The municipality straddles major transportation networks and is served by several modes of public transport. Sant Adrià is currently a town dominated by the service sector, but with a diverse manufacturing sector (especially in the areas of metal-work, chemistry, and construction) consisting mostly of medium-sized companies.[6] Historically, it has experienced several massive migration flows attracted by the important industrialisation of the area during the last century and has been subject of various major urban redevelopments. In 2004, Sant Adrià de Besòs was part of the Universal Forum of Cultures.[7]
History
The origins of the town are linked to the parish church of Sant Adrià de Besòs, which was referred to in 1012, where in about 1092 a priory of Augustinian monks, dependants of Sant Ruf d'Avinyo, was founded. Saint Olegarius (San José María de Porcioles) came to this priory from 1095 to 1108 before becoming the bishop of Barcelona and, later, the archbishop of Tarragona. In 1127 the priory was moved to Santa Maria de Terrassa. Surrounding this church, upon a small hill fourteen metres high, to the west of the River Besòs, is the nucleus of the original village.
Transport
Given its proximity to the city of Barcelona, Sant Adrià de Besòs is well served by road, rail and many other forms of public transport, becoming an important part of the transportation network in Barcelona metropolitan area. The city has always been an economically unprivileged town and a really dense area, and it remained indifferent to the establishment and the improvement of public transport around Barcelona for many years, but the recent development in public infrastructures and urban renewals has brought substantial transport improvement, especially in the form of tram services.
Public transportation network is mainly composed of several urban and interurban bus routes that provide a good internal connection within the municipality as well as the connection of the city to other nearby cities within the comarca. Currently, 16 bus routes run through the municipality, 5 of them are local bus routes operated by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) to and from Barcelona, 8 are interurban routes within Barcelonès, and 3 are night routes. With regard to rail transport modes, Trambesòs is the most prominent transport system in Sant Adrià which comprises 7 stops within the municipality served by all its routes, linking the city to the district of Sant Martí up to Parc de la Ciutadella in Barcelona. Maresme Line also runs through the city with Sant Adrià de Besòs railway station as the only stop of the line in town which lies in the eastern part of Sant Adrià and is served by Rodalies de Catalunya commuter rail line R1. Verneda is the only Barcelona Metro station officially located in the municipality, but Artigues – Sant Adrià station is as its name says also meant to serve Sant Adrià de Besòs because although being located in Badalona, it is just a few meters from the city limits.
Places of interest
History of Immigration in Catalonia Museum (MhiC): This museum aims to analyse the history of the migratory processes related to Catalonia, mainly from the Iberian Peninsula. It comprises a hall for temporary exhibitions as well as a documentation center, a virtual museum and El Sevillano, a restored passenger railcar used during the 1950s and 1960s by many immigrants to get to Barcelona from southern Spain.
Parish Church of Sant Adrià de Besòs: Built during the 1940s, this church consists of a building with a brick veneer façade, and a large nave which has chapels on each side, a semicircular apse and a dome. The façade is flanked by two towers, of which the highest one is the bell tower.[10]
Air-raid shelter: The air-raid shelter of Francesc Macià Square (RapM) is one of the four public air-raid shelters built during the Spanish Civil War in the city. It is situated under Francesc Macià Square and very close to the former textile factory Industrial Baurier since factories were military targets. This air-raid shelter had capacity for 80 or 100 people and it was finished building in August 1938 but was not closed in Francoist Spain until March 1939. It was reopened on 11 September 2006 after rehabilitation and it was not turned into a museum until 27 January 2008. Currently, the RapM is divided into five exhibition spaces with an entrance hall, and is designed as a teaching tool to think over the Civil War and the post-war in Sant Adrià.[11]
Climate
Climate data for Sant Adrià de Besòs (data from 1902-1972)
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
13.5 (56.3)
14.4 (57.9)
16.7 (62.1)
19.4 (66.9)
22.2 (72.0)
25.2 (77.4)
29.0 (84.2)
28.9 (84.0)
26.9 (80.4)
23.0 (73.4)
17.0 (62.6)
13.8 (56.8)
20.8 (69.4)
Daily mean °C (°F)
8.6 (47.5)
9.2 (48.6)
11.6 (52.9)
14.2 (57.6)
17.1 (62.8)
20.4 (68.7)
23.9 (75.0)
23.9 (75.0)
21.9 (71.4)
17.8 (64.0)
12.3 (54.1)
9.4 (48.9)
15.9 (60.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
3.7 (38.7)
4.0 (39.2)
6.6 (43.9)
8.9 (48.0)
12.0 (53.6)
15.6 (60.1)
18.8 (65.8)
18.9 (66.0)
16.9 (62.4)
12.5 (54.5)
7.6 (45.7)
5.0 (41.0)
10.9 (51.6)
Source: Sistema de Clasificación Bioclimática Mundial[12]
Demography
Historical population of Sant Adrià de Besòs (Source: Municat. Generalitat de Catalunya.[13])
Year
1990
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Population
34,729
32,452
32,439
32,641
32,845
32,921
32,940
32,585
32,734
33,223
33,761
34,104
34,157
Photo gallery
Location of the municipality of Sant Adrià de Besòs within the comarca of Barcelonès highlighted in blue.
Original portal of the CarmeliteConvent of Barcelona dated from the 14th century. Since 1993, it is situated in Sant Adrià as if it was a monument which is locally known as Arc de Sant Adrià.[14]
Main façade of the Parish Church of Sant Adrià and the square named after the church where it is situated.
View of the river Besòs as it passes through the municipality. In the later course of the river the "Riverside Park of Besòs" was created and has become an important public open space.
The three chimneys of the now closed Besòs thermal power station have become an icon for the city. In 2008, the citizens of Sant Adrià decided to keep them in a referendum.[15]
Notable people
Monkey Black (1986–2014) Rapper born in the Dominican Republic. He lived in Sant Adrià de Besòs where he was murder in 2014.
Isabel Coixet (1962–), film director, born in Sant Adrià