Sabadell

Sister cities

• Sarajevo
• Matagalpa
• El Argoub

History

In Roman times, a little village called Arragone existed near where the church of La Salut now stands. This grew into the town called Arraona or Arrahona in the Middle Ages. Another little village was built just on the other side of the river. This second village, called Sabadell, located on a plain, began to grow and its population was about 600 people (152 houses) in 1378. Sabadell was enclosed by a wall, but due to population growth in the 16th century, some houses were built outside the wall. At that time the first textile industries appeared in the town, devoted especially to woolen clothing. The woolen industry grew over the next centuries, and in 1800 the town's population was about 2000 people. The 19th century brought two important developments to the town: in 1856 the railway arrived, and in 1877 the town was dubbed a "city". In the 1897 census the population of the city was 23,064 people. The city had become the most important producer of woolen clothing in Spain, and these clothes achieved worldwide fame. The modernisme movement (related to Art Nouveau) had an important influence in the architecture of the city in the early 20th century and distinctive buildings such as the modernista Hotel Suís (1902), Despatx Lluch (1908), and the Caixa d'Estalvis de Sabadell (1915), as well as the Torre de l'Aigua (1918) and the Mercat Central (1930), were built during the first half of the century. In the early 20th century, Sabadell, with Terrassa, was the textile city par excellence, being the driving force of a territory poor in natural resources. The population was multiplied by eight, its industry boosted, particularly textiles and metals, and its economy was modernized in the service sector. Due to this industrial activity, Sabadell received massive waves of…

Geography

Sabadell is located in the middle of the comarca named Vallès Occidental, approximately from Barcelona. It borders (clockwise, starting from the north) with Castellar del Vallès, Sentmenat, Polinyà, Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Barberà del Vallès, Badia del Vallès, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Sant Quirze del Vallès, and Terrassa. The city covers an area of and its population density is as of 2007. The altitude is .

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  14,571
• Sardinian Warbler

  Curruca melanocephala (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  13,358
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  13,239
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,019
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,368
• European Serin

  Serinus serinus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  12,295
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,168
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,885

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2010-12-19
  4 km W of Llagostera, Spain
• M 3.8 — 2008-08-16
  Spain
• M 2.6 — 2008-08-07
  3 km E of Susqueda, Spain
• M 2.8 — 2008-07-23
  6 km W of Santa Coloma de Farners, Spain
• M 2.7 — 2008-07-23
  6 km W of Santa Coloma de Farners, Spain
• M 2.9 — 2008-07-23
  3 km W of Santa Coloma de Farners, Spain