Sabadell is the major city of the comarca (similar to the UK counties) of Vallès Occidental in Catalonia, Spain, and placed in the south-center of this comarca, upon the Ripoll river, 20 km NW from Barcelona.

Economy

Sabadell is located 190 meters above the sea. It is the capital of the comarca, sharing this title with the city of Terrassa. Sabadell is basically a commercial and industrial city, home to 183,727 people as of 2000, and it is 37.6 sqr km. There are no significant agrarian activities.

Communications

Sabadell is an important communications point. Two motorways run beside the city: C-58 (from Barcelona to Manresa ) and A-7 (from France and Girona to Tarragona, Valence and Andalusia), and some roads link Sabadell with nearby cities and towns: Terrassa, Castellar del Vallès , Granollers, Barberà del Vallès , Cerdanyola del Vallès , Barcelona, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Rubí and Molins de Rei . A railroad line crosses the city (the RENFE line from Barcelona to Lleida) and another one finishes in the city (the FGC line from Barcelona to Sabadell by Sant Cugat del Vallès). Sabadell has an airport.

History

In Roman times a little village called Arragone existed near where the church of La Salut is now placed. This grew into the town called Arraona or Arrahona in the Middle Ages. Another little village was built just on the other side of the river. This second village, called Sabadell, located on a plain, began to grow and its population was about 600 people (152 houses) in 1378. Sabadell was enclosed by a wall, but due to population growth in the 16th century, some houses were built outside the wall. At that time the first textile industries appeared in town, dedicated especially to wool clothing. This industry increased over the next centuries, and in 1800 the town population was about 2000 people. The 19th century brought two important developments to the town: in 1856 the railroad arrived, and in 1877 the town was dubbed a "city". In the 1897 census the population of the city was 23,044 people. The city had become the most important producer of wool clothing in Spain, and these clothes achieved worldwide fame.

The modernisme movement (related to Art Nouveau) had an important influence in the architecture of the city in the early 1900s. The growth of industry and population favored the emergence of an important workers movement, and catalanist, socialist and anarchist parties were very influential up until the upheavals of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). The victory of the fascist faction in the war was a step backwards for the city, but in the fifties the industry was recovered and increased. Industries needed working hands, and many people came from Andalusia, Murcia, Extremadura, Castile and other parts of Spain to work in the textile and metal industry. Again, a new workers and catalanist movement emerged, this time against Franco's regime and with the support of the Catholic Church. Sabadell was the host of some sessions of the Assemblea de Catalunya , a multi-party organization that joined communists, socialists, catalanists, Catholics and others against the Franco regime. The 1973 oil crisis and Franco's death in 1975 meant an important change in Spain and, of course, in Sabadell. The economic crisis compelled the city to diversify its economic activities. New commercial and leisure areas (the Eix Macià) appeared next to the traditional industries, leading to important economic development for the city.

Art

There are some historic and artistic buildings in the city. The little church of Sant Nicolau (11th century) is a remainder of the town of Arraona. The Casa Duran is a traditional rural house (16th century) placed in the middle of the city. There are some beautiful modernist buildings, like the Hotel Suís (Swiss Hotel, 1902), the Caixa d'Estalvis (1915), the Torre de l'Aigua (a nice water tower, 1918) and the Mercat Central (Central Market, 1930).

Links

The Ajuntament (Town Hall) web site is in http://www.sabadell.net

Some important institutions of the city are:

- Aeroport de Sabadell (Sabadell airport, http://www.aena.es/ae/qsa/homepage.htm )
- Agrupació Astronòmica de Sabadell (Astronomy Association, http://www.astrosabadell.org )
- Banc de Sabadell (http://www.grupobancosabadell.com/en)
- Caixa d'Estalvis de Sabadell (http://web.caixasabadell.com )
- Centre d'Esports Sabadell (Football Team, http://www.cesabadell.org )
- Club Natació Sabadell (Swimming Club, http://www.cns.es )
- and many more

See also List of municipalities in Barcelona.