Browse by Region:
Andalucía
Aragón
Asturias
Balearic Islands
Canary Islands
Cantabria
Castilla-La Mancha
Castilla y León
Cataluña
Extremadura
Galicia
La Rioja
Madrid Community
Murcia
Navarra
País Vasco/Basque Country
Valencian Community
Browse by Option:
Paradores of Spain
Spain Travel Guide
Spain Photo Galleries
Contact Us
Join Us
Maps of Spain
Tours of Spain
Spanish Blog
Barcelona by Night Panoramic City Tour and Live Flamenco Show with Dinner
On this private chauffeur driven evening half day tour you will get an overview of the Cosmopolitan City of Barcelona by night and then dinner or drink only with a live Flamenco show... Read more...Tours in Cataluña

 

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain Travel & Accommodation Guide

Barcelona History Timeline 2000BC to the 12th century   by Ciara Carruthers

Barcelona Hotels  -  Barcelona Self-Catering Apartments  -  Cataluña Home Page
Barcelona is one of the most ancient cities in Spain, and certainly it is rich with history. Here I offer a Barcelona History Timeline, from 2000BC to the 12th century. 

2000 BC

 The legend of its creation is that in 2000 BC Hercules, the mythical Greek hero, set sail from Africa in nine boats. During the voyage, one of the ships is lost to a storm by the Catalan coast. Searching for the ninth boat, Hercules and his men eventually find it, stranded on a new land, surrounded by a beautiful hill. The men survived, and so struck by the beauty of the place, named it Barca Nona, 'Ninth Ship'.

First Century BC

 Towards the end of the first century BC, the Romans established a city called Barcino around what was then called the Taber mountain. The Romans used the same spot as their political and administrative base as they do today; Plaza Sant Jaume.However, the Romans showed little interest in what is now the capital of Catalunya. Instead they focused on Barcelona's neighbor, Tarragona. The Romans enclosed the city with looming walls, which still remain very much visible today. Excellent examples can be found in the Plaza del Rei and the Plaza Ramon Berenguer. 

Early 5th century

 The Visigoths (Western Goths; one of the main branches of the Goths, an eastern Germanic tribe) conquered Barcelona in the early 5th century. Barcino, as Barcelona was known so long ago, was an important center of the Visigoth kingdom, attributed to its insurmountably defensive walls. So highly important was Barcino that it was made the capital of the kingdom, after it's predecessor, Toulouse in France.

 711

 The Muslim inhabitants of Al-Andulus, the Moors, arrived to the Iberian peninsula in 711. Under the rule of 'Taric el Tuerto' (Taric the one-eyed), they reigned over most of Spain, conquering the Visigoths. Tarragona, in 717 was invaded and largely destroyed. When the Moors entered Barcelona after such damage caused to Tarragona, they met with little resistance. The reign of the Moors lasted less than a century.When in...

 ...801...

 ...Louis the Pious, under Charlesmagne, conquered the city, and Barcelona fell under Frankish rule. From 878 to 897, Guifré el Pelós, Catalan for Wilfred the Hairy, was the count of Barcelona, Girona and Besalu.

11th Century

 In the 11th century, Barcelona invaded Cordoba, which ended in success for Barcelona, bringing with it a significant gain of wealth and economy. The city developed rapidly. At this time, other Catalan counties united, with Barcelona as their capital.

During the 12th Century...

 ...Barcelona prospered. The then count, Ramon Berenguer IV married the daughter of the King of Aragon, Petronila of Aragon, uniting the two territories. This brought vast increase of political and economical power. Upon the death of Petronilas father, Berenguer became King of Aragon.Helped by commerce from the Mediterranean sea and tariffs collected from the 'Moorish Taifa Kingdom', Barcelona's conquest increased to include Valencia, the Balearic islands, Sicily and Sardinia.

 In this period, two new sections of the city wall were built. One to encompass annexed towns, the other to include an agricultural area which is now known as the Raval.

 The city flourished and grew, attracting merchants from around the world. Guilds were formed, concentrated in different areas around the cities political center, Plaza Sant Jaume. Street names still reflect these guilds which existed so long ago, e.g. Flassaders (blanket makers) or Sombrerers (hat makers).

Top

Barcelona Hotels  /  Barcelona Self-Catering Apartments

 
About the Author - This is just the beginning of the Barcelona History Timeline. Of course, Barcelona's history encompasses so much more. Click the following link to read the whole history on "Barcelona History Timeline" at BarcelonaExplore.com.  Ciara Carruthers is an Irish inhabitant of Barcelona. She loves the city and so created a website for anyone else who shares her passion of the city and wants to discover more. Go to her website at "Barcelona Explore".

Latest update: September 24, 2012