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Vallparadís Park (in Catalan and officially ''Parc de Vallparadís'')The translation would correspond to the term "Valley of Paradise", in reference to the first settlers who found the waters at the confluence of the torrents and fertile lands. is a natural urban space located in the municipality 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 ...
, 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 .Manuel Ribas i Piera Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name), a given name and surname * Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel I of Portugal, king of Po ...
. The park was declared an ''
Bien de Interés Cultural (, , , ) is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Colombia and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" ("goods" in the economic sense). It includes not only mater ...
'' by the
Government of Spain The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the ...
. From north to south it is about 3.5 km long, and averages about 100 m wide. The first fossil findings in the area date back a million years; samples of
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
and
fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...
have been discovered at the Cal Guardiola site, while the first evidence of human presence dates back to the
Iberian Iberian refers to Iberia. Most commonly Iberian refers to: *Someone or something originating in the Iberian Peninsula, namely from Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. The term ''Iberian'' is also used to refer to anything pertaining to the fo ...
period, found at the Egosa settlement. This site would eventually become Egara, now
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 ...
. The park has a "Y" shape due to the Vallparadís torrent and the Monner torrent, which converge in the Monumental church complex of Sant Pere de Terrassa, a historical heritage made up of a patrimonial, archaeological and artistic ensemble, a fundamental piece of Romanesque art in Catalonia. It houses the Textile Museum and Documentation Centre, one of the main textile museum institutions, consisting of a library, an image bank and a fabric collection, and the
Carthusian castle of Vallparadís The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), 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 own rule, called the ...
, a fortification —also declared a historical heritage site—dating from 1110, the main section of the current
Terrassa Museum The Terrassa Museum is a museum entity which encompasses all the municipally owned museums in the city of Terrassa. It belongs to the History Museum and Monument Network of CataloniaVilaweb.cat ' access data 21/10/2010 and the Barcelona Provincial C ...
. In addition, the park has several architectural monuments of great importance such as the Casa Baumann, the Pont de Sant Pere or the Pont del Passeig. Inside the park there are different facilities —such as a 180 m long swimming pool or a large-scale train that runs through the center of the park— and events are held annually, such as the Jazz Picnic or the Festival of Colors, which attract thousands of spectators.


History


Geology

Since the
Neogene The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...
, the park has been naturally shaped by the
fluvial erosion In geography and geology, fluvial sediment processes or fluvial sediment transport are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by sediments. It can result in the formation of ripples and dunes, in fractal-shaped ...
of the waters of the Monner and Vallparadís torrents, forming part of the Catalan pre-coastal depression. The sediments found in the area correspond to the Neogene and later
Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...
, and come mainly from the erosion of
metamorphic Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...
,
volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...
and
plutonic Intrusive rock is formed when magma penetrates existing rock, crystallizes, and solidifies underground to form ''intrusions'', such as batholiths, dikes, sills, laccoliths, and volcanic necks.Intrusive RocksIntrusive rocks accessdate: Marc ...
rocks from the
Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...
, and also from
terrigenous In oceanography, terrigenous sediments are those derived from the erosion of rocks on land; that is, they are derived from ''terrestrial'' (as opposed to marine) environments. Consisting of sand, mud, and silt carried to sea by rivers, their co ...
and
carbonate rocks Carbonate rocks are a class of sedimentary rocks composed primarily of carbonate minerals. The two major types are limestone, which is composed of calcite or aragonite (different crystal forms of CaCO3), and Dolomite (rock), dolomite rock (also kn ...
, both from the
Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...
and
Paleogene The Paleogene Period ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Neogene Period Ma. It is the fir ...
. In 1997, through a series of archaeological excavations that lasted more than two years at the Cal Guardiola site, some 26,000 fossils were found, of which approximately 3,000 remains corresponded to
mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
s. Among them, the presence of
hippopotamuses The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic Mammal, mammal native to su ...
, damas, equus and
hyena Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the sma ...
s are noteworthy. Other animal species found include various types of
proboscidea Proboscidea (; , ) is a taxonomic order of afrotherian mammals containing one living family (Elephantidae) and several extinct families. First described by J. Illiger in 1811, it encompasses the elephants and their close relatives. Three l ...
ns, bears,
rhinoceros A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
es,
jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
s,
deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...
,
macaque The macaques () constitute a genus (''Macaca'') of gregarious Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques inhabit ranges throughout Asia, North Africa, and Europe (in Gibraltar). Macaques are principally f ...
s,
megaloceros ''Megaloceros'' (from Greek: + , literally "Great Horn"; see also Lister (1987)) is an extinct genus of deer whose members lived throughout Eurasia from the Pleistocene to the early Holocene. The type and only undisputed member of the genus ...
es,
bovidae The Bovidae comprise the family (biology), biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes Bos, cattle, bison, Bubalina, buffalo, antelopes (including Caprinae, goat-antelopes), Ovis, sheep and Capra (genus), goats. A member o ...
and a
suidae Suidae is a family (biology), family of Even-toed ungulate, artiodactyl mammals which are commonly called pigs, hogs, or swine. In addition to numerous fossil species, 18 Extant taxon, extant species are currently recognized (or 19 counting domes ...
, the only one found in Western Europe with an age of one million years. Plant remains have also been found in the excavations, of which two large specimens with dimensions exceeding 3 m are worth mentioning.


Projection as a park

The Vallparadís park has gone through several stages until it became what it is today, since 1346, when the first settlers arrived in the area known as ''Vallis Paradisi''. The torrents that occupied the park were inhabited by several agricultural settlements until the end of the 19th century, when the city of Terrassa was affected by the transformations of the municipality due to the arrival of the railroad in 1856 —in the northernmost part of the park— and the first urban planning project by Miquel Curet in 1878. Thus, in 1895 the construction of the Pont del Passeig was adjudicated, considered the first modern structure in the park, and in 1915 the first urban planning project was carried out by Josep Maria Coll i Bacardí. 18 years later, in 1933, a second, more modest urban development plan called ''Pla Viñals'' was drawn up, but it was not until 1951 that the ''
Plan General de Ordenación Urbana Plan General de Ordenación Urbana (; PGOU) are the urban plans produced by municipalities in Spain and agreed to by the various regional governments. There are strict national guidelines for these town plans. Within a PGOU there are various zones ...
'' was drawn up by the Provincial Urban Planning Committee of Barcelona. Meanwhile, in 1942 a request was made for the Carthusian castle of Vallparadís to be declared a Historic-Artistic monument. However, the ''Plan General de Ordenación'' underwent a series of modifications and it was not until 1965 that a new ''Plan'' was presented, revised in 1970, which incorporated special attention to green areas. Finally, in 1972, the park ''Nuevo Plan de Ordenación'' was approved with a detailed delimitation and management. With the definitive ''Plan'', in 1985 the drafting of the ''Plan Especial de Vallparadís'' was assigned to
Manuel Ribas i Piera Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name), a given name and surname * Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel I of Portugal, king of Po ...
, a project that was executed between 1991 and 1997 in three construction phases. In 1999, with the park already formed, a master plan was drawn up that set the autonomous organizational guidelines for Vallparadís.


Architecture


Monumental church complex of Sant Pere de Terrassa

The churches of Sant Pere de Terrassa are a monumental complex formed by the Romanesque churches of Sant Pere, Sant Miquel and Santa Maria (Saint Peter, Saint Michael and Saint Mary), as well as the
clergy house A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...
of Sant Pere and an archaeological site that were part of the nucleus of Égara.Egara was a municipality (Municipium Flavium Egara) in
Roman Hispania Hispania was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divided into two new provinces, Baet ...
that corresponds to the current city 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 ...
.
It is a series of buildings with an existence of more than 1500 years that were restored in the late 19th century. Later, in 1906, an archaeological search was carried out on the site by the architect
Josep Puig i Cadafalch Josep Puig i Cadafalch (; 17 October 1867 in Mataró – 21 December 1956 in Barcelona) was a Spanish architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona, and a politician who had a significant role in the development of Catalan regio ...
. This exploration resulted in one of the most important elements for the historiographical evaluation of the
diocese of Egara 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 ...
, documented from the year 400 to 750. The complex, which encompasses both the
late Late or LATE may refer to: Everyday usage * Tardy, or late, not being on time * Late (or the late) may refer to a person who is dead Music * ''Late'' (The 77s album), 2000 * Late (Alvin Batiste album), 1993 * Late!, a pseudonym used by Dave Groh ...
and
early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Middle Ages of Europ ...
periods, was built on a small hill on both sides of the Vallparadís and Monner torrents that make up the park, at a time when Christianity went from being a tolerated religion to an official one. At first, a
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
was built, and later a cathedral, in the area currently occupied by the church of Santa Maria and the clergy house. In this construction, which lasted more than a century, a funerary
shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...
with a subway
crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
was also built, which today is the church of Sant Miquel. In this area, tombs have been found facing east,According to classical Christian symbolism, the tombs were oriented towards the east. belonging to the necropolis of the Episcopal period of the 11th century and the Carolingian period of the 9th and 10th centuries. During this period a parish church was also built, which corresponds to the church of Sant Pere and the episcopal palace next to the cathedral. The whole ecclesiastical complex expanded progressively over the years until its peak, around the 11th and 12th centuries.


Textile Museum and Documentation Centre

The Textile Museum and Documentation Centre is a museum institution located on the east side of the central part of the park, next to the
Carthusian castle of Vallparadís The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), 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 own rule, called the ...
. It is a gallery dedicated to the textile world, in which Terrassa played one of the most important roles of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
in this sector. The gallery, which presents an overview of the different techniques and styles used by the different regions throughout history, is managed by the City Council of Terrassa, together with the Provincial Diputation of Barcelona and is part of the
Barcelona Provincial Council Local Museum Network The Barcelona Provincial Council Local Museum Network (), also known as ''Catalonia’s Biggest Museum'', is a tool for support and collaboration from and for the museums of the province, which makes available to municipalities a series of services ...
. It has a collection of fabrics with 365 pieces that were incorporated into the museum between 1946 and 1968, antique dealers and
brocade Brocade () is a class of richly decorative shuttle (weaving), shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian langua ...
, as well as church
sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...
. At present, the textile gallery can be consulted upon request, and there is also a free consultation service of the museum's collection via Internet.


Carthusian castle of Vallparadís

The Carthusian castle of Vallparadís, located in the easternmost part of the park's center, was a
fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
documented as early as 1110, when the land was purchased from the then
Count of Barcelona The count of Barcelona (, , , ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, Usages and Catalan constitutions, of the Principality of Catalonia as Prince#Prince as generic for ruler, p ...
, Ramón Berenguer III. The building rises on the edge of a large embankment of the park and has a rectangular plan, walls with
arrowslit An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch Crossbow bolt, bolts ...
s, towers at each of its corners and three bestorres on its west side.A bestorre is a semicircular or rectangular tower, very often open on one side, which is located in many of the enclosures with walls. The reforms to transform it to the
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 ...
functions still remain. It is worth mentioning a two-story
cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...
—the lower one with chaotic openings and the upper one more stable with pointed arches— and geometric
capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
without decoration with the ancestral chapter house on the east side, covered with a
rib vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic a ...
. The old church of the monastery is what is known today as ''El Tinellet'', with a flat roof supported by four diaphragmatic pointed arches. Currently, the castle is the main section of the six that make up the museum complex of Terrassa and its exhibition is structured in different areas such as the natural environment, with the main habitats of the Vallés —forests, agricultural areas, streams and torrents—, prehistory and ancient world —with elements of the archeological sites of Egara, among others—, medieval world —with archaeological remains of the churches of Sant Pere, the castle of Vallparadís and the old castle-palace of Terrassa, among others—, modern era —with religious elements such as
retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum, it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate struct ...
s from the 17th and 18th centuries—, contemporary age —with rural and industrial life in the 19th century and culture and society —with a collection of paintings from the 20th century.


Casa Baumann

Casa Baumann, also known as ''Casa Coll i Bacardí'', is a 1913 building by the architect Josep Maria Coll i Bacardí. It was built with the purpose of serving as a home for the architect himself. It is located inside the park, south of the Vallparadís castle, on Jacquard Avenue, next to the Pont del Passeig. The building originally consisted of two levels and a large plot of land and was sold to the Ernest Baumann company. Subsequently, in 1982 the property was acquired by the City Council of Terrassa. Architecturally, the house underwent a first extension in 1926 and a second one, on the second floor, in 1951. Thirty-one years later, in 1982, the building was affected by a fire in the upper part and the city council had to consolidate the structure. In addition, in 1995, the building's exterior envelope was repaired. Finally, in 2007, the access points were adapted, part of the interior was modified and the current elevator, which can be seen today on the outside, was installed. In 2003, the Casa Baumann was declared a '' Bien Cultural de Interés Local'' with registration number 6706-I, and the building is currently used as the headquarters of the Youth and Children's Leisure Service of the City Council of Terrassa.


Retaining walls at Casa Salvans

The retaining walls of the Casa Salvans are the work of Lluís Muncunill i Parellada and are located on Salmerón Street, next to the park. They are walls formed with common
rubble stone Rubble masonry or rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Some medieval cathedral walls have outer shells of ashlar wit ...
with a size that decreases the higher they are in the wall. They are formed by
pebble A pebble is a clastic rocks, clast of rock (geology), rock with a grain size, particle size of based on the Particle size (grain size), Udden-Wentworth scale of sedimentology. Pebbles are generally considered larger than Granule (geology), gra ...
stones that form an irregular line, which goes down a slope of the road and flows into the Monner de Vallparadís torrent, until it becomes a retaining wall with
buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...
es linked together with blind arches. At the highest part, a
cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...
is formed that is used as a lookout point. In 2003 the walls were declared a '' Bien Cultural de Interés Local'' by the
Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...
with registration number 7597-I.


Bridges

Vallparadís Park forms a depression with an average slope of 10 meters. For this reason, several bridges and footbridges cross the park along its length, connecting its two longitudinal ends. In the western part of the bifurcation of the park is the Pont de Sant Pere, a structure dating from 1579, built by the councilors of the town of Sant Pere to the
master builder A master builder or master mason is a central figure leading construction projects in pre-modern times (a combination of a modern expert carpenter, construction site supervisor, and architect / engineer). Historically, the term has generally ref ...
Pere Pomers i Ramon Flotes. It joins the neighborhoods of Centre and Antic Poble de Sant Pere. The maximum height is 19.30 m, the length is 57 m and it is 3.50 m wide. Through it you can access the churches of Sant Pere. It is formed by three arches of different widths: the central arch is semicircular, wider, and the lateral ones have pointed arches. It is made of common brickwork, except for the corner areas, which are
ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...
s. In 2006 it was definitively closed to vehicular traffic and is only open to pedestrians. Currently, the bridge is considered a '' Bien Cultural de Interés Local''. Further south, when the two torrents have already joined, is the longest bridge in the park: the Pont del Passeig. It is a bridge that connects the Vallparadís and the Cementerio Viejo neighborhoods. The construction of this bridge, in 1895, was the first intervention of the Public Improvement Plan of the City Council to divert the northern exit of Terrassa. It is 112 m long by 16.13 m high and is formed by six arches supported by
frustum In geometry, a ; (: frusta or frustums) is the portion of a polyhedron, solid (normally a pyramid (geometry), pyramid or a cone (geometry), cone) that lies between two parallel planes cutting the solid. In the case of a pyramid, the base faces a ...
pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s of
ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...
s with stone string courses. The entire
intrados An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...
is made of brick and at the back there is a roadway for vehicles arranged in four lanes, as well as a sidewalk on each of the two sides. The bridge has undergone two extensions in 1960 and 1990 and is currently protected as a '' Bien Cultural de Interés Local''. Between the Monner torrent to the 22 de Juliol avenue, there is the footbridge of the torrent of Les Bruixes, a footbridge that connects the Sant Valentí street with Bonaventura Castellet, following the old path of the village of Sant Pere de Terrassa. It was inaugurated on March 13, 1999. The Monner torrent footbridge, also known as the Sant Pere footbridge, is a bridge that was already projected in 1915, in the first urban planning project where Josep Maria Coll i Bacardí designed a semicircular bridge linking the churches of Sant Pere with Salmerón street. It was in 2004 that the Monner torrent footbridge was inaugurated, an 80 m bridge without
pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s supported by two cables, considered a unique engineering work in Europe and which has won the Catalonia Construction Awards 2005, Construmat Award 2005, 3rd Biennial Award of Architecture of Vallés 2005, International Puente de Alcántara Award 2005 and Footbrige Awards 2005. It has also been a finalist for the 2003 Bonaplata Award and the 2005 FAD Awards. Continuing south, before reaching the Vallparadís swimming pool, the bridge of the Cementerio Viejo is located. In 1830, with the annexation to the city of the Vallparadís block, the provisional cemetery became the official cemetery of Terrassa. In the 19th century, it was accessed by a road that passed through the Vallparadís torrent. Once the Pont del Passeig was built in 1896, this path ceased to be functional and was removed. After the floods of Vallés in 1962, a lake was formed in this area and in 1967 a footbridge was built, known as the Pont del Cementiri Vell. Once past the Vallparadís swimming pool, heading south, is the Font d'en Serracanta walkway, a footbridge inaugurated on April 28, 2007, next to the urbanized area between the Pont del Gall and the Santa Eulàlia Avenue. This footbridge connects Escudé street in the so-called 20th century neighborhood with Germà Joaquim street, in Can Palet. Structurally, the bridge is 101 m long, 3 m wide and weighs 46 ton. The structure is made of steel, supported on two pillars. The bridge has an elevator that connects the park with the footbridge. Finally, on the approach to the southern end of the park, is the Pont de la Unió, a viaduct inaugurated on February 19, 2010, in the presence of the then mayor, Pere Navarro i Morera. It is a footbridge that connects the Can Palet neighborhood with the so-called 20th century neighborhood, between Morella street and the Rubí road. It consists of a 107 m long frame and its name was chosen by the students of the schools President Salvans, Pau Vila, Andersen and Sagrat Cor de Jesús.


Sculptures

Scattered throughout the park are a series of sculptures. At the northern end of the park, next to the Parc del Nord, is located "Homage to Malevich" (in Catalan, ''Homenatge a Malèvitx''). This sculpture is dedicated to
Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (
, a Russian painter, considered the creator of
Suprematism Suprematism () is an early 20th-century art movement focused on the fundamentals of geometry (circles, squares, rectangles), painted in a limited range of colors. The term ''suprematism'' refers to an abstract art based upon "the supremacy of p ...
. It is a work of Jorge de Oteiza, inaugurated on May 15, 1999. The piece had to be moved twice due to the urbanization of the so-called ''railwaymen's apartments'' and, later, for the construction of the Barcelona-Vallés line station. It weighs 26 tons and is made of
zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...
-coated metallized steel with a satin paint finish. The piece represents a test of a spatial rotation that Malevich called "''Malevich's units''". In the eastern branch of the park, also at the northern end, is located "La sardana", a monument located in the so-called ''Pla de la Font de l'Apotecari del Parc de Vallparadís''. It is the work of the ''Escola d'Arts i Oficis de Barcelona'' ( Catalan for: Municipal School of Arts and Crafts of Barcelona). It is a tribute to the
sardana The ''sardana'' (; plural ''sardanes'' in Catalan) is a Catalan musical genre typical of Catalan culture and danced in circle following a set of steps. The dance was originally from the Empordà region, but started gaining popularity through ...
—a typical Catalan dance performed in a group and in a circle—, which explains the characteristic shape of the monument. On April 25 and 26, 1998, in the municipality of San Juan de las Abadesas, the ''Obra del Ballet Popular de Cataluña'' proclaimed Terrassa as the
pubilla A pubilla (; plural ''pubilles'') in ancestral Catalan tradition was the female that would inherit the whole rural estate in the absence of a brother. Tradition She was the female version of the hereu or male heir of the whole property of the f ...
of
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 ...
. For this reason, one of the acts that took place was the inauguration of this monument, in an event presided over by the mayor of Terrassa at that time, Manuel Royes, and the president of the ''Obra del Ballet Popular de Cataluña'', Joan Vidal, in which a commemorative plaque was unveiled. This celebration was enlivened by the performance of several local groups, who danced sardanas. In the northern part of the park, at the access next to the 22 de Juliol walkway —between the Monner torrent and the ''Pla de la Font de l'Apotecari''—, there is since 1999 the sculpture ''Relacions de l'espai'' by Àngel Màdico, a sculpture made up of five elements of different colors that contrast with the surroundings, depending on the position of the observer. It consists of poles of more than three meters and at its end there are five different types of elements of
nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
and geometric shapes: the moon, the sun, the lightning bolt, a tyrangle and a rhombus in blue, yellow, red, green and pink colors, respectively. According to the author, the whole is an alloy of elements that contrast between nature itself and
abstraction Abstraction is a process where general rules and concepts are derived from the use and classifying of specific examples, literal (reality, real or Abstract and concrete, concrete) signifiers, first principles, or other methods. "An abstraction" ...
. This contrast is chosen so that the observer creates his own composition depending on the point of view in which he is with the possibility of altering it by changing its position. The sculpture of
naïve Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may ...
character is one of the references of the users of the park. In 2001 the proposal was approved for the installation in Vallparadís Park of the "''Monumento a las víctimas del terrorismo''" (Spanish for: Monument to the victims of terrorism) of 3 m in height, work of Jesús Fructuoso.Jesús Fructuoso suffered the consequences of
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
on April 2, 1967, when his brother died as a result of an attack by
ETA Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...
against the Civil Guard.
It is a stone
monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monolit ...
with a
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
window, 110 cm high and 80 cm wide, protruding from the central margin. It is located on the main promenade of the park, at the height of the Rambla de San Nebridio, next to the weather station, very close to the entrance of the swimming pool. The monument was proposed by ''Terrassa per la Pau'' and the ''
Asociación de Víctimas del Terrorismo The Association of Victims of Terrorism () is a Spanish association created in 1981 by victims of terrorist attacks. Its members include those injured by ETA (separatist group), ETA, GRAPO, the Provisional Irish Republican Army and Al Qaeda, as we ...
'', with the support of the City Council of Terrassa. The sculpture was inaugurated on March 23, 2002, by the then mayor, Manuel Royes, thanks to which the author was able to symbolize, in his own words, "a door to freedom, to a future and to peace".


Flora and fauna

Although Vallparadís is an urban park and the fauna is mostly limited to insects, birds and small vertebrates, throughout the park there is a wide variety of plants and trees, which is why the park is considered the green lung of the city.


Flora

The park, one of the largest 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 ...
, contains a great variety of plants and trees, among which the most important tree species are
stone pine The Italian stone pine, botanical name ''Pinus pinea'', also known as the Mediterranean stone pine is a tree from the pine family (''Pinaceae''). The tree is native to the Mediterranean region, occurring in Southern Europe and the Levant. The ...
s —29.2%—,
plane trees ''Platanus'' ( ) is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae. All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. The type ...
—22.75%— and holm oaks —29.2%—. To a lesser extent, false asacias, mediterranean cypresses,
olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
and ash trees can be found. Other species that can be found are
poplars ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...
,
blue gum Blue gum is a common name for subspecies or the species in ''Eucalyptus globulus'' complex, and also a number of other species of ''Eucalyptus'' in Australia. In Queensland, it usually refers to ''Eucalyptus tereticornis'', which is known elsewher ...
,
laurels ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. According to Flora Cretica (Kleinsteuber Books, 2024, ISBN 978-3-9818110-5-6) the stem can be 1 ...
,
tulip trees ''Liriodendron'' () is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their ...
, chrerry plum trees, maples or lodogno trees. Regarding smaller varieties of plants, throughout the park you can appreciate honeysuckles,
common ivy ''Hedera helix'', the common ivy, European ivy, King's Choice ivy, or just ivy, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Araliaceae. It is native plant, native to most of Europe and parts of western Asia. Ivy is a clinging ...
, purple morning glory, common barberries,
rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers. It is a member of the sage family, Lamiaceae. The species is native to the Mediterranean r ...
, mock oranges or
abelia ''Abelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. The genus currently includes six species native to China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The genus previously contained about 30 species and hybrids. Molecular phylogen ...
s. The locations and their origin, as well as a description of each of the species in the park are as follows.


Fauna

Being an urban park located in full contact with the municipality of Terrassa, Vallparadís has the same fauna that characterizes the city, basically composed of small
mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
s such as various types of bats and
shrew Shrews ( family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to dif ...
s, and others more common in large populations such as
mice A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
and cats. As for
invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...
s, you can find in the park
coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
such as '' acilius sulcatus'' or ''stictonectes lepidus'',
lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...
such as the
Marsh fritillary The marsh fritillary (''Euphydryas aurinia'') is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Commonly distributed in the Palearctic region, the marsh fritillary's common name derives from one of its several habitats, marshland. The prolonged larval st ...
or the Spanish moon moth and
gastropods Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and from the land. Ther ...
with various types of
snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...
s. The most common animals in the park are birds. Apart from species such as the
house sparrow The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the Old World sparrow, sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pa ...
, the
rock dove The rock dove (''Columba livia''), also sometimes known as "rock pigeon" or "common pigeon", is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). In common usage, it is often simply referred to as the "pigeon", although the rock dov ...
, the
great tit The great tit (''Parus major'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of No ...
, the
magpie Magpies are birds of various species of the family Corvidae. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent c ...
, the
serin ''Serinus'' is a genus of small birds in the finch family Fringillidae found in West Asia, Europe and Africa. The birds usually have some yellow in their plumage. The genus was introduced in 1816 by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch. Its n ...
or the blackbird, which are abundant in the green areas of the cities, the fact that the municipality of Terrassa is located a short distance from the Sierra del Obac, you can see
birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...
such as the
short-toed snake eagle The short-toed snake eagle (''Circaetus gallicus''), also known as the short-toed eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. The genus n ...
, the
Eurasian sparrowhawk The Eurasian sparrowhawk (''Accipiter nisus''), also known as the northern sparrowhawk or simply the sparrowhawk, is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred ...
, the
Eurasian hobby The Eurasian hobby (''Falco subbuteo'') or just hobby, is a small, slim falcon. It belongs to a group of similar falcons often considered a subgenus '' Hypotriorchis''. Taxonomy and systematics The first formal description of the Eurasian hobby ...
and other nocturnal species such as the
Eurasian scops owl The Eurasian scops owl (''Otus scops''), also known as the European scops owl, common scops owl or just scops owl, is a small owl in the typical owl family Strigidae. Its breeding range extends from southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia a ...
, the
barn owl The barn owls, owls in the genus '' Tyto'', are the most widely distributed genus of owls in the world. They are medium-sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. The ter ...
or the
Long-eared owl The long-eared owl (''Asio otus''), also known as the northern long-eared owlOlsen, P.D. & Marks, J.S. (2019). ''Northern Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)''. In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook o ...
. Other smaller species that can be observed are the crested tit, the
blue rock thrush The blue rock thrush (''Monticola solitarius'') is a species of chat. This thrush-like Old World flycatcher was formerly placed in the family Turdidae. It breeds in southern Europe, northwest Africa, and from Central Asia to northern China and M ...
, the
song thrush The song thrush (''Turdus philomelos'') is a Thrush (bird), thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has four recognised subspecies. Its distinctive Birdsong, song, w ...
, the
sandpiper Scolopacidae is a large family of shorebirds, or waders, which mainly includes many species known as sandpipers, but also others such as woodcocks, curlews and snipes. Most of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or so ...
or the
common firecrest The common firecrest (''Regulus ignicapilla''), also known as the firecrest, is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. It breeds in most of Temperateness, temperate Europe and northwestern Africa, and is partially bird migration, migr ...
. At certain times of the year you can see migratory birds such as the
black redstart The black redstart (''Phoenicurus ochruros'') is a small passerine bird in the genus ''Phoenicurus''. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family (Turdidae), but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscica ...
,
white wagtail The white wagtail (''Motacilla alba'') is a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which also includes pipits and longclaws. The species breeds in the Palearctic zone in most of Europe and Asia and parts of North Africa; it also has ...
, the European golden oriole or the
common house martin The western house martin (''Delichon urbicum''), sometimes called the common house martin, northern house martin or, particularly in Europe, just house martin, is a bird migration, migratory passerine bird of the swallow family which breeds i ...
.


Facilities

The green space of Vallparadís park has several facilities —apart from the conventional ones of an urban park— that provide an extra service to users. These include a 180-meter-long swimming pool, a large-scale train that runs through the center of the park, a bio-healthy playground, children's areas, restaurants and full accessibility for people with reduced mobility, despite the park's varying levels.


Municipal swimming pool

In the southern center of the park, between the Pont del Cementiri Vell and the Montcada road, is the municipal swimming pool, also called Vallparadís lake, which opens at the beginning of the summer, at the same time as
Saint John's Eve Saint John's Eve, starting at sunset on 23 June, is the eve of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, feast day of Saint John the Baptist. This is one of the very few feast days marking a saint's birth, rather than their death. The Gospel of Luke ...
and the end of the academic year. These facilities offer their services until September, including the programming of several activities dedicated to the youngest. The pool, 180 m long has a total surface area of approximately 5000 m². and since June 2014, the pool is managed by Club Natació Terrassa.


Miniature train

At the center of the park is a large-scale, open-air train known as manned model railroading or live steam. It has a 340 m route for a
track gauge In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges ...
of 127 and 184 mm with eleven switches, two bridges —one of them rotating—, two tunnels, a traffic circle, a locomotive garage and a workshop. The circuit also includes a switch lever from the Zona Franca station 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 ...
. The railroad was pre-inaugurated on February 18, 1995, by the then
President of the Government of Catalonia 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 ...
,
Jordi Pujol Jordi Pujol i Soley (, born 9 June 1930) is a retired Catalan politician who was the leader of the party Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC) from 1974 to 2003, and President of the Generalitat de Catalunya from 1980 to 2003. Early life ...
and the Mayor of Terrassa, Manuel Royes. Likewise, the train was completely inaugurated on June 29, 1996, and since that date the so-called ''International Meeting of Vaporistas'' has been held at the site. Since 1996, between October and June, every week, the Vallparadís Railway has made its facilities available to the Municipal Board of Education so that students and teachers can learn about the history and operation of the miniature train. Since then and as of April 2017, approximately 14 000 users have made educational visits to the park's facilities where they are taught about its energy sources such as electricity, batteries, fuel batteries or mineral coal, as well as the operation of
electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
and
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
s.


Events

Being a green space inside one of the largest urban centers of Catalonia, as is the town of Terrassa,Terrassa is in competition with
Badalona Badalona (, , , ) is a municipality in Barcelonès county, in Catalonia (Spain). It is located to the north east of Barcelona, on the left bank of the Besòs River and on the Mediterranean Sea, in the Barcelona metropolitan area. By population, ...
to be the third most populated city in Catalonia, only surpassed by
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 ...
and
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (; ), often shortened to L'Hospitalet or just L'H, is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Barcelonès Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'', in Catalonia (Spain). It is part of the Barcelona metropolitan area, ...
, in terms of population.
the park is used for many events and outdoor activities among which include for its popularity and number of spectators, the Picnic Jazz, a free
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
festival held every year, between March and April and attended by thousands of people, the Holi festival —or festival of colors— which takes place every spring and in which thousands of colored pigments are thrown into the air, according to
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
tradition, as well as the burial of the carnival or the children's festival during the celebrations of the city's festivals.


Picnic Jazz

Since 1982 the Pícnic Jazz has been held in the park, an event that is part of the Terrassa Jazz Festival and attracts thousands of spectators every year between March and April. The event brings together different musicians, both internationally renowned and new emerging figures. During its celebrations around 3500 musicians have performed in more than 800 concerts, and exhibitions, film sessions, conferences and tributes have been held. Musicians such as
Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; 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 wis ...
,
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, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...
,
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 improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...
,
Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. ...
,
Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as ''My Fa ...
,
Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...
and Ray Brown have performed on the stages of Vallparadís. For the occasion, different types of services will be available in the park, such as a record fair,
merchandising Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...
points of sale, different restaurants and a free bicycle parking service.


Holi Festival

In the month of May, the so-called Holi festival or festival of colors is celebrated in the park. It is a party of Hindu origin that is celebrated to honor the arrival of spring and consists of throwing large amounts of powdered
pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...
s of different colors into the air so that, when falling, it mixes and permeates among all participants. It is an activity with Hindu religious roots, which has been appropriated by the West over time and in which, according to tradition, each person can release, forgive and forget the mistakes made in the past, as well as pay or forgive debts and reinitiate contact with people. The event is attended by thousands of people every year and is organized by members of the Terrassasamba impact group.


Burial of the carnival

The burial of the carnival (in Catalan, ''enterrament del carnestoltes'') ends every year in the Park of Vallparadís, on
Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...
. The event is held in the afternoon and is the final culmination of Terrassa's
carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...
festivities. The activity has been held since 1991, by means of a
funeral procession A funeral procession is a procession, usually in motor vehicles or by foot, from a funeral home or place of worship to the cemetery or crematorium. In earlier times the deceased was typically carried by male family members on a bier or in a cof ...
that unfolds as a fight of the like-minded characters of His
Majesty Majesty (abbreviated HM for His Majesty or Her Majesty, oral address Your Majesty; from the Latin , meaning ) is used as a manner of address by many monarchs, usually kings or queens. Where used, the style outranks the style of ''(Imperial/Roy ...
and
Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
against their
acolyte An acolyte is an assistant or follower assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession. In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone performing ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In others, the term is used f ...
s. The burial ends with a bonfire to burn the carnival, skeleton dances and the ghost of death. In the act, the volunteers dress up as all kinds of characters in black and the procession starts from the City Hall, heading to the park. More than twenty associations of popular culture and about 400 volunteers participate.


Children's major festival

Every year, during three days, at the beginning of July and at the same time as the celebration of the main festival of Terrassa, takes place in the Vallparadis park the so-called children's major festival, which is dedicated to the youngest and in which all kinds of performances such as theater, circus, storytelling, animation, magic or workshops are carried out. These activities include the participation of various entertainment companies. On the last day, the so-called "''gran festa del dilluns''" (in Catalan, great Monday party) takes place, in which hot chocolate is distributed, stories are told, the water festival and a concert for children are held.


Access

Because Vallparadís crosses the center of Terrassa from north to south, the park has multiple access points.


Railroad

At the north end of the park from the west fork corresponding to the Monner stream, is located the Terrassa station or North station that has the ''Media Distancia'' service operated by
Renfe Renfe (, ), officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company. It was created in 2005 upon the split of the former Spanish National Railway Network (RENFE) into the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias ( ...
and is part of the R4 line of the ''Cercanias Barcelona'' network. The building, dating from 1901, is listed as a '' Bien Cultural de Interés Local'' by the
Government of Catalonia The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...
. In the center of the park is the Vallparadís Universitat station. It is an extension of the Barcelona-Vallés line of the Ferrocarriles de la Generalidad de Cataluña.


Bus lines

Since some of the city's main thoroughfares run through the park, many bus lines pass through its bridges and crossings along its entire length. The northern part of the park is served by Líneas H —which crosses the park transversally— and 2, which connects the Rambla station with the East station. Lines 4 and 7, the latter running parallel to the park from north to south, cross the center of the park. Lines 8, 9 and 10, to a greater or lesser extent, run through part of the park.


Road networks

Three of the city's main avenues cross Vallparadís Park by road or bridge. *At its peripheral limits, at the northern end where the North Station is located, the park begins at the same 22 de Juliol Avenue, a road that connects the city of Terrassa from east to west, from the neighborhood of Can Tries de
Viladecavalls Viladecavalls () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia, north-eastern Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Afric ...
to
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 ...
through the neighborhood of Torrebonica. *Jaqcuard Avenue crosses over the center of the park by means of the Pont del Passeig. The road connects the university area, where the Terrassa Engineering School and the Vallparadís Universitat station are located, with the commercial and economic center of the city. *In the southern area, Santa Eulàlia Avenue crosses the park through the Pont del Cementiri Vell. This avenue is also identified as the N-150, which corresponds to the road that connects the C-16 highway, west of Terrassa, with the C-17 highway in
Montcada i Reixac Montcada i Reixac (), often referred to as simply Montcada, is a municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated at the confluence of the Ripoll river an ...
. The most direct access from outside the city is through the Terrassa center exit from the C-58 highway, until you reach the Montcada road, which is located to the right of the first traffic circle, and from there you can access the south-central part of the park.


Multimedia gallery

File:Catalonia Terrassa TorrentDeLesBruixes.jpg, Les Bruixes torrent. File:033 Parc de Vallparadís (Terrassa), des del pont del Passeig.jpg, Park from Pont del Passeig File:23. Parque de Vallparadís.jpg, Partial view of the park. File:14. Hipopótamos y castillo cartuja.jpg, Hippos and castle. File:13. Escaleras Torrent de Monner.jpg, Stairway in Monner torrent. File:21. Canal Vallparadís.jpg, Canal in Vallparadís. File:11. Terraplén Vallparadís.jpg, Embankment in the center of the park. File:3. Parque infantil zona norte.jpg, Children's playground in the north zone. File:179 Castell cartoixa de Vallparadís, pont del fossat.jpg, Carthusian castle bridge.


See also

*
Park Güell Park Güell ( ; ) is a complex of parks and gardens in Barcelona with architectural elements, located in the La Salut neighborhood of the Gràcia district in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the southern slope of the Turó del Car ...
*
Parc de la Ciutadella The (; "Citadel Park") is a park on the northeastern edge of Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. For decades following its creation in the mid-19th century, this park was the city's only green space. The 31-hectare (77 acres) grounds inc ...
*
Gardening in Spain Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and appearances within a designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of aesthetically pleasing areas, medicine ...
* List of Bienes de Interés Cultural in the Province of Barcelona *
Parks and gardens of Barcelona The parks and gardens of Barcelona cover an area of 2,784 hectares.Of the total 2784 hectares, 1795 correspond to the Serra de Collserola, and the rest to green areas, including public parks and gardens, roadside trees (150,912 units), planters (3 ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

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External links

{{Commons category, Parc de Vallparadís, Vallparadís Park
City Council of Terrassa with detailed information about Vallparadís Park
(In Catalan)
Documentary about Vallparadís Park in the program El escarabajo verde of RTVE
(Spanish National Television)
Aerial filming of the southern part of Vallparadís park during the Pícnic Jazz celebration
(In Spanish) Parks in Catalonia Terrassa