Terrassa (, es, Tarrasa) is a city in the east central region of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, in the

province of Barcelona Barcelona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

'' of

Vallès Occidental Vallès Occidental () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. Sabadell and Terrassa are the comarcal capitals. Along with Vallès Oriental it forms the grand comarca of Vallès, and is part of the Barcelona metropolitan area. Physical geogra ...

, of which it is the co-capital along with

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental and its joint capital (co-capital), on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona. Sabadell is located above sea level. Sabadell pioneered the Ind ...

. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''Terracia'', either from earlier ''Terracium castellum'' (“earthen castle”), or meaning "terrace", "area of flat land". It is the site of Roman Egara, a former Visigothic bishopric, which became a Latin Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

. Since 2004, it is again the see of a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. 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 20 and 18 kilometres from

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern 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 ci ...

and

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...

respectively. Terrassa is the third largest city in the province of Barcelona, after Barcelona and L’Hospitalet.

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

Vallparadís Park Vallparadís Park (in Catalan language, Catalan and officially ''Parc de Vallparadís'')The translation would correspond to the term "Valleparaíso", in reference to the first settlers who found the waters of the confluence of the torrents and fe ...

, with stone tools and fossils of hunted animals dating back 800,000 to 1,000,000 years, making this 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 Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

(69–79 CE), alongside the torrent of Vallparadís (nowadays an urban park) close to the Iberian town of ''Egosa'', on the site of which some ceramics and coins have been found. In the 17th century it was the sight of the Terrasa witchtrials, where 6 women were arrested, tortured and convicted of witchcraft. Five of them were hanged on 27 October 1619 near a present-day railway bridge. Other important remains from the Middle Ages are the former cathedral, the castle of Vallparadís (from 1344 to 1413 a

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

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 The Masia Freixa is a modernisme building located in Parc de Sant Jordi in Terrassa (Catalonia, Spain). History Designed in 1896 to be a textile factory, the actual form of the building was planned in 1907 when Catalan industrialist Josep Frei ...

(1907), the Vapor Aymerich, Amat i Jover

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

(1907) (now the Museum of Science and Industry 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, a European network of co-operation created in 1999 for the study, preservation and development of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

Catastrophes

On 25 September 1962, after a long dry season, between 212 and 252 litres of rain per square metre fell in three hours. It caused the rivers

Llobregat The Llobregat () is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain, after the Ter. It flows into the Mediterranean south of the city of Barcelona. Its name could have originated in an ancient Latin word meaning 'dark', 'sorrowful' or 'muddy', or ...

and Besòs and their tributaries to overflow, creating a water avenue that caused 700 victims and heavy material losses. The

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

'' was the most damaged. In particularly Terrassa, with 327 victims. The reason of these numbers was that building was permitted around two dry streams used to bring rain water to the

river. They met in a wedge shape and were not properly channelized. When the streams overflowed it created what was called "the dead triangle", with more than a hundred victims only in the Ègara neighbourhood.

Ecclesiastical history

The episcopal see of Ègara already existed by about 450 CE, when it was established on territory split off from the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Barcelona The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Barcelona is a Latin rite Catholic metropolitan archbishopric in northeastern Spain's Catalonia region. The cathedral archiepiscopal see is a Minor basilica: Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de la Santa Creu i ...

, under the Metropolitan

Archdiocese of Tarragona The Archdiocese of Tarragona (Latin, ''Tarraconensis'') is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Tarragona, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The archdiocese heads the ecclesias ...

Pope Hilarius Pope Hilarius (or Hilary) was the bishop of Rome from 19 November 461 to his death on 29 February 468. In 449, Hilarius served as a legate for Pope Leo I at the Second Council of Ephesus. His opposition to the condemnation of Flavian of Constanti ...

confirmed its autonomy by denying a request around 469 to unite it with the Barcelona under its own first bishop, Ireneus. It comprised parts of these

Comarques of Catalonia This is a list of the 42 ''comarques'' (singular ''comarca'', , ) into which Catalonia is divided. A ''comarca'' is a group of municipalities, roughly equivalent to a county in the US or a district or council in the UK. However, in the context ...

(Catalan districts) :

Alt Penedès Alt Penedès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, northern Spain. The capital is Vilafranca del Penedès Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanish ...

Anoia Anoia () is a Comarques of Catalonia, comarca (county) in central Catalonia, Spain, with its capital at Igualada. The comarca of l'Anoia is irrigated by the Anoia River; the leading industry is the making of paper. To the north are Solsonès an ...

Baix Llobregat Baix Llobregat () is a comarca (county) on the coast of Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Municipalities Proposed changes It has long been proposed to split the northern part of Baix Llobregat into a separate comarca. ...

and

Vallès Oriental Vallès Oriental () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Granollers. Along with Vallès Occidental it forms the grand comarca of Vallès. In May 2015, Vallès Oriental lost four municipalities - Castellcir, Castellterçol, ...

. A Provincial Council of Tarragona was held there in 615. It effectively succumbed to the Arab (Muslim) conquest in the 8th century and was probably suppressed, its territory being (rather nominally) returned to the Diocese of Barcelona. The Marian cathedral continued to exist until 718, when it was taken over during the

Umayyad conquest of Hispania The Umayyad conquest of Hispania, also known as the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, was the initial expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate over Hispania (in the Iberian Peninsula) from 711 to 718. The conquest resulted in the decline of t ...

, but was rebuilt in the 12th century, and remains part of a monumental complex of ancient

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

- Romanesque churches of Sant Pere de Terrassa and Sant Miquel on the site. After the Catholic

Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...

of the region in the tenth century, the see was not restored, its territory being incorporated in the (mother) diocese of Barcelona. Why a request to restore the bishopric by its Metropolitan of Tarragona, Cesareo, wasn't honored by

Pope John XII Pope John XII ( la, Ioannes XII; c. 930/93714 May 964), born Octavian, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 16 December 955 to his death in 964. He was related to the counts of Tusculum, a powerful Roman family which had do ...

(955–964) is unclear. In 2004,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

created the new

Diocese of Terrassa The Roman Catholic Diocese of Terrassa ( la, Terrassen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Terrassa in the Ecclesiastical province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. History * June 15, 2004 - Established as Diocese of Terrassa from the Met ...

on territory taken from the

Archdiocese of Barcelona The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Barcelona is a Latin rite Catholic metropolitan archbishopric in northeastern Spain's Catalonia region. The cathedral archiepiscopal see is a Minor basilica: Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de la Santa Creu i ...

. Its seat is the Cathedral of Holy Sprit.

Diocese of Egara

;Suffragan Bishops of Egara * Ireneo (450? – death 465) * Saint Nebridio (516? – 527?), who was possibly transferred to Barcelona, which had a homonym incumbent in 540. * Tauro (546? – ?) * Sofronio (589? – 592?) * Ilergio (594? – 610?) * Eugenio (633? – ?) * Vincenzo (653? – ?) * Giovanni (683? – 693?) ; Titular see of Egara In 1969

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

created the

of Egara. The title has been held by: * Justo Goizueta Gridilla,

O.A.R. O.A.R. (short for Of A Revolution) is an American rock band, founded in 1996 in Rockville, Maryland. The band consists of lead vocalist/guitarist Marc Roberge, drummer Chris Culos, guitarist Richard On, bassist Benj Gershman, saxophonist/guitar ...

(14 January 1970 – retired 15 February 1978), as

Bishop-Prelate In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the Ch ...

Territorial Prelature of Madera A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

(Mexico) (1970.01.14 – 1988.02.02), previously Apostolic Administrator of same Madera (1967 – 14 January 1970); died 1991 * Juan Francisco Sarasti Jaramillo, C.I.M. (8 March 1978 – 23 December 1983) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cali The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cali ( la, Archidioecesis Caliensis) is an archdiocese located in the city of Cali in Colombia. History * 7 June 1910: Established as Diocese of Cali from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Popayán * 20 June 196 ...

(

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

) (8 March 1978 – 23 December 1983); later Bishop of

Barrancabermeja Barrancabermeja is a city in Colombia, located on the shore of the Magdalena River, in the western part of the department of Santander. It is home to the largest oil refinery in the country, under direct management of ECOPETROL. Barrancabermeja ...

(Colombia) (23 December 1983 – 25 March 1993), Metropolitan Archbishop of

Ibagué Ibagué () (referred to as San Bonifacio de Ibagué del Valle de las Lanzas during the Spanish period) is the capital of Tolima, one of the 32 departments that make up the Republic of Colombia. The city is located in the center of the country, ...

(Colombia) (25 March 1993 – 17 August 2002), Metropolitan Archbishop of above Cali (17 August 2002 – retired 18 May 2011) and Apostolic Administrator of Buenaventura (Colombia) (21 February 2004 – 29 April 2004) *

Paulius Antanas Baltakis Paulius Antanas Baltakis, O.F.M. (1 January 1925 – 17 May 2019) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic prelate who served as the last Apostolic Visitor for the Lithuanians in Diaspora from 1 June 1984 until his resignation in 2003. Biography Baltaki ...

, O.F.M. (1 June 1984 – 17 May 2019) * Luis Miguel Romero Fernández, M. Id. (20 March 2020 – present), Auxiliary Bishop of

Rockville Centre Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated as RVC, is an incorporated village located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 24,023 at the 2010 census. Histor ...

, New York City

Notable sites

The churches of Sant Pere (Saint Peter)

These three churches were built close to the site of old Ègara to be the seat of the Ègara

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

, which was founded around 450 CE and remained in existence until the 8th century. This episcopal complex follows the Byzantine model of antiquity, with two churches (Sant Pere and Santa Maria) and a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

(Sant Miquel). After a long period of construction, the churches were finished in the then-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 Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

. 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 A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

there are three

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

s. * Santa Maria (Saint Mary) the old Cathedral **

Apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

from the 6th century **

Nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

from the 11th century with exterior

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

-style decorations **Romanesque

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es of

Saint Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

from the 12th century **Frescoes from the 13th century * Sant Pere (Saint Peter) **Transept and apse from 9th to 10th centuries **Nave from the 12th century **

Mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

from the 10th century (geometric designs) **Stone altarpiece of Sant Pere from the 10th century **Gothic frescoes from the 13th century * Sant Miquel (Saint Michael) **The

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

plan and the walls are the originals from the 6th century **Frescoes from the 7th and 8th centuries in the apse * Other items ** Altarpiece of Sant Pere (1411) by

Lluís Borrassà Lluís Borrassà (c.1360, Girona? - c.1426, Barcelona?) was a Catalan painter. He was employed by the Crown of Aragon and is widely considered to have introduced the International Gothic painting style into the Principality of Catalonia. Life ...

** Altarpiece of Roser (1587) ** Altarpiece of Sant Ruf (17th century) **Altarpiece of Sant Miquel (1450–51) by Jaume Cirera and Guillem Talarn **Gothic altarpiece of Sant Abdó i Sant Senén (1460) by

Jaume Huguet Jaume Huguet (; 1412–1492) was a Catalan painter. Originally from Valls, he moved to Tarragona to stay with his uncle Pere Huguet, who was also a painter. When they moved to Barcelona he was exposed to modern trends of the time. Between 1440 ...

**Polychrome sculpture of Saint Mary from the 14th century

Other

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 Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey London ...

of Vallparadís, in the Park of Vallparadís ** 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 A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

decorated with polychromed ceramics (1671–1673) * Museum of Science and Industry of Catalonia, in the former Aymerich Amat i Jover mill, managed by the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label=Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed b ...

Municipal Government

The Municipal Council has 27 seats and according to the result of the local elections of May 2019 is formed by: SantLlorençMunt-MonestirLaMola

*All for Terrassa (Tot per Terrassa, TxT) – 10 seats (29.28%) *

Socialists' Party of Catalonia The Socialists' Party of Catalonia ( ca, Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya, PSC–PSOE official acronym) is a social-democratic political party in Catalonia, Spain, resulting from the merger of three parties: the Socialist Party of Catalonia ...

(Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya, PSC) – 7 seats (20.55%) *

Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia ( ca, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a Catalan independence movement, pro-Catalan independence, social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Catalonia, p ...

(Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC) – 5 seats (14.93%) *

Citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

(Ciutadans, Cs) – 3 seats (8.11%) * Together for Catalonia (Junts per Catalunya, JxCAT) – 2 seats (7.56%) The municipal government is formed by a coalition of Tot per Terrassa and ERC. The Mayor is

Jordi Ballart Jordi Ballart i Pastor (born 8 February 1980) is a Spanish politician who has been a city councillor (2005–2017; 2019–) and the mayor (2012–2017; 2019–) of Terrassa in Catalonia. He resigned from office and from membership of the Socialist ...

(TxT).

Transportation

Terrassa is well connected with Barcelona's port and airport by highway and railway. The C-58 and C-16 also link the city with (

Manresa Manresa () is the capital of the Comarca of Bages, located in the geographical centre of Catalonia, Spain, and crossed by the river Cardener. It is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are ...

), (

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

, France), and (

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

). The railway reached Terrassa in 1856, and nowadays two lines serve the city. The first, operated by Renfe, connects with Barcelona and

Lleida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...

, and the second, operated by FGC, with Barcelona. Recently FGC extended its line to the north of the city, building three new stations; one of them acts as a rail hub with the Renfe line. This extension is known as the

Terrassa Metro Terrassa (, es, Tarrasa) is a city in the east central region of Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona, ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, of which it is the co-capital along with Sabadell. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ...

. Several interurban bus lines connect Terrassa with the closest cities and towns such as

Castellar del Vallès Castellar del Vallès is a Spanish municipality of Catalonia in the comarca of Vallès Occidental. It is located 7 km from Sabadell and 11 km from Terrassa, the comarca's two capitals. Other villages near Castellar del Vallès are Sant ...

Martorell Martorell () is a municipality that forms part of the Baix Llobregat Comarques of Catalonia, comarca, in Catalonia, Spain, primarily known for its medieval Pont del Diable, Devil's bridge. It lies at the confluence of the Llobregat and Anoia Rive ...

, Rubí,

Sant Cugat del Vallès Sant Cugat del Vallès (; es, San Cugat del Vallés, link=no) is a town and municipality north of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Known as ''Castrum Octavianum'' in antiquity (which literally means ''the castle of Octavianus'') and as ''Pins del Val ...

and

Vacarisses Vacarisses is a village in the province of Barcelona and autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. The municipality covers an area of and the population in 2014 was 6,218. The village is home to korfball Korfball ( nl, korfbal) is a ball spo ...

. Transport inside the city is provided by 14 bus lines operated by a municipal company (Transports Municipals d'Ègara). 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.

Culture

Music and theater

A lot of musicians and actors are based in Terrassa because of the large number of music schools, a long amateur theater tradition and the local seat of the University of Drama. Since 1982, the Terrassa Jazz Festival has been especially outstanding, with guests like

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

Tete Montoliu Vicenç Montoliu i Massana, better known as Tete Montoliu (28 March 1933 – 24 August 1997) was a Spanish jazz pianist from Catalonia, Spain. Born blind, he learnt braille music at age seven. His styles varied from hard bop, through afro-Cuban, ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

. Local bands such as

Doctor Prats Doctor Prats is a band from Terrassa in Catalonia, Spain that was formed in 2015. History Doctor Prats was created in 2015, with the intent to be solely an online band. The same year, they released their first album, (Potatoes with fish). ...

have also developed a national and international following.

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: Ràdio Terrassa/

Cadena SER La Cadena SER (the SER Network) is Spain's premier radio network in terms of both seniority (it was created in 1924) and audience share (it had a regular listenership in 2018 of 4,139,000). The acronym SER stands for ''Sociedad Española de Radi ...

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 Locàlia 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 ''(as for 2013, this digital newspaper has been taken down)''. The municipal Web site www.terrassa.cat receives no fewer than 150,000 monthly visitors. As for 2013, current and working digital newspaper in Terrassa i
Diari de Terrassa i Catalunya InfoTalQual.com
There's a new media, free magazine called ''La Veu de Terrassa'' owned by El Grup la veu.

Sports

Terrassa was a pioneer in the introduction of

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

and

korfball Korfball ( nl, korfbal) is a ball sport, with similarities to netball and basketball. It is played by two teams of eight players with four female players and four male players in each team. The objective is to throw a ball into a netless bask ...

in Catalonia and played an important role in the introduction of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. The most important sport in the city is field hockey. During the

Barcelona Olympic Games The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

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 The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

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, Atlètic Terrassa,

Club Egara Club Egara is a Spanish sports club based in Terrassa, Catalonia. It was founded in 1935 with the name 'CD Armonia Egara'. It is best known for its professional field hockey department but it also has tennis, padel and golf sections. It plays in t ...

and Club Deportiu Terrassa have all won the

División de Honor de Hockey Hierba The División de Honor de Hockey Hierba is the top level of field hockey in Spain. It was founded in 1957 and is managed by the Real Federación Española de Hockey. Teams Number of teams by autonomous community Champions Titles won By club ...

and the

Copa del Rey de Hockey Hierba The Copa del Rey de Hockey Hierba is the second most important competition of field hockey in Spain. It was founded in 1914 and is managed by the Real Federación Española de Hockey. Champion by year Titles by team See also * Copa ...

. Atlètic Terrassa and Club Egara have also won the

EuroHockey Club Champions Cup The EuroHockey Club Champions Cup is a defunct men's field hockey competition for clubs in Europe. It was first played for in 1974. It was replaced by the Euro Hockey League in 2007. Unofficial tournaments were played in 1969 and then in 1970, ...

. Other local sports teams include CN Terrassa (

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

Terrassa FC Terrassa Futbol Club is a Spanish football team based in Terrassa, Barcelona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1906 it currently plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 3, holding home matches at ''Estadi Olímpic de Terras ...

(association football),

CP San Cristóbal Centre Parroquial San Cristóbal is a Spanish football team based in Terrassa, Barcelona Province, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1957 it currently plays in Tercera División RFEF – Group 5, holding home matches at ''Mu ...

(association football) and Sferic Terrassa (

). Terrassa is the home and birthplace of

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

and

Spain national football team The Spain national football team ( es, Selección Española de Fútbol) has represented Spain in international men's football competitions since 1920. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in ...

midfielder

Xavi Xavier Hernández Creus (born 25 January 1980), known as Xavi is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of La Liga club FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Widely con ...

. The city's

castell A ''castell'' () is a human tower built traditionally at festivals in Catalonia, the Balearic islands and the Valencian Community. At these festivals, several ''colles castelleres'' (teams that build towers) attempt to build and dismantle a t ...

s teams are the

Minyons de Terrassa Minyons de Terrassa is a group of castellers from Terrassa Terrassa (, es, Tarrasa) is a city in the east central region of Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona, ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, of which it is the co-capital al ...

and the Castellers de Terrassa. On 22 November 2015, Terrassa's Plaça Vella was the scene of the world's first successful ''4 de 10 amb folre i manilles'', completed by the Minyons.

Twin towns

Terrassa is twinned with five cities: *

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, Nicaragua *

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...

, Sweden *

Pamiers Pamiers (; oc, Pàmias ) is a commune and largest city in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the most populous commune in the Ariège department, although it ...

, France * Tecoluca, El Salvador *

Tétouan Tétouan ( ar, تطوان, tiṭwān, ber, ⵜⵉⵟⵟⴰⵡⴰⵏ, tiṭṭawan; es, Tetuán) is a city in northern Morocco. It lies along the Martil Valley and is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles so ...

, Morocco Terrassa also signed a protocol of special relations cooperation with: * Otavalo, Ecuador

Notable people

Nebridius :''"Nebridius" was also the name of a close friend of Augustine of Hippo, who is mentioned in his letters.'' Saint Nebridius ( ca, Nebridi, es, Nebridio) was bishop of Egara (Terrassa) (516–527) and then bishop of Barcelona from 540 to around ...

(5th c. – 6th c.), religious *

Joseph Oller Josep Oller i Roca (1839–1922) was a Catalan entrepreneur who lived in Paris for most of his life. He co-founded the famous cabaret Moulin Rouge with Charles Zidler and was the inventor of the parimutuel betting. Biography Born in Terrassa, J ...

(1835-1922), entrepreneur * Domingo Cirici Ventalló (1878-1917), writer * José María Cunill Postius (1896-1949), paramilitary leader *

Cristina Lacasa Cristina Lacasa (1929–2011) was a Spanish poet and short story writer. She was considered an important figure among contemporary Spanish poets. Biography and writing Lacasa was born in Terrassa Terrassa (, es, Tarrasa) is a city in the e ...

(1929-2011), writer * Joana Biarnés (1935-2018), photographer *

Jaime Comas Jaume Comas Gil (1936 – 21 December 2021) was a Spanish screenwriter and film producer. Comas wrote the screenplay for ''Fistful of Dollars'' (1964) along with A. Bonzzoni, Víctor Andrés Catena and Sergio Leone; ''Il cacciatore di squali'' ...

(1936-2021), screenwriter and producer *

Francesc Abad Francesc Abad (born 1944 in Terrassa, Catalonia) is a Spanish artist known for conceptual art, body art, and land art. Career Abad studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in Terrassa and at the Center for Pedagogical Documentation in Paris. ...

(born 1944), artist * Eulàlia Grau (born 1946), artist * Jordi Camí (born 1952), scholar in pharmacology * Josep Roig Boada (born 1957), composer and producer * Assumpta Escarp i Gibert (born 1957), politician *

Concha García Campoy Concepción García Campoy (28 October 1958 – 10 July 2013), also known as Concha García Campoy, was a Spanish radio and television journalist and personality. Career She started her professional career in 1979 as local anchor in Cadena COPE ...

(1958-2013), journalist *

Sergi Belbel Sergi Belbel i Coslado (; born 1963) is a catalan-speaking Spanish playwright. He was the director of the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya from 2006 until 2013. Career Born in Terrassa, Belbel's first play was ''Calidoscopios y faros de hoy'' in 1 ...

(born 1963), playwright * Josep Guijarro (born 1957), journalist and writer * Pere Navarro (born 1959), politician * Lluís Puig (born 1959), art director *

Enric Millo Josep Enric Millo i Rocher (born 24 November 1960), is a Spanish politician for PP. Biography He has a degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Professor of Economics and Organizational Stru ...

(born 1960), politician *

Josep Rull Josep Rull i Andreu (born 2 September 1968) is a Spanish politician from Catalonia. He served as the Counselor of Territory and Sustainability of Catalonia at the Government of Carles Puigdemont between 2016 and 2017, when Spanish Rajoy's Gover ...

(born 1968), politician * Aleix Villatoro i Oliver (born 1979), politician * Xavier Hernández Creus (born 1980), association football player and manager *

(born 1980), politician * Cristian Canton Ferrer (born 1980), writer, musicologist and pianist *

Miki Núñez Miguel "Miki" Núñez Pozo (born 6 January 1996) is a Spanish singer from Terrassa. He gained national recognition after placing sixth in series ten of the reality television talent competition ''Operación Triunfo.'' Núñez consequently repre ...

(born 1996), singer *

Dani Olmo Daniel Olmo Carvajal (born 7 May 1998) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the Spain national team. He can play as either an attacking midfielder or a winger. After a period at FC Barcelona, he ma ...

(born 1998), footballer

References

Sources and external links

Terrassa City Council

Government data pages

The best things to do in Terrassa

; Bibliography – ecclesiastical history * D. Mansilla, lemma 'Egara' in ''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques'', vol. XIV, Paris 1960, coll. 1462–1466 {{Authority control Municipalities in Vallès Occidental