County of Barcelona: Map & History
Girona, also known in Spanish as Gerona, is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers.
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Girona, also known in Spanish as Gerona, is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the population of the Girona–Salt urban area is estimated to be about 156,400 (2020). Girona is also capital of the comarca of the Gironès and the vegueria of Girona. Since much of the old quarter of this ancient city has been preserved, Girona is a popular tourist destination. The city is located 99 km (62 mi) northeast of Barcelona.
Modern Countries Once Part of County of Barcelona
At its mapped extent, County of Barcelona covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside County of Barcelona's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
County of Barcelona in Depth
History
The first historical inhabitants in the region were Iberians; Girona is the ancient Gerunda, a city of the Ausetani. Later, the Romans built a citadel there, which was given the name of Gerunda. The Visigoths ruled in Girona until it was conquered by the Moors in 715. Charlemagne reconquered it in 785 and made it one of the fourteen original counties of Catalonia. It was sacked by the Moors in 827, 842, 845, 935, and 982. Wilfred the Hairy incorporated Girona into the County of Barcelona in 878.
In the 11th century, Alfonso II of Aragon and I of Barcelona declared Girona a city. The ancient county became a duchy within the Principality of Catalonia in 1351 when King Peter III of Aragon gave the title of Duke to his first-born son, John.
Economy and infrastructure
The town is on the Autopista AP-7 and N-II. The city is also the hub of the local road network with routes to the coast and inland towards the Pyrenees.
The city has a comprehensive urban bus service operated by private companies. There are also services to the other towns in the Girona province and long-distance buses.
Girona is served at its new railway station to the west of the Old Town. There are conventional trains from Barcelona to Portbou and the French border.
Girona is also an important stop on the AVE services from Paris, Marseille, Toulouse and Figueres to Barcelona, and from Figueres to Barcelona and Madrid.
Culture
The Barri Vell and the Girona Cathedral have been the set of several films, e.g. The Monk and episode 10 of season 6 of Game of Thrones.
During the professional cycling season, various non-European pro cyclists have called Girona home, as illustrated in the book by Michael Barry, written during his time with the US Postal Service cycling team. Between races, cyclists do their training rides outside the city, which provides excellent training terrain.
In the spring of 1997, Marty Jemison, Tyler Hamilton and George Hincapie moved to Girona as teammates on the US Postal Service Professional Cycling Team. This was the first year that American cyclists started living in Girona and meeting for training rides at the Pont de Pedra.
Geography
Girona was founded in a strategic location along a natural corridor between the Empordà plain and the Catalan Coastal Depression, thereby connecting the Costa Brava and France to the north with Barcelona and other population centres in the south of Catalonia. This corridor is a defile formed by the Ter river between the Gavarres massif and the Catalan Transversal Range.
The Ter river is the most important water course in the region. In Girona it flows through the north of the town, from southwest to northeast. It is in Girona where the Ter meets the Onyar, the second largest river in the area.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Girona (CC BY-SA 4.0).
County of Barcelona: Key Facts
| Capital | Girona |
|---|---|
| Official language | Catalan |
Facts from Wikidata Q7038 (CC0).
County of Barcelona Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which County of Barcelona appears, with the other states of the time.
County of Barcelona Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 19,407 km² in 1160 CE.
County of Barcelona: Frequently Asked Questions
When did County of Barcelona exist?
County of Barcelona is dated to 898 CE – 1168 CE, in the Early Middle Ages era.
What was the capital of County of Barcelona?
The capital of County of Barcelona was Girona.
How large was County of Barcelona at its peak?
At its peak in 1160 AD County of Barcelona covered about 19,407 km².
How did the map of County of Barcelona change over time?
County of Barcelona appears on 3 dated world maps in the atlas, from 900 CE to 1100 CE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.
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