Castelldefels () is a municipality in the Baix Llobregat

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) 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, mark ...

, in the province of Barcelona in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, Spain, and a suburban town of the

Metropolitan Area of Barcelona 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 one of the largest urban areas in Europ ...

. Its population is 65,954 ( IDESCAT, 2017).

Geography and location

It is located about southwest 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 ...

, 25 minutes south of Barcelona,just to the north of the massís del Garraf and is the last town on the coast before the comarca of Garraf. The town is famous for its long beach (more than 5 km) and well known for being an affluent area, as the place of residence of many famous sportsmen, such as

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...

, Philippe Coutinho, or formerly Ronaldinho; and for being the city which inspired the creation of the character "El Neng de Castefa" who used to appear on the late night show called "BFN" hosted by the showman and presenter Andreu Buenafuente. During the summer, many people from Barcelona and the countryside visit it. Nearby towns include Gavà, Viladecans, Sant Boi de Llobregat,

Sitges ; , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain, renowned worldwide for Sitges Film Festival, its film festival, Carnival, and LGBTQ culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is know ...

and el Prat de Llobregat. Castelldefels borders 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

between

and Gavà with a major beach. Castelldefels also enjoys close proximity to the major international airport of Barcelona, as El Prat Airport is about 15 km of a drive. The Olympic canal, called Canal Olímpic de Catalunya, built for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games of Barcelona is in the town. The main-belt

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

72037 Castelldefels, discovered in 2000, is named after the town.

Demography and governance

Between 1979 and 2011, the town was governed by the

Socialists' Party of Catalonia The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (, PSC–PSOE) is a social democratic political party in Catalonia, Spain, resulting from the merger of three parties: the Socialist Party of Catalonia–Regrouping, led by Josep Pallach i Carolà, the Socia ...

(PSC). The first democratic mayor after Constitution was . In 2011, the conservative People's Party (PP) won a plurality of seats for the first time, and Manuel Reyes of the PP was elected mayor of the town. In 2015, the eco-socialist Candela López of the ICV was elected mayor by a leftist government coalition.

Summary of council election results

^(a) results for the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia
^(b) results for the

Party of the Communists of Catalonia Party of the Communists of Catalonia () was a communist party in Catalonia that existed from 1982 to 2014. The main organ of PCC was ''Avant'' and the theoretical organ was ''Realitat''. Every year the party used to hold a festival for its newspap ...

^(c) results for the People's Alliance

Education

Castelldefels School of Technology provides higher education in aeronautics and telecommunications technology. The town is also the location of the Castelldefels and Nexus (

sixth form college A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...

) campuses of the British School of Barcelona (BSB). There are ten public primary schools and three public secondary schools.

Transport

Transport links include two stations ( Castelldefels and Platja de Castelldefels) on Renfe line R2 from Sant Vicenç de Calders to Maçanet-Massanes via

, bus routes to Barcelona (L94, L95, L97), Barcelona Airport (L99) and Sant Boi de Llobregat (L96), as well as an urban bus route connecting the rest of the town (CF1), the C-32 motorway and the C-31 and C-245 dual carriageways. A second railway line is due to be constructed from Cornellà de Llobregat to Castelldefels.

2010 accident

On 23 June 2010, 12 young people were killed, and 14 injured, when they were hit by an express train as they crossed the tracks in the railway station at Platja de Castelldefels, while on their way to a summer solstice bonfire party on the beach."Twelve Spanish Teenagers Killed by Express Train"
''The Guardian'', 24 June 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2010

References

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

External links

Official site
(in Catalan and Spanish)
Artistic and historical buildings in Castelldefels
(in Catalan)
Government data pages
{{authority control Municipalities in Baix Llobregat