The Visigothic Period
In the 5th century, after the fall of the Roman empire (for additional information – The Ancient Period of Barcelona), the Visigoths conquered northern Spain. They controlled the whole Pyrenees, the area of Costa Brava and Catalonia. Actually, Visigoths did not influence the area culturally, or at least today we cannot find too many artistic or architectural remains from them. Moreover, they allowed for Christians to practice their religion and their language was quickly latinized.
if you want to see some historical remains from this time, you need to leave Barcelona and take a trip to Girona or to Figueres. In these towns you can see ruins of some buildings with characteristics of Visigothic architecture.
The Moorish Period
Moors are Muslim people from Africa who started to invade southern Europe at the beginning of the Middle Ages. In the 8th century they arrived to Spain and started to conquer the land from south to north. Firstly, they appeared in Toledo, Madrid, Castilla and Andalusia, later, around 711-720, they arrived also to Catalonia. Actually, in contrast with other areas of Spain, they controlled this area just for a short period, it was about 85 years. They were dispelled by Christians, more exactly by the troops of the famous Frank emperor, Karl I. In alliance with the Visigoths, recaptured many territories occupied by Moors. In 801 Moors left Barcelona.
If you are interested in this period we suggest to visit the Gothic Quarter where you can see some remains related to the Moors. Similar to the previous periods (for additional information – The Ancient Period of Barcelona) during this time Barcelona was not the most important settlement in the area. That is why you can find more remains in Girona, where you can admire the walls form this time and the cathedral of the city built in the honour of emperor Karl.
After Karl had dispelled Moors from the Pyrenees and from Catalonia, Barcelona became a buffer between the Christian French area and the southern territories occupied by Muslims in the south. The emperor chose a group of counts who were loyal to him and controlled the area. These counts had more power that the Spanish nobility mainly because of their role in the wars against Moors. Their domination lasted approximately 500 years.
Curious tourists can see many interesting historical landmarks in Barcelona from this period, One of them is situated in the Gothic Quarter. This is the statue of Ramon Berenguer III on Plaça Ramon Berenguer el Gran. Ramon Berenguer el Gran was one of the most famous and biggest counts in Barcelona. He united all of the Catalan counts and led numerous successful wars against Muslims.
Barcelona During the Federation with Aragon
In 1137 Ramon Berenguer I, also referred as the “Saint”, the son of the above-mentioned count, married with Petronila of Aragon, the daughter of the King of Aragon. This was the first alliance between Catalonia and Aragon but not the last one. Due to this union, by the 13th century the importance of Barcelona and Catalonia increased. The port of the city, today known as Port Vell, became an important commercial point, during this period was built Santa Maria del Mar, an amazing gothic church, one of the oldest churches in the city.
King Jaume I
The economical and cultural development of Catalonia was supported mainly by king Jaume I. He lived in the second part of the 13th century and can be considered to be the biggest king of the Catalanas. He introduced the first Catalan law and supported the Catalan language and culture. Actually, the world “Catalan” was written firstly during his reign. Plaça de Sant Jaume was named after this famous and important king.
Palau de la Generalitat (Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia) was also built during this rich period of the city.
In this time Catalonia and Aragon were very strong, they controlled Granada in southern Spain and many Italian territories in the area of the Mediterranean Sea, like Sicily, Naples and Sardinia.
Besides the above-mentioned attractions, we recommend to visit the Museu Etnològic de Barcelona (Ethnology Museum) in the area of the Montjuic. There you can see different objects brought by the Catalan ships from the area of the Mediterranean Sea.
This period is considered to be the greatest independent time of Catalonia, when Catalans were the strongest in whole of Spain.