Terrassa

Population: 200.000

Although these days it is probably not as obviously attractive as its sister Sabadell, Terrassa has a lot to offer as a place to live and the town does have an impressive, and well-documented, history. The Roman city of Ègara (Municipium Flavium Egara) was located around the church of Sant Pere and the seasonal river Vallparadis, an area where not only Roman ruins but also remains of an older Iberian settlement can be seen. Like many other Catalan towns, Terrassa grew into a walled city in Medieval times and expanded and prospered throughout the following centuries. Along with Barcelona and Sabadell, it became one of the major centres of the textile industry during the Industrial Revolution and the fact that the Museu Nacional de la Ciència i de la Tècnica, the National Science and Technology Museum, is located in Terrassa reflects its importance. Another significant corollary to Terrassa’s wealth in the late 19th century is its incredible Modernist architecture, the richness of which is reflected in the words of Eugeni d’Ors, who described Terrassa as the ‘Athens of Catalonia.’

Admittedly, the demographic growth caused by the mass immigration of the 50s and 60s has somewhat tarnished Terrassa’s beauty, but first impressions are not always what they seem and it is really worth spending some time to scratch below Terrassa’s superficial impression as an industrial city. For those so inclined, perhaps the best way to get to know Terrassa is through its vibrant music scene. The Nova Jazz Cava on Ptge Tete Montoliu s/n is one of the best venues in Spain and regularly features big name international jazz stars as well as home-grown talent, and throughout March Terrassa hosts a magnificent jazz festival which showcases Latin jazz at its best without forgetting swing and bebop. Information about what’s going down in Terrassa can be found on www.jazzterrassa.org.

Ajuntament de Terrassa, Raval de Montserrat 14, 08221 Terrassa Tel. 93 739 70 60
Oficines de Turisme, Raval de Montserrat, 14 and Rambla d'Ègara, 270

Original article idea submitted by Laura

I live in Terrassa, a big city in Vallès Occidental. Terrassa is near

Barcelona, it takes you about three quarters of an hour by train and thirty minutes by car to get to Plaça Catalunya.
Its population is 160.000 inhabitants, and it has also a multicultural population; here we have people from other parts of

Spain and from other countries, like

Morocco or

South America.
I’ve lived in the suburbs for all my life, but my neighbourhood is near the centre, I can get to the centre on foot in ten minutes.

There are a lot of things to do in Terrassa. If you want to buy something you need, you’ll find all the shops in the centre. You can go to the cinema too, in Parc Vallès there are more than fifteen films to see, and if you are interested in science or you like to visit museums you can visit the Techniques and

Science

Museum.

My city isn’t very beautiful because there are too many industrial estates, and so there’s a lot of pollution. It hasn’t got very good public transport so it’s difficult to get to many places without a car, for example, to get to the night clubs you have to go by car, and there are a lot of traffic jams, too. Although, if you live in the centre, it’s easy to get to all the places.

I've lived here for all my life and, although it isn't a pretty city I like living here. I suppose this is because all my friends and my family live here.

To get some information about the city and its festivities visit these websites:-
www.terrassa.cat

www.terrassa.cat/terrassaalmon/planol_ciutat/planol_ciutat.htm