Terrassa is a city in the
east central region of Catalonia
, Spain
, in the
comarca of Vallès
Occidental
, of which it is the co-capital along with Sabadell
, the
historic capital. The population of its area of influence is
more than a quarter of a million.
Situation

The Masia Freixa of Terrassa, sea of
parabolic arches

Castle of VallparadÃs
The city is located in the Catalan Prelitoral depression (Depressió
Prelitoral), at the feet of the Prelitoral mountain range (Natural
reserve of Sant Llorenç del Munt) and the average altitude of the
city is 277 meters above sea level.
It is 28 and 20 kilometres from Barcelona
and Montserrat
respectively.
History
The remains that have been found indicate that the area where
Terrassa stands has been inhabited since prehistory. In 2005,
during the construction of a tunnel for one of the city's railway
lines, a prehistoric site was found in the Park of
VallparadÃs
[10805], with stone tools and fossils of hunted
animals dating back 800,000 to 1,000,000 years, making this is one
of the oldest prehistoric sites in
Europe.
Terrassa originated as the Roman town of
Egara
(
Municipium Flavium Egara), which was founded during the
time of the emperor
Vespasian (69-79 BCE)
alongside the torrent of VallparadÃs (nowadays an urban park) close
to the
Iberian town of
Egosa, on
the site of which some ceramics and coins have been found.
The episcopal see of Ègara already existed by about 450 CE, and a
Provincial Council was held there in 615. The cathedral continued
to exist until 718, when it was overtaken by the
Muslim conquest. Today the
ancient
Visigothic-
Romanesque churches of Sant Pere de
Terrassa stand on the site. Other important remains from the Middle
Ages are the castle of Vallparadis (from 1344 to 1413 a
Carthusian monastery and today a municipal
museum) and the tower of the castle-palace of the
count-king).
In the 19th century the city played an important role in the
industrial revolution, specializing in woollen fabrics, and today
there is a major
Modernista
legacy as a result of the city's importance at that time.
Particularly notable
Modernista buildings include the Masia
Freixa (1907), the Vapor Aymerich Amat i Jover
textile mill (1907) (now the Museum of Science
and Technology of Catalonia), the Principal theater (1920), the
city hall (1902), the Alegre de Sagrera house/museum (1911), the
Industrial School (1904), the Gran Casino (1920), the Parc de
Desinfecció (1920), and the Independència market (1908). Terrassa
is a partner city of the
Art nouveau network [10806], a
European network of co-operation created in 1999 for the study,
preservation and development of
Art
Nouveau.
Demographics
Evolution of the population in Terrassa (1543 –
2007) |
1543 |
3,000 |
1920 |
30,532 |
1960 |
92,239 |
2000 |
175,649 |
1824 |
4,195 |
1930 |
39,975 |
1970 |
138,697 |
2004 |
196,053 |
1857 |
8,721 |
1940 |
45,081 |
1980 |
155,360 |
2007 |
202,136 |
1910 |
22,679 |
1950 |
58,880 |
1990 |
161,823 |
The monumental group of the churches of Sant Pere (Saint
Peter)
The three churches were built close to the site of the old Ègara as
the cathedral of Ègara
Diocese, which was
founded about the year 450 and existed until the 8th century. The
episcopal group follows the Byzantine model of antiquity, with two
churches (Sant Pere and Santa Maria) and a
baptistery (Sant Miquel). After a long period of
construction, the churches were finished in the current manner
about the 11th and 12th centuries and in Romanesque style, on the
site of the pre-Romanesque buildings of the Visigothic period.The
church of Santa Maria contains outstanding works of art, and there
are murals dating from the Romanesque period to the
Gothic. There is also an altar stone
dating from the 10th century and medieval and Romanesque tombstones
(one of which documents the name of the Roman town of Egara). In
the
transept there are three
Gothic altarpieces of great value.
- Sant Pere (Saint Peter)
- Transept and apse from 9th to 10th centuries
- Nave from the 12th century
- Mosaic from the 10th century (geometric
designs)
- Stone altarpiece of Sant Pere from the 10th century
- Gothic frescoes from the 13th century

Altarpiece of Sant Abdó i Sant
Senen
- Sant Miquel (Saint Michael)
- Shape of the Greek cross and walls
are the originals from the 6th century
- Frescoes from the 7th and 8th centuries in the apse
- Other outstanding items
- Altarpiece of Sant Pere (1411) by LluÃs BorrassÃ
- Altarpiece of Roser (1587)
- Altarpiece of Sant Ruf (17th century)
- Altarpiece of Sant Miquel (1450-51) by Jaume Cirera &
Guillem Talarn
- Gothic altarpiece of Sant Abdò i Sant Senèn (1460) by Jaume Huguet
- Polychromed sculpture of saint Mary from the 14th century
Culture and museums
The city is heir to a rich medieval,
Modernista and
industrial legacy, and possesses an extensive network of libraries,
historical archives and museums.
- the museum of Terrassa, municipally-owned, has various
sections:
- Castle/Charterhouse of VallparadÃs,
in the Park of VallparadÃs
- Visigothic-Romanesque churches of Sant Pere (Saint Peter)
- Casa Alegre de Sagrera, Modernista house in Carrer
Font Vella
- Tower of the Palau, the only vestige of the castle-palace of
the count-kings of Catalonia in Terrassa
- Center of medieval interpretation of the city of Terrassa
- Convent of Sant Francesc, cloister
decorated with polichromed ceramics (1671-1673)
- Museum of Science and Technology Catalonia, in the former
Aymerich Amat i Jover mill, managed by the Generalitat de Catalunya
Municipal Government
The Municipal Council has 27 seats and according to the result of
the local elections of May 2007 is formed by:
- PSC 13 seats (28,640 votes, 43.56%)
- CiU 6 seats (13,041 votes, 19.83%)
- ICV 3 seats (6,736 votes, 10.25%)
- PP 3 seats (6,468 votes, 9.84%)
- ERC 2 seats (4,870 votes, 7.41%)
The municipal government is formed by a coalition between PSC, ICV
and ERC. The Mayor is Pere Navarro (PSC).
Communications

Motorways
Terrassa is well communicated with Barcelona and its
port and
airport by
motorway.
The C-58 and C-16 also link the city with the interior
(Manresa
), the north
(Girona
and France
), and the
south (Tarragona
).
The
railway reached Terrassa in 1856, and
nowadays two lines serve the city.
The first, operated by RENFE, connects with Barcelona and Lleida
, and the
second, operated by FGC, with
Barcelona. FGC is extending its line to the north of the
city, building three new stations, one of them will act as a rail
hub with the RENFE line.
Several
interurban bus lines connect Terrassa with the closest cities and
towns such as Sabadell
, Castellar del
Vallès
, Martorell
, RubÃ, Sant Cugat del
Vallès
and Vacarisses.
Transport inside the city is provided by
14 bus lines operated by a municipal company
(TMESA). In the future, when the three new FGC stations and the two
planned for the RENFE line are in use, the railway will also serve
as urban transport.
Sports
Terrassa was a pioneer in the introduction of
field hockey and
korfball in Catalonia and played an important role
in the introduction of
basketball. The
most important sport in the city is field hockey. During the
Barcelona Olympic Games in
1992, Terrassa was the city where the field hockey competition was
played. The great number of hockey players from Terrassa who have
participated in the
Olympic Games over
the years has led to Terrassa's being referred to as the “most
Olympic city in the world“. Between 1928 and 2004, Terrassa sent
124 athletes to the Olympic Games, the majority of whom were hockey
players. Three local field hockey clubs play in the main Spanish
league championship:
- Atlètic Terrassa Hockey Club (also with a women's team)
- Club Egara
- Club Deportiu Terrassa (also with a women's team)
Atlètic Terrassa and Club Egara have won the EuroHockey Club
Champions Cup.
Other local sports teams include Club Natació Terrassa (
water polo), which won the 2006 LEN Trophy);
Terrassa FC (
football), and Sferic Terrassa (
basketball).
Mass media
Terrasa has a local newspaper, the
Diari de Terrassa, that
is published daily from Tuesday to Saturday, as well as several
radio stations: Rà dio Terrassa/Cadena SER Vallès on 828 AM and 89.4
FM, with more than 75 years of history behind it, being one of the
pioneering radio stations in Catalonia and Spain; the municipal
radio (Noucincpuntdos, 95.2 FM); and Radio Star de Terrassa, the
city's cultural station, on 100.5 FM, which was founded in 1984 and
is one of the historic local radios of Catalonia.
Also the city has several local channels - TV20 Locà lia Vallès and
Canal Terrassa, with an audience of more than 50,000 viewers. In
addition, there is the free newspaper
Terrassa Societat,
published monthly with a circulation of 50,000, and
Terrassa
Month, published of Monday through Friday and also covering
local events. Since 2005 the municipal digital newspaper
e-newsterrassa.com, in Catalan, has been on line. The municipal Web
site www.terrassa.cat receives no fewer than 150,000 monthly
visitors.
There's a new media, free magazine called "La Veu de Terrassa and
owned by "El Grup la veu".
See also
External links