Plaça de Francesc Macià () is a square in

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 ...

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 Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Located in one of the main business areas of the city, it is one of the most transited points of Barcelona. It is crossed by

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 ...

and several other major thoroughfares: Avinguda de Josep Tarradellas,

Travessera de Gràcia Travessera de Gràcia is a street in Barcelona named after Gràcia, a district it crosses, even though it also spans two other districts. It starts in Plaça de Francesc Macià in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi Sarrià-Sant Gervasi () is one of the big ...

, Carrer del Comte d'Urgell and Avinguda de Pau Casals. It is part of the

Sarrià-Sant Gervasi Sarrià-Sant Gervasi () is one of the biggest districts of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the district with the highest per capita income, the largest proportion of university degrees and the lowest unemployment rate. Situated on the north-we ...

district, even though it borders two other

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 ...

: Les Corts and

Eixample The Eixample (, ) is a district of Barcelona 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 ...

. It is named after

Francesc Macià Francesc Macià i Llussà (; 21 September 1859 – 25 December 1933) was a Catalan politician who served as the 122nd president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, and formerly an officer in the Spanish Army. Politically, Macià evolved from an ...

(1859-1933),

Catalan president The president of the Government of Catalonia (, ) is head of government of Catalonia, leading the executive branch of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Catalan government. It is one of the bodies that the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia stipul ...

during the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

who proclaimed a short-lived

Catalan Republic Catalan Republic or Catalan State refers to Catalonia at various times when it was proclaimed either an independent republic or as a republic within a Spanish federal republic: * Catalan Republic (1640–1641), an independent state under French pro ...

. The central part of the square contains a pond modelled after the shape of

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

, the birthplace of its architect,

Nicolau Rubió i Tudurí Nicolau is a Portuguese and Catalan given name, a variant of Nicholas. Nicolau may refer to: *Nicolau Coelho, Portuguese explorer *Nicolau dos Reis Lobato (1946–1978), East-Timorese politician *Nicolau Tolentino de Almeida (1740–1811), Por ...

, as well as feminine sculpture called ''Joventut'' ("youth") designed by

Josep Manuel Benedicto Josep is a Catalan masculine given name equivalent to Joseph (Spanish ''José''). People named Josep include: * Josep Bargalló (born 1958), Catalan philologist and former politician * Josep Bartolí (1910-1995), Catalan painter, cartoonist and ...

, added in 1953. Spanish-language newspaper

La Vanguardia ' (; , ) is a Spanish daily newspaper founded in 1881. It is printed in Spanish and, since 3 May 2011, also in Catalan. It has its headquarters in Barcelona and is Catalonia's leading newspaper. Despite being mostly distributed in Catalonia, ...

is based in

477, within square limits.

History

The square was devised by Nicolau Rubió i Tudurí in the 1930s as part of the urban reform envisioned for Barcelona, under the specific name of ''Proyecto de Urbanización de la Avenida de Alfonso XIII, entre la calle Urgel, desde el Palacio Real hasta el límite del término municipal'' ("urbanisation project for Alfonso XIII Avenue, between

Carrer d'Urgell Carrer is a surname. Notable people with the name include: *Gabriel Carrer (born 1981), Canadian director and screenwriter *Gustavo Carrer (1885–1968), Italian footballer *Pavlos Carrer (1829–1896) Greek composer See also *Career (disambigua ...

, from

Palau Reial Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands, w ...

to city government limits"). The square's name has been changed in repeated occasions over time until the

transition to democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. Whether and to what ...

(1975-1978). In 1979 its current name was adopted.

Names

This is the complete list of names given to the square: *1932: '' Alcalá Zamora'' - former president of the

. *1936: ''Hermanos Badía'' - honouring brothers

Josep Badia Josep is a Catalan masculine given name equivalent to Joseph (Spanish ''José''). People named Josep include: * Josep Bargalló (born 1958), Catalan philologist and former politician * Josep Bartolí (1910-1995), Catalan painter, cartoonist and ...

and

Miquel Badia Miquel Badia i Capell (1906–1936) was a prominent figure of radical Catalan separatism during the days of the Second Spanish Republic, member of Estat Català and the JERC, Chief of Public Order of the Generalitat of Catalonia. He became kno ...

, murdered by FAI members earlier that year. *1939:

Calvo Sotelo Calvo Sotelo can refer to: * José Calvo Sotelo, Spanish politician assassinated in 1936 * Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo Leopoldo Ramón Pedro Calvo-Sotelo y Bustelo, 1st Marquess of Ría de Ribadeo (; 14 April 1926 – 3 May 2008), usually known as L ...

- right-wing monarchist politician during Primo de Rivera's dictatorship and the

, murdered in 1936, considered a "martyr of the crusade" during Francisco Franco's dictatorship.La Cruzada
/ref> *1979:

Transport

The square is the terminus of

Trambaix The Trambaix () is one of Barcelona's three tram systems. It is operated by TRAMMET connecting the Baix Llobregat area with the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It opened to the public on 5 April 2004 after a weekend when the tram could be us ...

routes T1, T2 and T3. It can also be accessed using the following bus lines: 6, 7, 14, 15, 27, 32, 33, 34, 41, 54, 59, 63, 66, 67 and 68. A

Barcelona Metro The Barcelona Metro (Catalan language, Catalan and Spanish language, Spanish: ) is a rapid transit network that runs mostly underground in central Barcelona and into the city's suburbs. It is part of the larger public transport system ...

station is projected there:

Francesc Macià (Barcelona Metro) Francesc Macià i Llussà (; 21 September 1859 – 25 December 1933) was a Catalans, Catalan politician who served as the 122nd List of Presidents of Catalonia, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, and formerly an officer in the Spanish A ...

References

Jesús Portavella i Isidoro Jesus ( AD 30 or 33) was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who most Christians believe to be the incarnation of God and Muslims believe was a prophet. Jesus may also refer to: People Religious figures * Elymas Bar-Jesus, a Jew in the ''Act ...

(2005), ''Itineraris: Sant Gervasi'', Ayuntamiento de Barcelona. (in Catalan). * Enciclopèdia Catalana (2006), '' Enciclopèdia de Barcelona'', Vol. 3. (in Catalan).

External links

Plaça Francesc Macià at the urban guide of bcn.catGoogle Maps.
* ttp://www.tmb.net/es_ES/turistes/busturistic/francescmacia.jsp Francesc Macià at the TMB website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Placa de Francesc Macia, Barcelona Plazas in Barcelona Sarrià-Sant Gervasi Avinguda Diagonal