(English) 10 Interesting Facts about Las Ramblas in Barcelona

– The word Rambla comes from Arabic and the term ramia, a sandy riverbed. In the 10^th and 11^th centuries, the rains falling down from the Collserola mountains created a torrent of water along a ravine, or ramia as it was known. After the construction of Hospital, Las Ramblas became the first and only avenue in Barcelona.

– The tradition of celebrating the triumphs of FC Barcelona in the Canaletas Fountain goes back to 1930 when employees of sports newspaper La Rambla would report match results via a blackboard hung in the window. Fans would gather at their headquarters, located in front of the fountain, to celebrate some of Barça’s greatest victories. Even with the arrival of the radio, the tradition continued. Fans would congregate in the Canaletas Fountain to listen to matches, radios in hand.

– The oldest hotel in Barcelona is located on Las Ramblas. It is the Hotel Oriente. Constructed between 1652 and 1670, it served as the Franciscan School of San Buenaventura until the confiscation of 1835, when it became the Gran Fonda de Oriente, a palace for the Durio family. In 1931 it was renamed as the Hotel Oriente.

– Las Ramblas was the scene of one of the most famous robberies. It was committed in 1981 at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Barcelona, located at Plaza Cataluña with access to Las Ramblas. The event became famous for causing upheaval in a society that only three months earlier had survived a failed coup attempt, for the tensions experienced within the building and for the duration of the robbery that lasted 37 hours and brought activity in the city to a halt. A group of 11 people led by José Juan Martínez Gómez detained 300 people, including employees, customers and passers-by. They demanded the release of Tejero and four other members of the 23-F group, although their true intentions were to empty the safe and escape through a tunnel. The event ended in the death of one of the robbers, the arrest of nine and the escape of another assailant. Subsequent investigations disassociated the robbers from any political connections and the official version of the story was limited to describing them as a “gang of thugs, hooligans and anarchists”.

– Las Ramblas is home to the only Erotic Museum in Spain. Situated opposite the Boqueria Market, it welcomes 60,000 visitors each year, 90% from overseas. The museum explores the world of Kama Sutra, the forbidden erotic art of Japan and the history of Spanish adult films through some 800 pieces.

– In 2010 the sale of animals on Las Ramblas was banned. Two years earlier, commitment to eliminate pet shops was acquired after the breaking of some regulations on exhibiting animals. Authorisation was only granted to one establishment considered part of the city’s heritage, but they had to adapt to the new legislation. The owner had five kiosks that would become a unique place of just 40 square metres, but difficulties to adjust the space in line with the regulations for the protection of animals led the owner to close down.

– Las Ramblas is home to Europe’s biggest and Barcelona’s only automatic car park.  Eleven underground levels are located in the Palau Nou building with 780 parking spaces, all entirely automised. The driver simply needs to collect the ticket and drive their vehicle into one of the elevators that then transports their car to the floor where there’s an empty space.

– In the Teatro Poliorama building you’ll find a clock that marks the “official time of the city”. The building was once the headquarters of the Royal Academy of Science and the Arts of Barcelona and its clock was inaugurated in the year 1886, when time references were limited to the sun and the sound of bells. Just 5 years later, the declaration of service hours within the city was made official, as told by the sign just next to the clock. Inside the building, a clock tells the time of twenty-four cities around the world.

– The Casa de Bruno Cuadros was once a controversial fishmongers. The owner opened the store thanks to the good fortune that came together during his time as a worker in a Barcelona currency factory, when he began swallowing a gold coin each day. Many blamed the closure of the factory on the behaviour of this worker, making him the enemy of Barcelona society. When they heard that Cal Pau Lladre was the owner of the fishmongers, the business began to fail and had to close. Years later, Bruno Cuadros bought the building to remodel it completely and open an umbrella store that would draw attention with its colourful décor.

– Building number 5 on Las Ramblas hosted the first department store in Barcelona. The El Siglo stores were also pioneers in marketing by introducing door-to-door deliveries throughout Cataluña and through their eye-catching slogans.

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