Sant Cugat del Vallès () is a town and

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

north 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 ...

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 ...

. Known as ''Castrum Octavianum'' in antiquity (which means ''the castle of Octavianus'') and as ''Pins del Vallès'' 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. ...

, it is named after Saint Cucuphas, who is said to have been

martyred A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloquial ...

on the spot now occupied by its medieval monastery. The final part of its

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

, ''del Vallès'', is a reference to the historical county where the town is situated,

Vallès El Vallès (or simply Vallès) is a historical county in Catalonia, Spain, located in the center of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range. It is nowadays represented by two separate administrative divisions (Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarques'') which a ...

Description

In addition to the monastery, the town's other notable buildings include the School of Architecture of the Vallès and the Centre d'Alt Rendiment (CAR, translit. High Performance Centre), a famous centre for professional sport training. Sant Cugat has become an

affluent Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an ...

suburb of

due to its location (only 20 kilometres from the city), its natural surroundings, and its pedestrian shopping area. Sant Cugat also offers restaurants, a concert venue, two cinemas, and one large shopping centre. It is also a political stronghold for

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Catalan nationalism Catalan nationalism promotes the idea that the Catalan people form a distinct nation and national identity. A related term is Catalanism (, ), which is more related to Regionalism (politics), regionalism and tends to have a wider meaning, most pe ...

, with Convergència i Unió dominating the town's politics for 32 years up until 2019 when the

Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia (, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also in Valencia, the Balearic Islands and t ...

took control of the City Council with the support of other political forces (PSC and

CUP A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

). Sant Cugat has seen its population increase in recent years, with more births than bigger cities like Barcelona (2004). It has also practically merged with the nearby Rubí (population 72,987) and

Cerdanyola del Vallès Cerdanyola del Vallès () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the north side of the Collserola ridge. The town is served by the A-7 and C-58 motorways, the N-150 road and the Ren ...

(population 58,747). The town has its own train station with a direct metro connection into

city centre and the nearby industrial cities of

Terrassa Terrassa () is a city in central-eastern Catalonia and in the province of Barcelona (Spain). It is one of the two capitals of Vallès Occidental county, being the larger in both area and population. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ''Te ...

and

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city and municipality in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, where it is one of the two capitals, the other being Terrassa. It is located on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona, a ...

Main sights

These are some of the main sights of the municipality: * Monastery of Sant Cugat * (10th century) * (10th century) *'' Torre Negra'' (12th century) * (14th century) *

Demography

There are some districts, villages and towns in this municipality such as Mira-sol with 14,474 inhabitants; Valldoreix, which has a population of 8,272; La Floresta, which has 4,553 inhabitants, and Les Planes, which is inhabited by 1,290 people. This table below shows the population of the municipality over the 20th century and the early 21st century.

Government

National Archive of Catalonia is in the commune.

Education

The main secondary schools in Sant Cugat are IES Angeleta Ferrer i Sensat de Sant Cugat and the Institut Joaquima Pla i Farreras. Colegi japones st cugat Valles 6642

The Japanese School of Barcelona, a

Japanese international school ''Zaigai kyōiku shisetsu'' ( 在外教育施設 'Overseas educational institution'), or in English, Japanese international school or overseas Japanese school, may refer to one of three types of institutions officially classified by the Ministry ...

, is located in the commune. The ''Hoshuko Barcelona Educación Japonesa/Escuela de Educación Japonesa en Barcelona'' (バルセロナ補習校 ''Baruserona Hoshūkō''), a weekend supplementary Japanese school, holds its classes in the Japanese School of Barcelona building. Th
European school of Barcelona
(IES) is an international school focusing on international languages from outside Spain. Some of the most popular languages studied there are English, French and Chinese.

Culture

A number of entities and clubs that promote traditional Catalan Culture exist. Among them, * A sardana club (''Entitat Sardanista de Sant Cugat'') that promotes this popular Catalan dance. * A castellers club was formed in 1996. * A diables club was formed in 1990. * A geganters club. Moreover, Sant Cugat is home to several museums, including the Museu de Sant Cugat, located at the Monastery, centred on the history of the town.

Sister cities

* El Argoub, Western Sahara *

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...

, Italy * La Haba, Spain

References

Sources

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

External links

Government data pages

Tourist Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sant Cugat Del Valles Municipalities in Vallès Occidental