The Eixample (, ) is a district of
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
between the old city (
Ciutat Vella) and what were once surrounding small towns (
Sants,
Gràcia,
Sant Andreu, etc.), constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its population was 262,000 at the last census (2005).
Architecture and design
The Eixample is characterized by long straight streets, a strict
grid pattern crossed by wide avenues, and square blocks with
chamfered corners (named ''illes'' in Catalan, ''manzanas'' in Spanish).
This was a visionary, pioneering design by
Ildefons Cerdà, who considered traffic and transport along with sunlight and ventilation in coming up with his characteristic
octagon
In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...
al blocks, where the streets broaden at every intersection making for greater visibility, better ventilation and (today) some short-term parking areas.
It also provided an area for horse-drawn wagons and carriages to easily turn around. The grid pattern remains as a hallmark of Barcelona, but many of his other provisions were ignored: the four sides of the blocks and the inner space were built instead of the planned two or three sides around a garden; the streets were narrower; only one of the two diagonal avenues was carried out; the inhabitants were of a higher class than the mixed composition dreamed of by Cerdà.
The important needs of the inhabitants were incorporated into his plan, which called for markets, schools, hospitals every so many blocks. Today, most of the markets remain open in the spots they have been from the beginning.
Some parts of the Eixample were influenced by
''Modernista'' architects, chief among whom was
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet ( , ; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalans, Catalan architect and designer from Spain, widely known as the greatest exponent of Catalan ''Modernisme''. Gaudí's works have a style, with most located in Barc ...
. His work in the Eixample includes the
Casa Milà (nicknamed ''La Pedrera'') and the
Casa Batlló
() is a building in the center of Barcelona, Spain. It was designed by Antoni Gaudí, and is considered one of his masterpieces. A remodel of a previously built house, it was redesigned in 1904 by Gaudí (but the actual construction works hadn't ...
, both of which are on the wide
Passeig de Gràcia, as well as the
Sagrada Família
The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, otherwise known as Sagrada Família, is a church under construction in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Desi ...
. Other architects who made highly significant, and certainly more numerous, contributions to giving the Eixample its characteristic appearance include
Josep Puig i Cadafalch
Josep Puig i Cadafalch (; 17 October 1867 in Mataró – 21 December 1956 in Barcelona) was a Spanish architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona, and a politician who had a significant role in the development of Catalan regio ...
,
Josep Domènech i Estapà,
Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas and perhaps above all
Enric Sagnier i Villavecchia, responsible for a total of over 500 buildings in the city (not all of them in the Eixample).
The Casa Terrades, better known as
Casa de les Punxes and replete with medieval allusions, stands at the junction of Av. Diagonal with Carrer Rosselló. It was built in 1903–1905 by the ''Modernista'' architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, who used Nordic Gothic and Spanish
Plateresque
Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish language, Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially Architecture, architectural, developed in Spanish Empire, Spain and its territories, which appeared ...
resources side by side, along with traditional Catalan motifs.
The
Casa Batlló
() is a building in the center of Barcelona, Spain. It was designed by Antoni Gaudí, and is considered one of his masterpieces. A remodel of a previously built house, it was redesigned in 1904 by Gaudí (but the actual construction works hadn't ...
is part of a block called the
Illa de la Discòrdia, along with two other notable ''Modernista'' works,
Lluís Domènech i Montaner's
Casa Lleó Morera and Josep Puig i Cadafalch's
Casa Amatller. The block is so named due to the visual clash between the buildings; its Spanish name, ''Manzana de la Discordia'', is also a pun on
Eris's
Apple of Discord – ''manzana'' means both "apple" and "city block".
The square architecture of Eixample was the main inspiration for the controversial
jersey checkerboard design introduced by
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
in 2019 instead of the traditional stripes, and used until the following year.
Neighborhoods
There are six administrative neighborhoods:
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L'Antiga Esquerra de l'Eixample (in the past, part of Esquerra de l'Eixample)
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La Nova Esquerra de l'Eixample (in the past, part of Esquerra de l'Eixample)
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Dreta de l'Eixample
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Fort Pienc
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Sagrada Família
The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, otherwise known as Sagrada Família, is a church under construction in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Desi ...
*
Sant Antoni
Sant Antoni is a neighborhood in the ''Eixample'' district of Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain). Its non-official centre, the Mercat de Sant Antoni, marketplace of the same name—designed by Antoni Rovira i Trias and built between 1872 and 1882—i ...
The district is often divided for practical purposes in two: Esquerra de l'Eixample and
Dreta de l'Eixample (left and right sides of Eixample, respectively). Traditionally and officially, it is divided into five neighborhoods.
These are, in addition to the areas already mentioned,
Sant Antoni
Sant Antoni is a neighborhood in the ''Eixample'' district of Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain). Its non-official centre, the Mercat de Sant Antoni, marketplace of the same name—designed by Antoni Rovira i Trias and built between 1872 and 1882—i ...
,
Sagrada Família
The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, otherwise known as Sagrada Família, is a church under construction in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Desi ...
and
Fort Pienc, also known as ''Fort Pius''.
The latter has recently become notable for the number of
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
n, chiefly
Chinese residents and the proliferation of Asian shops.
Some parts of Eixample are rather wealthy neighborhoods, especially around the central areas such as
Passeig de Gràcia,
Rambla de Catalunya, pedestrian streets such as Carrer de Girona and the Avinguda Gaudi and vicinity of the
Sagrada Familia.
Main thoroughfares
Passeig de Gràcia connects the central
Plaça Catalunya to the old town of
Gràcia, while
Avinguda Diagonal
Avinguda Diagonal (; in Spanish language, Spanish: Avenida Diagonal) is the name of one of Barcelona's broadest and most important avenues. It cuts the city in two, diagonally with respect to the grid pattern of the surrounding streets, hence th ...
cuts across the grid diagonally and
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes runs across the entire city from southwest to northeast.
Other wide avenues in the area include
Carrer d'Aragó,
Carrer de Balmes and
Passeig de Sant Joan.
Education
There is a Japanese library in Eixample that opened in 1992. Most of the patrons are Japanese, though locals may also use the facilities. The library is located inside a flat.
Archive
''English abstract available'' -- "Un altre punt de trobada de la colònia japonesa a Catalunya és una biblioteca que es troba en un pis de l'Eixample. Va ser creada l'any 1992 per uns voluntaris japonesos que vivien a Barcelona, amb la finalitat de fomentar l'intercanvi cultural entre Espanya i el Japó. La biblioteca està oberta també a la població local, però la majoria dels usuaris són japonesos, sobretot els estudiants, les famílies dels treballadors i els jubilats, tant de les zones pròximes a Barcelona com de la ciutat."
See also
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List of streets and squares in Eixample
This is a full list of streets and squares in L'Eixample, a district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
List A
* Aldana, d'
* Alí Bei, d'
* Almogàvers, dels
* Anaïs Napoléon, jardins d' ( Anaïs Napoleón)
* Aragó, d'
* Aribau, d'
* Arts, ...
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Districts of Barcelona
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain is divided into 10 districts. These are administered by a councillor designated by the main city council, and each of them have some powers relating to issues such as urbanism or infrastructure in their area. The curre ...
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Urban planning of Barcelona
The urban planning of Barcelona developed in accordance with the History of Barcelona, historical and territorial changes of the city, and in line with other defining factors of public space, such as Architecture of Barcelona, architecture, urban ...
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Street names in Barcelona
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Plain of Barcelona
References
External links
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Barcelona City Council: SuperillesBarcelona City Council: The new squares and green axes in Eixample will look like thisSuperilles, the new Eixample
{{Authority control
Districts of Barcelona
Urban planning in Spain