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18-463: El Raval ( Catalan pronunciation: [əl rəˈβal] ) is a neighborhood in the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona , the capital city of Catalonia . The neighborhood, especially the part closest to the old port , was formerly (informally) known as Barri Xinès or Barrio Chino , meaning " Chinatown ". El Raval is one of the two historical neighborhoods that border La Rambla , the other being

36-456: A more recent Eastern European community, especially from Romania ). It is home to many bars, restaurants, and night spots. The northern border of the neighborhood is marked by Plaça Catalunya and Plaça Universitat , and the street which connects them, Carrer de Pelai . It ends in the east with La Rambla , and in the west and south, the neighborhood is delimited by Ronda Sant Antoni , Ronda Sant Pau and Avinguda del Paral·lel . El Raval

54-453: Is devoted to flower stands, another Rambla to animal vendors (selling mainly birds), and the lowest Rambla hosts temporary art fairs. El Mercat de Sant Josep (more commonly known as La Boqueria ) and Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona's Opera House) are both located here. Les Rambles are among the most frequently travelled streets by pedestrians in Barcelona. At the bottom, there is

72-536: Is especially known for its fountains and statues, its proximity to some of Barcelona's most popular attractions, and the flocks of pigeons that gather in the centre. The square played a significant part in the Spanish Civil War , in particular as a site of key events of the May Days . After the medieval city walls were demolished in the 19th century, ambitious designs for the city's public spaces were conceived under

90-539: Is generally considered to be both its city centre and the place where the old city (see Barri Gòtic and Raval , in Ciutat Vella ) and the 19th century-built Eixample meet. Some of the city's most important streets and avenues meet at Plaça Catalunya: Passeig de Gràcia , Rambla de Catalunya , La Rambla , and Portal de l'Àngel , in addition to Ronda de Sant Pere , Carrer de Vergara , and Carrer de Pelai . The plaza occupies an area of about 50,000 square metres. It

108-458: Is one of Barcelona's most dangerous neighborhoods, with frequent robberies. There is substantial police concern about drug crime and fighting. The police have been struggling to control the use and sale of heroin in the neighborhood where it has taken a foothold among marginalized residents. 40% of the residents of the Raval live at risk of social exclusion . There are a few historical monuments such as

126-579: The Museu Marítim (naval museum), which chronicles the history of life on the Mediterranean, including a full-scale model of a galley . The museum is housed in the medieval Drassanes (shipyards), where the ships that made Catalonia a great sea power in the Mediterranean were built. This portion of the city is often referred to as el Barri Xinès , or Chinatown . The Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (Contemporary Art Museum of Barcelona),

144-489: The Barri Gòtic ; it contains some 50,000 people. An area historically infamous for its nightlife and cabarets, as well as prostitution and crime, El Raval has changed significantly in recent years and due to its central location has become a minor attraction of Barcelona. It currently has a very diverse immigrant community (47.4% of its population was born abroad, ranging from Filipinos , South Americans , and Pakistanis , to

162-666: The Monastery of Sant Pau del Camp , as well as newer additions such as the Rambla del Raval , and the MACBA (the Contemporary Art Museum of Barcelona) or the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona . Near the museum is the mural Todos Juntos Podemos Parar el SIDA , originally created by American artist Keith Haring in 1989. In the southern part of the neighborhood an old wall and gate of

180-566: The Parliament of Catalonia and the Barcelona Zoo whose most famous resident was an albino gorilla , Snowflake , who died in 2003 of skin cancer . Pla%C3%A7a Catalunya Plaça de Catalunya ( pronounced [ˈplasə ðə kətəˈluɲə] , meaning in English "Catalonia Square"; sometimes referred to as Plaza de Cataluña , its Spanish name) is a large square in central Barcelona that

198-745: The Rambla del Raval (a walkway to the sea) and the Filmoteca de Catalunya are in this neighborhood. On the other side of La Rambla , is the Gothic Quarter. This neighborhood houses the Barcelona Cathedral , the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya , and the Barcelona City Hall . Tourists visit this neighborhood to see Royal Square (a Spanish-style plaza) and to shop in one of the tourist shops along Ferran street. The Museu Picasso can be found in

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216-514: The area known as el Born , within the Barri Gótic, in addition to the historic restaurant Els Quatre Gats (The Four Cats), which was a popular hang-out for artists, including Pablo Picasso . To the north of the Gothic Quarter lie the Jardins de Fonseré i Mestre which contain modernist buildings housing zoological and geological collections. The adjacent Parc de la Ciutadella includes both

234-606: The center of the Ciutat Vella (dividing the Raval and Barri Gòtic ) are the boulevards Les Rambles , popularly known as La Rambla (in singular) since they are continuous, like a single street. Les Rambles stretches from Plaça Catalunya to the Mediterranean Sea and, since the 1990s, now extends out over the sea into one of Barcelona's newest centers of entertainment, Maremàgnum . Each of Les Rambles has its own specialty. La Rambla de les Flors (The Flowers Rambla )

252-484: The changes made in 1929. In May 2011 Plaça Catalunya was the main location where anti-government protests and sit ins were held in Barcelona, mirroring the events in other Spanish cities. Plaça Catalunya is the site of several notable public sculptures and monuments representative of Noucentisme , Neo-Classicism and different avant-garde movements. The Barcelona Telephone Exchange (Edificio Telefónica) has four stained glass windows, designed in 1991, installed in

270-450: The guidance of notable urban planners . Plaça Catalunya was conceived as part of pla Rovira in 1859, but no official permission from the government was given until the 1888 Universal Exposition . It was urbanised for the first time in 1902 and was further modified in 1929, on the occasion of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition , which also included the construction of a metro station. Architect Francesc de Paula Nebot designed

288-766: The medieval city called Portal de Santa Madrona still exists as part of the Maritime Museum . The Raval is also known for its large statue of a cat by Fernando Botero , located on the Rambla del Raval . The city's most famous market, La Boqueria , is also situated in the Raval. In the eastern part of the neighborhood, Antoni Gaudí 's Palau Güell is located on the Carrer Nou de la Rambla . 41°22′47″N 2°10′5″E  /  41.37972°N 2.16806°E  / 41.37972; 2.16806 Ciutat Vella There are four administrative neighborhoods (some of them include former or traditional neighborhoods): Running down

306-565: The nearby area, located in other streets or squares. Similarly, most of the cafés and restaurants where writers and artists would meet in the city haven't survived, with the notable exception of Café Zurich, where Fabiola of Belgium 's brother worked as a pianist. The following ones disappeared with the Spanish Civil War : The square is also one of Barcelona's most important transport hubs, both above and under ground. The original Barcelona metro line in Barcelona, known as Gran Metro , had Plaça Catalunya as one of its termini. It went to become

324-600: The tower lantern. Commissioned from the artist Brian Clarke to commemorate the 1992 Olympic Games hosted by the city, the artworks were fabricated by the local Fundació Centre del Vidre, and conceived to function as a coloured beacon overlooking the square. The mosaics that decorate the walls of the underground part of Plaça Catalunya were designed by pupils of Escola Massana . A few theatres have been established in Plaça Catalunya since its construction, none of which are extant. There still are, however, other theatres in

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