The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Prior 19th century
218 BCE – Barcino established by Hamilcar Barca a Carthaginian general and statesman. 133 BCE – Romans in power. 343 CE – Bishopric established. 414 – Visigoth Ataulphus headquartered in Barcelona. 713 – Arabs in power. 801 – Siege of Barcelona, Franks in power; County of Barcelona established. 874 – The counts of Barcelona ruled as independent monarchs. 897 – Guifré el Pilós, Count of Barcelona, dies with his sons inheriting his possessions instead of an appointment of the Frank's king, making the end of Franks effective rule 1164 – Dynastic union of Barcelona with Aragon (composite monarchy). 1243 – Arsenals built (approximate date). 1258 – Consolat de Mar (maritime legal code) issued. 1298 – Barcelona Cathedral construction begins. 1359 – June: Battle of Barcelona (1359). 1378 – Casa Consistorial built. 1383 – Llotja del Mar (exchange) built. 1391 – Santa Maria del Pi church built. 1392 – Public clock installed (approximate date). 1400 – Medical college established. 1401 Taula de canvi de Barcelona (public bank) established. General hospital active. 1448 – Barcelona Cathedral construction completed. 1450 – University of Barcelona founded. 1473 – Printing press in use. 1474 – Moll de la Santa Creu (wharf) construction begins. 1493 – Columbus' published description of his trans-Atlantic trip becomes a "bestseller" in Barcelona. 1529 – Charles V and Clement VII sign treaty in Barcelona. 1609 – Bank of Barcelona established. 1640 – Reapers' War: Corpus de Sang events. 1641 – January: Battle of Montjuïc. 1651 – July: Siege of Barcelona begins. 1697 – August: Siege of Barcelona (1697). 1705 – September–October: Siege of Barcelona (1705). 1706 – April: Siege of Barcelona (1706). 1708 – Premiere of Caldara's opera .(ca) 1713 – July: Siege of Barcelona (1713–14) begins. 1715 – Citadel built to suppress Catalan revolts (Ciutadella de Barcelona). 1792 – Custom house built.
19th century
1809 – French in power. 1831 - Bonaplata Factory, El Vapor founded 1833 – City becomes capital of newly created Province of Barcelona. 1834 – established. 1842 – Bombardment of Barcelona (1842). 1843 – La Jamància insurrection 1847 Gran Teatre del Liceu opens. Barcelona City Hall expanded. 1848 Mataró-Barcelona railway begins operating. Institut Industrial de Catalunya founded. moves into City Hall. 1849 - La España Industrial el Vapor Nou begins operation in Sants 1854 City walls dismantled (approximate date). Burning of the Monasteries The Luddite Conflict of the selfactinas 1855 - first general strike 1857 – Population: 183,787. 1859 – Floral Games begin. 1869 – 25 September: "Republican insurrection." 1877 – Parc de la Ciutadella established from the old citadel. 1881 La Vanguardia newspaper begins publication. Premiere of 's Catalan-language opera A la voreta del mar. 1882 – Gaudi's Sagrada Família cathedral construction begins. 1887 – Population: 272,481. 1888 – 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition held; Arc de Triomf and Castle of the Three Dragons built. 1891 – Orfeó Català chorus formed. 1897 Eixample district laid out. Els Quatre Gats cafe in business. 1899 – Futbol Club Barcelona formed. 1900 Picasso's first solo art exhibit held. Population: 533,000.
20th century
1901 – Regionalist League headquartered in city. 1903 – Palau Robert (residence) built on Passeig de Gràcia. 1905 – Jaussely's city plan introduced. 1906 Republican Nationalist Centre and Catalan Solidarity (1906) headquartered in city. Catalan language congress held. 1908 Radical Republican Party headquartered in city. Palau de la Música Catalana (concert hall) opens. 1909 – July: Tragic Week (Spain). 1910 Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (union) founded in Barcelona. Les Arts i les Artistes (group) formed. Gaudi's art nouveau Casa Milà built. 1913 Sants market built. Escola Catala d'Art Dramatic (school) established. 1914 National Library of Catalonia established. Park Güell built. 1918 – Majestic Hotel Inglaterra in business. 1919 – Danone yogurt manufactory turn business. 1919 – La Canadenca strike, a successful 44 day general strike for the 8-hour-day 1920 – Population: 710,335. 1921 – 8 March: Politician Dato assassinated. 1922 Publicat newspaper begins publication. Pathe Cinema opens. opens in the . 1923 – 13 September: Coup; Primo de Rivera in power. 1924 – Barcelona Metro begins operating. 1925 – Salvador Dalí's first solo art exhibit held. 1929 1929 Barcelona International Exposition held; Palau Nacional built. Cafe de l'Opera in business. 1930 – Population: 1,005,565. 1931 – Catalan Republic proclaimed on 14 April by Francesc Macià, replaced three days later by de Generalitat. 1932 Fira de Barcelona established. Le Corbusier's city plan introduced. The Cortes of the Republic grants self-governance to Catalonia. 1933 – Boadas bar in business. 1934 Cine Verdi opens. Events of 6 October. National Art Museum of Catalonia inaugurated. 1936 July 1936 military uprising in Barcelona. Cine New-York (cinema) opens. 1937 – May Days. 1938 – March: Bombing of Barcelona by nationalist forces. 1939 – Franco in power. 1943 – Barcelona City History Museum inaugurated. 1948 – Dau al Set cultural group active. 1951 – Barcelona tram strike 1955 – 1955 Mediterranean Games. 1957 Camp Nou (FC Barcelona stadium) opens. Josep Maria de Porcioles i Colomer becomes mayor. 1963 – Museu Picasso opens. 1968 Instituto Politécnico Superior and La Claca puppet theatre established. Autonomous University of Barcelona established. 1970 – Population: 1,745,142. 1971 – Parc del Laberint d'Horta opens. 1973 – Enric Massó i Vázquez becomes mayor. 1974 Barcelona Metropolitan Corporation created. Dalí Theatre and Museum opened. 1975 – Fundación Joan Miró built. 1976 – Festival Grec de Barcelona begins. 1978 – Barcelona International Centre of Photography inaugurated. 1982 Pasqual Maragall becomes mayor. Part of 1982 FIFA World Cup football contest held in Barcelona. 1986 – Barcelona Metròpolis magazine begins publication and the city was chosen to host the 1992 Summer Olympics. 1987 19 June: Hipercor bombing. Parc de la Creueta del Coll established. and the city sign an agreement to host the 1992 Summer Paralympics 1989 – European Institute for the Mediterranean established. 1990 Population: 1,707,286. 18 June: Pompeu Fabra University established. 1992 – 1992 Summer Olympics and the 1992 Summer Paralympics were held. 1995 First Manga Barcelona. Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art established. Open University of Catalonia established. 1997 – Joan Clos becomes mayor. 1999 – L'Auditori opens and the Final of the UEFA Champions League at Camp Nou
21st century
2004 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures. Trambaix and Trambesòs opened to the public. September: World Urban Forum held. 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures held. Barcelona Institute of International Studies established. 2005 – Torre Agbar built. 2006 4F case. Jordi Hereu becomes mayor. 2007 – Bicing bikeshare program launched. 2008 Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line inaugurated. Subway terror plot foiled. 2009 W Barcelona Hotel built. 19 January: 1st Gaudí Awards. Estadi RCDE (stadium) opens. 2010 10 July: 2010 Catalan autonomy protest. Sister city relationship established with San Francisco, California. Sagrada Familia church is consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI. Its construction began in 1882 and is still underway, as of 2026. 2011 Caixabank founded. Xavier Trias elected mayor. Population: 1,620,943. 2012 – 11 September: 2012 Catalan independence demonstration. 2015 1 April: Barcelona Supercomputing Center established. 20 April: Barcelona school killing. 24 May: Barcelona City Council election, 2015 held; Ada Colau elected mayor. 2016 Barcelona Metro line 9 connecting to the airport finished. 2017 18 February: Volem acollir protests. 28 July: 2017 Barcelona train crash. 17 August: Barcelona attacks. The Parliament of Catalonia declares the independence from Spain. 2019 – 2019 Catalan protests. 2020 – 25 January: COVID-19 pandemic begins. 2023 Sister city relationship suspended with Tel Aviv, Israel. 28 May: 2023 Barcelona City Council election held; Jaume Collboni elected mayor.
See also History of Barcelona List of mayors of Barcelona Timeline of Catalan history
Other cities in the autonomous community of Catalonia:(ca) Timeline of Lleida
References
This article incorporates information from the Catalan Wikipedia and Spanish Wikipedia.
Bibliography
Published in the 19th century
Published in the 20th century
Published in the 21st century
External links
Map of Barcelona, 1943 Map of Barcelona, 1999 Europeana. Items related to Barcelona, various dates. Digital Public Library of America. Items related to Barcelona, various dates (map)