While legend has Hannibal’s father founding Barcelona in the 3rd Century B.C., there is no substantiating evidence.

The Roman Period
Around 15 B.C., the Romans established the military camp of Faventia near the present-day Barcelona city hall. The colony was, at first, dwarfed in size by nearby Tarraco but soon grew large and prosperous, largely due to its excellent harbor.

To this day, there are vestiges in Barcelona of its Roman past, many on display at the Barcelona City History Museum. In the city’s historic center, the original Roman street grid is still discernible. There are also fragments of ancient Roman walls built into the Basilica La Seu, a cathedral dating from the 4th Century A.D.

Medieval Times
Invading Visigoths captured Barcelona in the 5th Century and made it, though briefly, the capital of Gothic Spain. By the 8th Century, Islamic invaders took the city, but in 801, the French wrested it back into Christian hands and made it the capital of a new buffer state called the “Hispanic March.

In 1137, the County of Barcelona was united to Aragon by royal marriage, ultimately forming the single Crown of Aragon. The County of Barcelona, united with the rest of the Catalan Counties, formed the Principality of Catalonia, which remained in personal union with the kingdoms of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca and others under the same Crown. Aragon then built up an empire, which included Naples and Sicily and achieved naval domination of the western Mediterranean.

In 1469, the Crown Aragon was united to Castile, again by royal marriage, and soon after Madrid instead of Barcelona became the capital of the new Monarchy of Spain. When Spain gained a New World Empire, the importance of Mediterranean commerce, and thus of Barcelona, declined.

Modern Times
Barcelona remained a hotbed of insurgency long after union with Castile, and this led to the failed Catalan Revolt of 1640 to 1652. Also damaging the city at this time was the Great Plague, which killed half the population. Barcelona took some damage during the Napoleanic Wars, but the 19th Century Industrial Revolution improved the city’s fortunes, while at the same time it turned into a revolutionary center.

In more recent decades, Barcelona, again the capital of the autonomous Catalonia, has gained importance as an economic center and as one of Europe’s busiest ports. In 1992, the city garnered attention by hosting the Summer Olympics.