Barcelona [antikvár]

Barcelona is a city not only rich in history, but also bearing the stamp of nnod-ernity and of all the rapid changes this involves. Both the city's layout and its individual buildings bear witness to a kind of collective subconscious which, in the course of time, has taken on an architectonic form. The earlier stages in the city's development still followed a traditional pattern: it was a process of adding on, fitting in, and covering over. Hemmed in between the mountains and the sea, the city evolved as a living collage, a huge and colourful patchwork quilt. In the 20th century another feature of Barcelona came to the fore: her intense effort to share in the progress of the modern world.The architectonic testaments to the city's past include the remains of Romanesque buildings, often below ground or hidden between other structures, as well as splendid Gothic edifices. The old Gothic Llotja, or bourse, has been given a classicist appearance, but the church of Santa Maria del Mar is still preserved as an example of an indigenous Catalan version of the Gothic style. In addition, anyone interested in architectural history will find buildings of the Renaissance and the Baroque.Barcelona is especially well-known for its many examples of the exuberant architecture of the Modernismo, the Catalan version of Art Nouveau. Many of these masterpieces - whether they are new buildings, extensions or conversions - take the form of an architectural element within an existing ensemble. Even such important cultural edifices as the Teatre del Liceu (the opera house) or the Palau de la Música Catalana (the concert hall) do not stand alone, but rather form a living whole with the neighbouring urban architecture. In what follows, I shall try to trace the development and evolution of the most important testaments to Barcelona's architectural heritage.During the 16th and 17th centuries, Barcelona seemed to be leading a Sleeping Beauty existence; its population remained stagnant at between 30,000 and 40,000. During the 18th century, however, trade began to flourish and the population increased dramatically, reaching 193,000 by 1857.' An important factor in this economic development was the expansion in trade with America, Barcelona thereby benefiting from its maritime location. The rural hinterland of Catalonia supplied it with both people and capital. For a long time structural conditions in the countryside had delayed developments which had changed the face of cities in other parts of Europe a century earlier. Under Bourbon rule, Catalonia had lost many of her historic rights; her people were moreover forbidden to use their own language in public. The active cultivation of the Catalan language was already on the decline by the end of the 17th century and would not be revived until the end of the 19th century. Paradoxically,