UNESCO.
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