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Barcelona

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This article is about the city in Spain. For other uses, see Barcelona (disambiguation).

Barcelona
Municipality
"22@" business district, Sagrada Família, Camp Nou stadium, The Castle of the Three Dragons, Palau Nacional, W Barcelona hotel and beach
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Ciutat Comtal / Ciudad Condal (City of Counts), Barna, BCN
Barcelona Location of Barcelona within Spain
Barcelona Location of Barcelona within Catalonia
Coordinates: 41°23′N 2°11′ECoordinates: 41°23′N 2°11′E
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	Catalonia
Province	Barcelona
Comarca	Barcelonès
Districts	List[show]
Government
• Type	Mayor-council
• Body	Ajuntament de Barcelona / Ayuntamiento de Barcelona
• Mayor	Xavier Trias (CiU)
Area
• Municipality	101.9 km2 (39.3 sq mi)
• Urban	803 km2 (310 sq mi)
Elevation(AMSL)	12 m (39 ft)
Population (2009)
• Municipality	1,620,943 (city limits) 3,218,071 (Greater Barcelona)
• Density	15,991/km2 (41,420/sq mi)
• Urban	4,604,000
• Metro	5,375,774
Demonym	Barcelonan or Barcelonian barceloní, barcelonina (ca) barcelonés, barcelonesa (es)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	08001–08080
Area code	+34 (Spain) 93 (Province)
Official language(s)	Catalan and Spanish
Website	www.barcelona.cat

Barcelona (English /bɑrsɨˈloʊnə/, Catalan: [bərsəˈɫonə], Spanish: [barθeˈlona]) is the capital city of the autonomous community of Catalonia in Spain, and the second largest city in the country, with a population of 1,620,943^[1] within its administrative limits. The urban area of Barcelona extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 4.5 million,^[2][3] being the sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, the Ruhr, Madrid and Milan. About five million^{[4][5][6][7][8]} people live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. It is also the largest metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea. It is located on the Mediterranean coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs and is bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola ridge (512 metres (1,680 ft)).
Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona continued to be an important city in the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions and also many international sport tournaments.