La Rambla (Catalan pronunciation: [ɫə ˈrambɫə]) is a street in central Barcelona, popular with tourists and locals alike. A tree-lined pedestrian mall, it stretches for 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) connecting Plaça de Catalunya in the centre with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell. La Rambla forms the boundary between the quarters of Barri Gòtic, to the east, and El Raval, to the west.
La Rambla can be crowded, especially during the height of the tourist
season. Its popularity with tourists has affected the character of the
street, with a move to pavement cafes and souvenir kiosks. It has also
suffered from the attention of pickpockets and especially towards its southern end, sex workers.
The Spanish poet Federico García Lorca once said that La Rambla was “the only street in the world which I wish would never end.”
La Rambla can be considered a series of shorter streets, each differently named, hence the plural form Les Rambles (the original Catalan form; in Spanish it is Las Ramblas). The street is successively called:
- Rambla de Canaletes - the site of the Font de Canaletes fountain
- Rambla dels Estudis - the site of the former Jesuit University, whose only remainder is the Church of Bethlehem
- Rambla de Sant Josep (or de les Flors) - the site
The course of La Rambla was originally a sewage-filled stream-bed, usually dry but an important drain for the heavy rainwater flowing from the Collserola hills during spring and autumn. (Rambla, from the Arabic رمل “sand”, is Catalan for “wadi”.) It separated the walled city on its north-east bank from the settlements of El Raval (“the suburb”) on its south-west.
In the year 1377, construction started on an extension of the city
walls to include La Rambla and El Raval. In 1440, the stream was
diverted to run outside the new walls, and La Rambla gradually started
turning into a street.
Over the next few centuries, La Rambla became established as a centre
of Barcelona city life, a long wide thoroughfare used for festivals,
markets, and sports. Several large religious establishments were also
built along the street during this period. These include the Jesuit
Bethlehem monastery and college (1553), of which just the later church
remains; the Carmelite St. Joseph’s monastery, on the site of the
current Boqueria market; and a Capuchin monastery at the lower end of the street.
La Rambla in 1905
In 1703, the first of the trees lining La Rambla were planted. They
were 280 birch trees and later on those were replaced by elm trees. In
1832 some acacias were planted and the currently standing plane trees
started to be the common tree from 1859.
Various conflicts over recent centuries took their toll on La
Rambla’s religious buildings, most notably the St. James’s Night riots
in 1835 when revolutionaries burned the monasteries and churches and
massacred the monks and nuns; and the Spanish Civil War in 1936-39, when Barcelona came under the control of anarchists
who again targeted religious buildings and personnel, as well as being
damaged by artillery and air attacks on the area from pro-Franco forces.
Until 2010, the Rambla dels Estudis was the site of an
open-air market for caged birds and other small pets. However animal
protection laws made it difficult for the market to continue.
After
years of fighting the legislation, the market was forced to close down.
On August 17, 2017 many people were struck by a van deliberately driven on the side walk on La Rambla, causing 13 deaths and at least 100 injuries
Las Ramblas C.1900
(the locals call it )
From a river to a sewage gutter and finally a grand street of Barcelona - a story of transformation
The grand street of Barcelona, as beloved of tourists as the Sagrada Família, has a very
interesting history.
It was once a river, but by the 14th century it
had become a sewage-strewn stream, draining the steadily expanding city.
By the middle of the next century it had become a part of Barcelona,
and the stream was slowly transformed into a bustling street, running
the full length of the city.
But as you can see from the photograph, the one big difference
between then and now is that today, vehicular traffic on this long
avenue is completely banned. That horse-drawn cart on the right would
have been politely asked to leave.
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