2012 Catalan independence demonstration

The 2010 Catalan autonomy protest was a demonstration in central Barcelona on 10 July 2010 against limitations of the autonomy of Catalonia, and particularly against a recent decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court to annul or reinterpret several articles of the 2006 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia. The number of people taking part in the demonstration was estimated at between 1.1 million (according to the local police) and 1.5 million (according to the organisers), while Madrid-based newspaper El País estimated the number of demonstrators at 425,000. The mobilisation was described as "unprecedented" by the mayor of Barcelona. The Barcelona daily newspaper El Periódico de Catalunya described it as "without a doubt one of the biggest protest marches that has ever occurred in Catalonia, possibly the biggest". It is thought that the 2012 Catalan independence demonstration involved more people, but this protest brought the dispute to light in the world. The demonstration was led by a banner with the slogan in Catalan Som una nació. Nosaltres decidim. (in English, "We are a nation. We decide.").

The 2017 demonstration against Catalan independence was a large demonstration in Barcelona, Spain, organized by Societat Civil Catalana on 8 October 2017, usually named after its slogan 'Stop! let's come to our senses' (in Catalan 'Prou! Recuperem el Seny'). It took place around midday starting in Plaça Urquinaona and ending in França railway station. The objective of the rally was to voice protests and growing concerns about the accelerating Catalan independence movement and the recent referendum on self-determination as well as to call for the preserved unity of Spain. The number of demonstrators was estimated at 950,000 by the organizers and 350.000 by the local police.

Via Laietana (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈbi.ə ləjəˈtanə]) Vía Layetana in Spanish, is a major thoroughfare in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in the Ciutat Vella district. The avenue runs from Plaça Urquinaona to Plaça d'Antonio López, by the seafront, and separates the neighbourhoods of the old city it has on either side: La Ribera/El Born and Sant Pere on one and Barri Gòtic on the other. Besides being always overcrowded with both locals and tourists attracted by its Modernista Art Nouveau, Art Déco, and Noucentista neo-classical architecture, in addition to its nearness to the Ramblas and the quiet pedestrian streets of Barri Gòtic, Via Laietana hosts the headquarters of a number of banks (notably the building of the old Caixa Catalunya) and institutions. It can be seen as an extension of Carrer de Pau Claris in Eixample. Via Laietana was named after the Laietanii, an Iberian people who inhabited the region around Barcelona, Maresme, Vallès, and Baix Llobregat.

The Museu Frederic Marès [muˈzɛw fɾəðəˈɾiɡ məˈɾɛs] is an art and sculpture museum in Barcelona, Spain.The Museu contains a collection of thousands of items from the sculptor Frederic Marès. Located near the Barcelona Cathedral, the Museu collection includes statuary from pre-Roman times through to almost the present day, with a particular emphasis on medieval Christian art, and a separate 'Collector's Cabinet' of artisan items such as fans and keys.

The Chapel of Santa Àgata (Catalan: Capella de Santa Àgata, Spanish: Capilla de Santa Ágata) is a chapel located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is also as the Royal Chapel. It was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1866.

The Palau Reial Major (Catalan pronunciation: [pəˈlaw rəˈjal məˈʒo]; "Grand Royal Palace") is a complex of historic buildings located in Plaça del Rei, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was a residence of the counts of Barcelona and kings of Aragon. It is composed of three distinct edifices: the Saló del Tinell, built by King Peter IV in 1359–1362 the Palatine Chapel of St. Agatha (1302), built under King James II the Palau del Lloctinent (1549), built by Generalitat of Catalonia under Charles VThe Saló del Tinell was built in the 14th century under the direction of architect Guillem Carbonell. Its gothic round arches are founded over 11th-century vaults (built themselves over a pre-existing monumental structure dating to the Visigoth age). The Chapel of St. Agatha was designed by architect Bertran Riquer to act as the royal chapel, replacing a previous oratory. It has an octagonal tower from the early 14th century, and it consists of a single aisle with a roof ceiling and ends with a polygonal apse. The sacristy is built within the ancient Roman walls. By commission of Peter V of Aragon (1463–1466) painter Jaume Huguet made the chapel altarpiece dedicated to the Epiphany. Both Saló del Tinell and St. Agatha Chapel are valuated as Catalan Gothic architecture masterpieces. The Epiphany altarpiece is also an outstanding gothic painting. They can be visited as a part of the Barcelona City History Museum MUHBA. Temporary exhibitions are held in them. After the 16th century, the edifice was no longer used as a royal residence and was divided between the Inquisition and the royal administration. In this period, the door leading to the Royal Audience Hall was built, with a triangular tympanum (currently at the entrance of the Museu Frederic Marès). The Palau de Lloctinent was built in 1549–1557 by Antoni Carbonell, in late Gothic-Renaissance style as the residence of the Viceroy (Lloctinent) of Catalonia. Also from this period is the so-called Mirador of King Martin, a five-storey tower on a rectangular plan (1555).

Plaça del Rei (meaning "King's Square" in Catalan, in Spanish: Plaza del Rey) is a 14th-century medieval public square in the Barri Gòtic of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.The square is surrounded by the Palau Reial Major including the Saló del Tinell, the Palau del Lloctinent ("Lieutenant's Palace"), the 15th-century tower Mirador del Rei Martí ("King Martin's Watchtower"), and the Capella Reial de Santa Àgata ("Royal Chapel of St Agatha"). On its southern side stands Casa Padellàs (Padellàs's House) a 15th–16th century palazzo moved here stone by stone from Mercaders Street in 1931 and since 1943, has housed the Barcelona City History Museum (MUHBA). Topos V, a work by Eduardo Chillida, underlines one of the corners of the square.

The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia (Catalan: Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia), also known as Barcelona Cathedral, is the Gothic cathedral and seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The cathedral was constructed from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, with the principal work done in the fourteenth century. The cloister, which encloses the Well of the Geese (Font de les Oques), was completed in 1448. In the late nineteenth century, the neo-Gothic façade was constructed over the nondescript exterior that was common to Catalan churches. The roof is notable for its gargoyles, featuring a wide range of animals, both domestic and mythical. Its form is pseudo-basilica, vaulted over five aisles, the outer two divided into chapels. The transept is truncated. The east end is a chevet of nine radiating chapels connected by an ambulatory. The high altar is raised, allowing a clear view into the crypt. The cathedral is dedicated to Eulalia of Barcelona, co-patron saint of Barcelona, a young virgin who, according to Catholic tradition, suffered martyrdom during Roman times in the city. One story says that she was exposed naked in the public square and a miraculous snowfall in mid-spring covered her nudity. The enraged Romans put her into a barrel with knives stuck into it and rolled it down a street (according to tradition, the one now called Baixada de Santa Eulàlia). The body of Saint Eulalia is entombed in the cathedral's crypt. The choir stalls retain the coats-of-arms of the knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. In his first trip into Spain, Charles, the future Holy Roman Emperor, selected Barcelona as the site of a chapter of his Order. The king had arrived for his investiture as Count of Barcelona, and the city, as a Mediterranean port, offered the closest communication with other far-flung Habsburg dominions, while the large proportions of the cathedral would accommodate required grand ceremonies. In 1518 the Order's herald, Thomas Isaac, and its treasurer, Jean Micault, were commissioned to prepare the sanctuary for the first sitting of the chapter in 1519. Juan de Borgonya executed the painted decoration of the sanctuary. "The church was named after Barcelona's patron saint Eulalia; its official name - Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia - is Catalan for "Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia". The commonly used name La Seu refers to the status of the church as the seat of the diocese." The side Chapel of the Holy Sacrament and of the Holy Christ of Lepanto contains a cross said to date from the time of the Battle of Lepanto (1571).In addition to Saints Eulàlia and Olegarius, the cathedral contains the tombs of Saint Raymond of Penyafort, Count Ramon Berenguer I and his third wife Almodis de la Marche, and bishops Berenguer de Palou II, Salvador Casañas y Pagés, and Arnau de Gurb, who is buried in the Chapel of Santa Llúcia, which he had constructed. The cathedral has a secluded Gothic cloister where 13 white geese are kept, the number explained by the assertion that Eulalia was 13 when she was martyred.A program of cleaning and restoration of the cathedral was carried out from 1968–72.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Barcelona is a Latin rite Catholic metropolitan archbishopric in northeastern Spain's Catalonia region. The cathedral archiepiscopal see is a Minor basilica: Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia, Barcelona. The archbishopric has nine more Minor basilicas : ... The current Archbishop of Barcelona is Juan José Omella Omella, appointed by Pope Francis on 6 November 2015.

Topos V, or simply Topos, is a sculpture by the Basque artist Eduardo Chillida, standing at Plaça del Rei in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. Purchased by Barcelona municipality when it was exhibited at Joan Miró Foundation in 1986, the artist itself suggested that the best placement for this sculpture would be Plaça del Rei, where its geometrical shapes, scale, brown color and textures could dialogue with the sober mediaeval architecture surrounding the square, including historical buildings such as Palau Real Major, the Royal chapel of Saint Agatha and Padellàs's House. Topos V is cast in iron. Its geometrical shape reproduces a Dihedral angle, closed on two of its sides. The two open sides face the square. In addition, some round shaped forms that could evoke the B, for "Barcelona", and medieval arches or windows as well, complete the elements allowing a perfect complementarity between contemporary sculpture and medieval architecture. Its dimensions are 2.10 × 2.37 × 1.70 metres.

The Museum of the History of Barcelona (Catalan: Museu d'Història de Barcelona, MUHBA) is a history museum that conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the historical heritage of the city of Barcelona, from its origins in Roman times until the present day. The museum's headquarters are located on Plaça del Rei, in the Barcelona Gothic Quarter (Barri Gòtic). It also manages several historic sites all around the city, most of them archaeological sites displaying remains of the ancient Roman city, called Barcino in Latin. Some others date to medieval times, including the Jewish quarter and the medieval royal palace called the Palau Reial Major. The rest are contemporary, among them old industrial buildings and sites related to Antoni Gaudí and the Spanish Civil War. The museum was inaugurated on 14 April 1943; its principal promoter and first director was the historian Agustí Duran i Sanpere. It belongs to the City Council of Barcelona, as part of the Culture Institute.

The Casa Padellàs (English: Padellàs's House) is a Gothic palace, originally located at number 25, Carrer Mercaders, in Barcelona. Due to the construction of the Via Laietana in the early 20th century—which otherwise would have destroyed it—the building was disassembled in 1931 and relocated to the Plaça del Rei, in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter. Since 1943, it has been home to the Barcelona City History Museum, and it is catalogued since 1962 as a Bé Cultural d’Interès Nacional (Cultural Good of National Interest) with B grade, and its urban qualification is 7a(p).