El Prat de Llobregat (), commonly known as El Prat , is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

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") , ...

located in the ''comarca'' of

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. ...

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 no ...

. The Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport largely lies within the municipal limits. It is part of the

Barcelona metropolitan area The Barcelona urban area is an urban area in Catalonia (Spain) centered on the city of Barcelona and located less than 100 km south of the border with France. With a population of over 5 million, it is the most populous urban area on the Me ...

Location

It is situated in the delta of the Llobregat river on the right bank, bordering the coast of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

between

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 c ...

and Viladecans. More than a quarter of the area of the

is occupied by Barcelona–El Prat Airport. Apart from the transport links to the

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

, the town of El Prat is served by a railway station on the coast line from

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

. The municipality also has a beach and a small nature reserve at the ''Llac'' (Lake) ''de la Ricarda i del Remolar''. El Prat is famous for its blue-legged chickens (known as ''gall potablava'' in Catalan). El Prat forms part of the metropolitan area of Barcelona.

History

El Prat was founded between the years 1720 and 1740, when the town started to grow besides a path crossing. The first buildings to appear were the church (dedicated to

St. Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

and St. Paul), the hostel (which served as a school, bakery, and obviously as a hostel), and some other houses built by the farmers of the delta, who came to the church to pray. After this, the installation of a ferry to cross the river and, later, the construction of the Ferran Puig bridge, the arrival of the railroad and the discovery of underground water improved the communication of El Prat and consequently doubled its population. In 1917, the installation on the town of La Papelera Espanola, a factory producing paper and derivatives, started the industrial years of El Prat. Next, in 1923, three private aerodromes started operations in El Prat, due to the flat terrain of the municipality. That was the beginning of the connection between El Prat and the world of aviation, that would end up creating

Barcelona International Airport 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 ...

after the unification of the three aerodromes in 1948. In 1926, another company, this time of the textile sector, called "La Seda de Barcelona", built a factory in the town. That caused the final spurt of growth of El Prat. With the immigration of people from the south of Spain (mostly

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

and

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

), the town almost doubled in size by 1930, and again by 1950, and then increased its size threefold in 1970 with the creation of the neighborhoods of Sant Cosme, Sant Jordi and La Granja, built to be the home of these immigrants. Finally, with the next expansion, the population doubled in size once again, although has now reached a period of stability.

Demography

Climate

Economy

At El Prat De Llobregat stands the ''Gearbox del Prat'' plant, fully owned by the Spanish car maker

SEAT A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...

, which is one of the five production sites in the world manufacturing transmission parts and gearboxes for the

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercia ...

.
Also Vueling Airlines has its head office in the Parque de Negocios Mas Blau II in El Prat de Llobregat. Before its dissolution, Clickair had its head office in El Prat de Llobregat.

Schools and education

Public centers in El Prat de Llobregat ;Preschool * Sol Solet * Dumbo * El Cabusset * La Vailets * El Xumet del Prat * Llar d'infants Hello Kitty ;Kindergarten and primary education (CEIP): * Joan Maragall * Escola Mare de Déu del Carme * Jacint Verdaguer *

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

* Josep Tarradellas * Sant Cosme i Sant Damià *

Bernat Metge Bernat Metge (; ( 1350 – 1410) was a Catalan writer and humanist, best known as the author of '' Lo Somni'', which he wrote from prison (c. 1398), in which Metge discusses the immortality of the soul. He was a courtier and Secretary for Joan I ...

* Escola del Parc *

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He ...

* Sant Jaume * Jaume Balmes *

Pompeu Fabra Pompeu Fabra i Poch (; Gràcia, Barcelona, 20 February 1868 – Prada de Conflent, 25 December 1948) was a Spanish engineer and grammarian. He was the main author of the normative reform of contemporary Catalan language. Life Pompeu Fabra ...

* Ramón Llull ;Private schools (primary education and secondary education ) * Col·legi Seda * Acadèmia Nuestra Señora del Mar García-Lorca * Escola Mare de Déu del Carme ;Secondary education and baccalaureate (INS) * Estany de la Ricarda * Baldiri Guilera *

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

* Doctor Trueta * Illa dels Banyols * Institut Ribera Baixa ;Special education center (CEE): * Can Rigol ;Adult schools(EPA): * Sant Cosme * Terra Baixa

References

* Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). ''Guia de Catalunya'', Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. (Spanish). (Catalan).

External links

Artistic and historical buildings in Prat de Llobregat
(in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

)
El Prat City Council
(in Catalan)
Government data pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prat De Llobregat, El Populated places in Baix Llobregat