Castelldefels
Castelldefels is a coastal village about 20 km southwest of Barcelona on the Costa del Garraf and belongs to the metropolitan area of Barcelona. On 1 January 2013 had 63 077 inhabitants Castelldefels.
- 8.1 towers in or near the historic center
- 8.2 watchtowers in south-west from the historic town center
Location and geographical structure
The flat land between the Mediterranean and the mountain range that offers Barcelona area, tapering to the south becoming more and is in Castelldefels to an end - there occurs the mountains approach the sea and forms of Garraf to Sitges a cliff. Castelldefels is the southernmost of a group of villages that have a stretch of beach along this mountain range in the interior and a center on the coast. These are, except Castelldefels, Gava and Viladecans. During the beach portion of Gava and Viladecans consists mainly of campsites and private apartment facilities, the beach - part sets of Castelldefels composed of a mixture of bungalows, private apartment facilities and isolated hotels and forms towards Gava a pine forest, called La Pineda, in which the houses are neatly integrated, partially built around individual trees. Near the Playa rock is at this very long, broad beach of Castelldefels part at the Paseo Maritimo corner Avinguda dels Banys (pedestrian zone) an urban center with shops and restaurants.
History
The history of the castle and the church of Castelldefels go back to the year 996 AD, the castle was a fortified tower initially had intended to protect the church. The castle, from whose name the place name was initially called Castrum Felix, which later turned into Castelló de Fidel. On the grounds of the church of Santa Maria del Castell at the castle, archaeologists found the remains of various cultures, including a rock-cut cistern from the time of the Iberians and a Cippus. Excavations from the Roman period are today - a visit inside the church - under glass. On the castle hill is also found remains of two-storey houses from the Roman period.
Climate
Castelldefels has the following average temperature values:
- Spring: 18 ° C,
- Summer: 26 ° C,
- Autumn: 20 ° C,
- Winter: 10 ° C.
Average sea temperatures:
- Min in February: 12.7 ° C
- Max in July: 25.7 ° C
- Annual average temperature: 18.6 ° C
Population
Population Development
Castelldfels had 13,219 inhabitants in 1970. In 2009, the city has already 62 314, of which 23.2 % are foreign residents: 53 % EU, 32 % South America 6% Africa, 5% and 4% Asia North and Central America.
Prominent residents
- Romuald Claverol i Fenosa, doctor and artist
- Josep Guinovart, artists
- Carles Benavent, musicians
- David Fernández Ortiz, actor
- Ignacio dragons, poet
- George Sanders, actor
- Many of the current and former player of FC Barcelona is located in the district of El Poal in Castelldefels.
Education and Research
Universities and research institutes of the University Politècnica de Catalunya, Castelldefels:
- Escola Politècnica Superior de Castelldefels
- Escola Superior d' Agricultura de Barcelona
- Parc de la Tecnologia Mediterrani
Traffic
The old town centers of Castelldefels, Gava and Viladecans are lined up along the mountain on a country road that leads over the industrial areas on the Llobregat to Barcelona. Running parallel to a railway RENFE that the Castelldefels train station and at the southern end of the beach part has the breakpoint Platja de Castelldefels in the center of Castelldefels. On 23 June 2010, a severe train crash when the Alaris ( No. 01202 ) Alicante -Barcelona- Sants a large group of people occurred at this breakpoint to 23.30 clock detected, which to the beach crossed the tracks instead of using an underpass. In this case, 12 people were killed, 14 were injured. In the high-speed train came to a stop after a few hundred meters, there were no casualties.
All along the beach districts of Castelldefels, Gava and Viladecans lie on the Autovia de Castelldefels, passing by the airport and. Starting from the Plaça d'Espanya as Gran Via, one of the main roads, continues across Barcelona As the third traffic route leads since the 1990s, a motorway at Castelldefels passing to the south. The Autovia de Castelldefels, which never reached the standards of European motorways and was nevertheless always like a highway used was, for decades as one of the most dangerous racetracks Spain notorious because it offered inadequate substitute for a left turn and through unauthorized, notgedrungenes turning left repeatedly accidents occurred. The number of the solid center lines gradually increased to four. This was later defused by a junction with traffic lights and then through an overpass in Castelldefels and Gava at another.
As for the boat traffic to Castelldefels had previously satisfied with the Club Nautico, with a swathe of buoys, in which it was the boats allowed to drive down to the beach. As a result of the Olympic Games in 1992, Castelldefels at the southern end, where the rocky coast begins, in addition now has a marina.
As another side effect in advance of the Olympic Games, the roads were rehabilitated in the area of the beach. They were previously decades deep ditches full of debris and rubble from which knee-high towered over the manholes in anticipation of future pavement, and stood by the frequent summer thunderstorms every time deep under water.
Tourism
Even into the 1980s, Castelldefels was a popular holiday destination for tourists from all over Europe who knew how to appreciate the convenient location to Barcelona and the 100 to 200 meters wide, plenty of room offered beach. The tourist infrastructure of the beach part of Castelldefels Hotel was supported by family farms of which later by the absence of foreign tourists, many either give up or had to sell to major hotel chains, as well as apartments, some of which were operated and leased by Germans. All services for foreign tourists who went beyond room and board, such as trips or bullfighting visits were carried out in a monopoly position by the travel agency Castelltur. This tourism foreign tourists is now came to a virtual standstill.
Attractions
Next to the castle Castell de rock from the 16th - 17th Century, the Romanesque church of Santa Maria de Castelldefels from the 10th - 12th Century and the neo-Romanesque church of Santa Maria de la Salut (built from 1888-1910 ), one still finds twelve urban and watchtowers in Castelldefels; some of these towers have been carefully reconstructed (eg Torre de Can Gomar ), others were new buildings remodels (eg Torre de Can Vinas ), and more are only as ruins obtained ( eg Torre Moruna ). They date mostly from the second half of the 16th century, especially as the towers with views of the beach and sea as watchtowers to warn of Pirates of the Barbary Coast were built.
Towers in and near the historic center
- Torre de Guaita 41 ° 17 ' 5 " N, 1 ° 58' 33 " O41.2848055555561.9758222222222
- Torre de Guaita
- Torre d' Antoni 41 ° 17 '2 " N, 1 ° 58' 50 " O41.2837638888891.9806861111111
- Torre d' Antoni ( Back, with crumbled annex building)
- Torre Can Moliner 41 ° 17 ' 0 " N, 1 ° 58' 53 " O41.2834027777781.9813416666667
- Torre de Can Gomar 41 ° 17 ' 0 " N, 1 ° 58' 44" O41.2832027777781.9788333333333
- Torre de Can Gomar (detail)
- Torre Climent Sovall 41 ° 16 ' 57 " N, 1 ° 58' 53 " O41.2825222222221.9814527777778
- Torre Climent Sovall (detail)
- Torre Gabriel Folcher 41 ° 16 ' 56 " N, 1 ° 58' 51" O41.2822444444441.9808666666667
- Torre Gabriel Folcher
- Torre de Can Roca de Baix 41 ° 16 ' 57 " N, 1 ° 58' 41 " O41.2824751.9780055555556
- Can Valls de la Torre Muntanyeta 41 ° 16 '48 " N, 1 ° 58' 27" O41.2800916666671.9740527777778
- Can Valls de la Torre Muntanyeta ( Back)
- Can Valls de la Torre Muntanyeta (detail)
- Torre Fael i Cal Patxoca 41 ° 16 ' 38 " N, 1 ° 57' 57 " O41.2773555555561.9658527777778
- Torre Fael i Cal Patxoca (Detail)
Watchtowers in the southwest of the historic center
- Torre de Can Vinas 41 ° 16 ' 16 " N, 1 ° 57' 19" O41.2710222222221.9552722222222
- Torre Barona 41 ° 16 '10 " N, 1 ° 57' 45 " O41.2695777777781.9624833333333
- Torre Barona ( View from the interior )
- Torre Barona (View from the beach)
- Torre Moruna 41 ° 16 ' 9 " N, 1 ° 57' 26" O41.2692591.957261
Earlier environmental problems
The undeveloped land between the town center and beach part of Castelldefels, Gava and Viladecans was and is used for agriculture, and apparently served up in the 1980s, the raw sewage of these places for irrigation and even dined occasionally foul-smelling sewage lagoons near the beach. Accordingly, there was a significant mosquito problem in the summer, the City Council of Castelldefels to meet with insecticide tried, which was distributed by means of smoke. A municipal vehicle drove at a distance of a few days by the beach settlement and burnt incense one of the hotels and their guests. Another problem was the noise.
German emigrants
Barcelona has traditionally had a group of German emigrants. A number of these Barcelona-based German families lived in Castelldefels summer houses, preferably on the hill, which lies south of the castle above the town center and is called Montemar, as well as in the district of " Bellamar ".