Castelldefels

Castelldefels
Municipality
Castelldefels
Castelldefels
Flag of Castelldefels
Flag
Coat of arms of Castelldefels
Coat of arms
Castelldefels is located in Province of Barcelona
Castelldefels
Castelldefels
Location in the Province of Barcelona
Castelldefels is located in Catalonia
Castelldefels
Castelldefels
Location in Catalonia
Castelldefels is located in Spain
Castelldefels
Castelldefels
Location of Spain
Coordinates: 41°17′10″N 1°58′55″E / 41.286°N 1.982°E / 41.286; 1.982
Country Spain
Autonomous community Catalonia
ProvinceBarcelona
ComarcaBaix Llobregat
Government
 • MayorManuel Reyes (2023–2027) (PP)
Area
[1]
 • Total12.9 km2 (5.0 sq mi)
Elevation
3 m (10 ft)
Population
 (2018)[2]
 • Total66,375
 • Density5,100/km2 (13,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s)castelldefelenc, castelldefelenca (Ca)
castelldefelense, castelldefelensa (Es)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code
08860
Official language(s)Catalan and Spanish
Websitecastelldefels.cat

Castelldefels (Catalan pronunciation: [kəsˌteʎðəˈfɛls]) is a municipality in the Baix Llobregat comarca, in the province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, and a suburban town of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. Its population is 65,954 (IDESCAT, 2017).[3]

Geography and location

Castle of Castelldefels
Castelldefels beach

It is located about 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Barcelona, just to the north of the massís del Garraf and is the last town on the coast before the comarca of Garraf. The town is famous for its long beach (more than 5 km) and well known for being an affluent area, as the place of residence of many famous sportsmen, such as Lionel Messi,[4] Luis Suárez, Philippe Coutinho, or formerly Ronaldinho;[citation needed] and for being the city which inspired the creation of the character "El Neng de Castefa" who used to appear on the late night show called "BFN" hosted by the showman and presenter Andreu Buenafuente.[citation needed] During the summer, many people from Barcelona and the countryside visit it. Nearby towns include Gavà, Viladecans, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Sitges and el Prat de Llobregat. Castelldefels borders the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between Sitges and Gavà with a major beach. Castelldefels also enjoys close proximity to the major international airport of Barcelona, as El Prat Airport is about 15 km of a drive.

The Olympic canal, called Canal Olímpic de Catalunya, built for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games of Barcelona is in the town.

The main-belt asteroid 72037 Castelldefels, discovered in 2000, is named after the town.[5]

Demography and governance

Population[citation needed]
1900 1930 1950 1970 1986 2005
289 797 2039 13,219 27,932 56,718

Between 1979 and 2011, the town was governed by the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC). The first democratic mayor after Constitution was Agustín Marina Pérez [ca]. In 2011, the conservative People's Party (PP) won a plurality of seats for the first time, and Manuel Reyes of the PP was elected mayor of the town.[6] In 2015, the eco-socialist Candela López of the ICV was elected mayor by a leftist government coalition.

Summary of council election results

1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) 8 15 12 11 9 9 8 9 7 4 6 4
Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV) 5 (a) 2 3 1 2 3 3
United and Alternative Left (EUiA) 1 (b) 1 (b) 1
Movem Castelldefels (with ICV-EUiA) 4 4 3
Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) 4
Independents/Residents groups 2 1 2 2 2
Convergence and Union (CiU) 1 3 5 6 4 4 3 4 5 2
Together for Castelldefels (Junts) 1 1
Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) 1 1 1 3 4 2
People's Party (PP) 2 (c) 1 (c) 3 5 5 5 5 8 8 8 12
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 1
Citizens – Party of the Citizenry (C's) 1 2 2
Castelldefels Si Pot (CSPOT) 2
Som Castelldefels (SFELS) 3
Total number of seats[7] 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 25 25 25 25 25

(a) results for the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia
(b) results for the Party of the Communists of Catalonia
(c) results for the People's Alliance

Education

Castelldefels School of Technology provides higher education in aeronautics and telecommunications technology.

The town is also the location of the Castelldefels and Nexus (sixth form college) campuses of the British School of Barcelona (BSB).[8]

There are ten public primary schools and three public secondary schools.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Castelldefels

Transport links include two stations (Castelldefels and Platja de Castelldefels) on Renfe line R2 from Sant Vicenç de Calders to Maçanet-Massanes via Barcelona, bus routes to Barcelona (L94, L95, L97), Barcelona Airport (L99) and Sant Boi de Llobregat (L96), as well as an urban bus route connecting the rest of the town (CF1), the C-32 motorway and the C-31 and C-245 dual carriageways. A second railway line is due to be constructed from Cornellà de Llobregat to Castelldefels.

2010 accident

Main article: Castelldefels train accident

On 23 June 2010, 12 young people were killed, and 14 injured, when they were hit by an express train as they crossed the tracks in the railway station at Platja de Castelldefels, while on their way to a summer solstice bonfire party on the beach.[9]

References

  1. ^ "El municipi en xifres: Castelldefels". Statistical Institute of Catalonia. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  2. ^ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
  3. ^ "The municipality in figures". Statistical Institute of Catalonia. 2017.
  4. ^ "Lionel Messi admits he sees 'weird things happening' at Barcelona". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  5. ^ 72037 Castelldefels
  6. ^ "El PP promet austeritat a Castelldefels després de conquerir la històrica alcaldia socialista", ara.cat, 11 June 2011
  7. ^ Eleccions municipals 1979–2011, Ciutats catalanes de més de 25.000 habitants, Historiaelectoral.com, accessed 4 September 2011
  8. ^ "Contact Us". British School of Barcelona. Retrieved 25 May 2020. The British School of Barcelona Castelldefels Carrer Ginesta, 26 08860 Castelldefels Barcelona, Spain[...]BSB Nexus Carrer Ginesta, 2-10 08860 Castelldefels Barcelona, Spain - This is visible by clicking the contact address information tabs at the footer of the page.
  9. ^ "Twelve Spanish Teenagers Killed by Express Train", The Guardian, 24 June 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2010
  • Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. ISBN 84-87135-01-3 (Spanish). ISBN 84-87135-02-1 (Catalan).
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