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| Capital | Barcelona | ||
| Official languages | Spanish and Catalan In Val d'Aran, also Aranese. | ||
| Area
- % of Spain |
Ranked 6th
6,3% | ||
| Population
- Density |
Ranked 2nd
190,73/km² | ||
| Demonym |
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| Statute of Autonomy | December 22, 1979 | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | CT | ||
| National anthem | Els Segadors | ||
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Congress seats Senate seats |
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| President | Pasqual Maragall i Mira (PSC) | ||
| Catalan Government Composition | |||
Catalonia (Catalan: Catalunya, Spanish: Cataluña, French: Catalogne) is a region in the north-east of the Spanish state. The historic region of Catalonia also includes the historic county of Roussillon to the north, a province of France since 1659 that Catalan nationalists refer to as Catalunya Nord, i.e. "North Catalonia". The term "Catalonia" is sometimes used to refer to the whole Catalan-speaking area, in line with the Pan-Catalanist strand of Catalan nationalism that sees all territories where the language is spoken as being a single nation, and advocating political independence from Spain for this nation. The whole area is often referred to as els Països Catalans, i.e. "the Catalan Countries" by nationalists, a term either embraced or resented in these regions.
The autonomous region of Catalonia covers an area of 31,950 km². with a population of 6.3 million, and its capital is Barcelona.
The official name of the Government of Catalonia (including the Council, the Parliament and the President) is Generalitat de Catalunya in Catalan (Generalidad de Cataluña in Spanish though in practice this form is rare, the tendency being to use the Catalan name in Spanish). Some people wrongly apply this name only to the Council, as if it were the same as Cabinet. However, the Generalitat is the (autonomous) Catalan system of government within the Spanish state, not under the direct authority of the central government in Madrid.
The region has widespread autonomy and for example its own police force Mossos d'Esquadra, coexisting with the Guardia Civil and Policía Nacional, under the authority of the Spanish government.
Unlike the autonomous communities of Navarre and the Basque Country, it lacks its own fiscal system, thus the economic sustainment of the regional administration depends almost entirely on the Spanish government budgets.
See comarques of Catalonia for the administrative division in comarques (roughly equivalent to counties).
Spain administration divides Catalonia into four provinces: Barcelona, Girona (Spanish name: Gerona), Lleida (Spanish name: Lérida), Tarragona.
See History of Catalonia, Catalan Countries
Catalonia constitutes the original nucleus and the most important and extensive territory of Catalan language and culture, but the norm in Catalonia is Catalan-Spanish bilingualism, and this is one of the first things a visitor will notice upon entering the territory. Being spoken to in Catalan (especially being answered in Catalan after asking a question in Spanish) is one key reason cited by other Spaniards for disliking Catalans and considering them to be insular and proud. However, only a minority do this deliberately, and outsiders often put down to arrogance what is really a simple language mix-up.
Catalan is the predominant language in the countryside, with some older people struggling to express themselves in Spanish. The Barcelona area is one of the few places in Catalonia which is more Spanish-speaking than Catalan-speaking, due to the influx of people from other parts of Spain and the world.
See Catalan language for further information.
A Catalan nationalist movement arose in the nineteenth century, and when the Spanish Republic was declared in 1931, Catalonia became an autonomous region. In 1939, Francisco Franco came to power and suppressed Catalan autonomy, and also tried to suppress the Catalan language and Catalan culture. During the last decade of Franco's rule, renewed nationalist sentiment built up in Catalonia.
In 1975, Franco died and democracy was restored soon after. Once again, Catalonia became an autonomous region within Spain. The Catalan nationalist leader Jordi Pujol came to power in the first regional elections in 1980, and his party, Convergence and Unity (Convergència i Unió or CiU), held power for 23 years.
Despite his radical background, Pujol became increasingly conservative in office, and supported José María Aznar's conservative People's Party (PP) government in Madrid. Nationalist factions became increasingly dissatisfied with his rule, especially the ERC. At the same time, the Catalan Socialists' Party (Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya, PSC-PSOE), based in the industrial heartland of Barcelona, regained its strength.
One of the keys to Catalan politics is the fact that Barcelona, because it attracts migrants from all over Spain and Latin America, is a majority Spanish-speaking city, particularly in working-class areas, while the rural regions, and the middle- and upper-class urban areas, remain solidly Catalan-speaking. The Socialists have become the party of those who resent the dominance of middle-class Catalan nationalists over Barcelona. In any case, while Catalan is experiencing a spectacular revival, the dominating presence of Castilian-speakers will continue to make universal use of Catalan unlikely.
At the regional elections held on November 16 2003, at which Pujol retired, the combined parties of the left defeated the CiU for the first time, and Pasqual Maragall i Mira became President of the Generalitat. Maragall's Socialists, however, actually lost seats: the big winners were the Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya or ERC), which favours full Catalan independence, and the Greens. While PSC mantains the post of President of the Generalitat (Maragall), ERC nominates the conseller en cap (prime minister) — currently, Bargalló.
Maragall's government will thus be an uncomfortable alliance between the PSC and the ERC, because the ERC favours more left-wing policies and progress towards Catalan independence, both of which the PSC opposes.
Mountains:
Major rivers:
There are several UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Catalonia:
Catalonia's festivals and traditions unify Catalan society and help to give it its particular character. Amongst the most striking of festive events are the correfocs, in which "devils" play with fire and with the people. These devils are not the incarnation of evil; they are sprightly and festive, dancing to the sound of the tambourine and the traditional oboe, while they set off their fireworks.
But perhaps the most spectacular of the Catalan festivals are those of the colles castelleres, groups of enthusiasts who form impressive human towers (up to ten people high). This is an old tradition of the Tarragona region, which has now spread to many parts of Catalonia, and has become a real spectacle, or sport, that attracts thousands of Catalans. Amongst other important festivities are the carnival in Vilanova i la Geltrú and the Patum in Berga.
Then, there is the very special music of the cobles, the wind bands that play sardanes. The sardana is a circular, open dance, that originated in the Empordà region (north of the country by the Mediterranean sea and the Pyrenees (Catalan Pirineus), and is now danced in many squares and streets. Anyone can join in.
As in other countries, there is a Santa Claus tradition. In Catalonia it is enacted in the very popular figure of the Tió de Nadal.
The anthem of Catalonia is "Els Segadors" (The Reapers). National day is September 11, after the defeat and surrender of Barcelona to the French-Castilian army of Philip V of Spain.
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