Santa Coloma de Gramenet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Santa Coloma de Gramenet
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Municipality
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Town Hall
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Location in Barcelonès county
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 Santa Coloma de Gramenet
Location in Catalonia
Santa Coloma de Gramenet
Location in Spain
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| Sovereign state |  Spain |
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| Community |  Catalonia |
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| Region | Barcelona | ||
| County | Barcelonès | ||
| Province | Barcelona | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 7.0 km2 (2.7 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 56 m (184 ft) | ||
| Population
(2018)
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| • Total | 118,821 | ||
| • Density | 16,970/km2 (43,960/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym(s) | Colomenc, -ca (ca) Colomense (es) |
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Santa Coloma de Gramenet is a city in Catalonia, Spain. People often call it just Santa Coloma. It's located near the coast, with a hill called Puig Castellar as its highest point. The Besòs river flows nearby. Santa Coloma is one of the biggest cities in Catalonia by population.
People have lived here for a very long time, since the Iberic period. You can still see the remains of an ancient Iberian village on Puig Castellar. Old items found there are kept in a museum at La Torre Balldovina, a building from the 1700s. Other cool old buildings include La Torre Pallaresa and the Clínica Mental.
In 2008, Santa Coloma made news for putting solar panels on top of graves in its cemetery. This was a unique way to help fight climate change!
Contents
A Look at Santa Coloma's History
People have lived in the Santa Coloma area since at least 3500 BC. This is known from old tools and items found there. Around 600 to 500 BC, a group called the Layetanos settled on Puig Castellar. They lived along the coast until the Romans arrived around 200 BC. The village on Puig Castellar was likely left empty around 200 BC.
There isn't much information about the area during Roman and Visigothic times. It seems there were small villages near the Besòs river. These villages were influenced by bigger cities nearby, like Baetulo (Badalona) and Barcino (Barcelona).
After a period of less activity, people started moving back to the area in the 800s. They built a church dedicated to Santa Coloma. This first church was destroyed in 985. A new Romanesque church was built in the same spot around 1019. This church was used for over 700 years. The city started to grow around this church.
Cool Places to See in Santa Coloma
The Town Hall and Plaza de la Vila
The Plaza de la Vila (Town Square) was created in the late 1800s. The first Town Hall building was built in 1886. It held the city offices, a court, a prison, and a school.
The Main Church (Església Major)
This church, dedicated to Santa Coloma, was built between 1912 and 1915. It's one of the last neo-Gothic buildings made in Catalonia around that time. It mixes old Gothic styles with new ideas.
Outside, the church has a pointed window instead of a round one. This window shows the Virgin of Montserrat. The bell tower is tall and has a black pointy roof, like buildings in Northern Europe. You can also see details from Catalan Modernism, like the decorations around the top of the bell tower. The whole building looks very tall and grand.
Inside, the ceiling has a cool pattern of wooden beams, like a checkerboard. The church also uses a mix of stone and brick, which was popular in the Modernist style.
Who Built the Church?
The church was designed by Francesc d'Assís Berenguer i Mestres, who worked closely with Antoni Gaudí. Since Berenguer wasn't a certified architect, Miquel Pascual i Tintorer signed the plans. Pascual took over the building work when Berenguer passed away in 1914.
An old altarpiece (a decorated screen behind the altar) was destroyed during the civil war in 1936. Now, there's a ceramic screen by Ricardo Altés in its place.
Beautiful Stained Glass Windows
The church has seven stained glass windows. Look closely at the three in the middle, made by Pere Cánovas and Francisco Queixalós. They have many bright colors.
- The window on the left shows the history of Santa Coloma as a farming town. It includes old buildings like the Pallaresa Tower and Balldovina Tower, Puig Castellar, and typical farm products.
- The middle window shows Santa Coloma (the city's patron saint) with symbols like a bear, fire, rain, a dove, and the Bible.
- The window on the right shows two important buildings of the modern city: the Town Hall and the Santa Coloma church.
The blue color at the bottom of these windows represents the Besós river, which has always been important to the area.
The Statue of Santa Coloma Mártir
To the right of the main altar, you'll find a statue of Santa Coloma Mártir, the city's patron saint. This statue is very old, from the 1400s. Its face was damaged in a fire in 1936 and later repaired.
The Rectory
Next to the church is the rectory, where the priest lives. It has a simple Gothic style with cool windows and a slightly uneven design, giving it a touch of modern style.
San José Oriol Parish
The San José Oriol church stands where an 11th-century Romanesque church once was. That old church was replaced in 1761 by a new Baroque temple, which was then destroyed in 1936. The most interesting part of the current church is the area around the altar, decorated by artist Grau Garriga. It has a large cotton tapestry that looks like a lamb, symbolizing Jesus Christ.
The Iberian Village of Puig Castellar
The Iberian village is located on top of Puig Castellar, a hill 303 meters high. It's the remains of a village built by the Laietana tribe around 600 BC. They lived there until the Romans arrived around 200 BC.
This was a medium-sized village. People mostly farmed and raised animals. But items found there show they also traded with other groups like the Greeks and Carthaginians. The village was shaped like an oval, with three main streets. It covered about 4,000 square meters and had around 30 buildings, home to about 200 people. A wall surrounded the village for protection.
Ferran de Sagarra discovered the village in 1902. He started the first digs, and the items found were given to the Institute of Catalan Studies. Today, most of the discovered objects are in the Torre Balldovina Museum.
To celebrate this history, Santa Coloma has held an Iberian Festival every year since 2007. During the festival, people act out what daily life was like for the Iberians.
Getting Around Santa Coloma
Santa Coloma de Gramenet has good public transport options to help people get around the city and to other nearby places.
See also
In Spanish: Santa Coloma de Gramanet para niños
