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Location

Granollers, capital of the eastern Vallès region (Vallès Oriental), is situated on the Vallès plain, which forms part of the pre-coastal Catalan depression, at an average height of 148 metres above sea level. Vallès Oriental is a region with a wide range of different aspects. Mountain areas combined with large valleys full of small hills, cultivated fields, streams, towns and cities.

Since the time of the Romans the region has built up a network of criss-crossing roads which have been reinforced through the centuries by other lines of communication, such as the new road in 1848 which replaced the old camí ral (Ral path) and two railway lines: one from Barcelona to Granollers (1854), which has been extended and currently runs from Sant Vicenç de Calders to Maçanet-Massanes, and the northern line, originally connecting to Sant Joan de les Abadesses (1876), and which today begins at l'Hospitalet de Llobregat and ends in Vic. In 1976, a motorway was built connecting Granollers with the French border. The fact that it is situated just 30 kilometres from Barcelona has led to Granollers becoming a junction between the inner regions of the country and France. Due to its excellent location and well-developed communication network, Granollers was given the status of capital for the eastern Vallès region, a region that is renowned today for its economic growth.

The city, occupying an area of 14.89 Km2, grew up around the banks of the River Congost which crosses the city from north to south with intermittent flow depending on the rainfall in the Montseny Massif and the Bertí Cliffs. These mountains, along with those of Gallifa and el Farell and the coastal hill chain of Céllecs and Sant Bartomeu, form the backdrop to the city.

Historical patrimony

La Porxada

The monument most associated with the city was built between 1586 and 1587 as a result of a project entrusted by the Consell de la Vila (the Town Council) to the master builder Bartomeu Brufalt. La Porxada was initially designed as a corn exchange and cost 739 Barcelona pounds. The building is 24 metres long and 15.65 metres wide and consists of 15 Tuscan columns supporting a pyramidal tower roof. The 31 May bombing caused severe damage to its structure but it was restored to its original condition after the civil war. In 1984 one of the beams holding up the northern roof gave way, hastening the reconstruction of the rooftop. The 400th anniversary of the building's construction coincided with the start of restoration work.

The walls

Building on the walls began in 1291 and they reached  their full height between 1366 and 1380 under the reign of Pere III. They were demolished at the end of the 19th   century but remains of the 16th century rebuilding have been conserved. The walls took the form of a hexagon and had eleven defensive towers with a walkway connecting them known as the corredossos. The five gatehouses were placed on the existing roads, and on top of each one was a chapel: the Barcelona gatehouse (Sant Cristòfol), the Caldes gatehouse (Santa Anna), the Corró gatehouse (Sant Antoni), the Bell-lloc gatehouse (Sant Roc) and the Roca gatehouse (Santa Esperança). When the walls were demolished the chapels were moved to the side of the road.

The bell tower of the parochial church of Saint Stephen

This is the last vestige "in situ" of the old gothic church of Saint Stephen, built in the 15th century over a Romanesque building. The tower is 34 metres high and divided into three floors, the first floor is square shaped the others octagonal. It has large gothic, tri-lobed, tracery windows, topped by a balcony front with an interlacing motif. The Museu de Granollers (Granollers Museum) contains corbels and trestles from the original gothic church.

The Francesc Tarafa building

This building is located in Corró Street and was the site of the old hospital built by Bertran de Seva in the 14th and 15th centuries. It continued to be a centre for health care until 1844. The current building preserves the gothic structure of the old hospital and has a pitched roof supported by three diaphragm arches and wooden beams. It was redesigned in 1926 by Joaquim Raspall and converted into a library. The interior was decorated with a plant relief and modernist stained glass windows. Two gothic windows acquired from Felip Blanchart were fitted into the front of the building along with a rosetó (rose window).

Condestable's house

All that remains of the old Tagamanent house situated in Roc Street is the central part of the 15th century palace. Conestable Pere of Portugal died in this building in 1466 and ever since it has been known as Conestable's house. The following are of special interest: the main facade of the building, the entranceway of voussoir stone, the round arch, the large trefoil arch gothic window on the noble floor and the ogee, lobed window on the second floor.

The town hall

The town hall is located opposite la Porxada and has gone through a great deal of changes since it was first built at the end of the 16th century to cope with the administrative needs of the time. Between 1902 and 1904, the architect Simó Cordomí totally redesigned the old building. The decorative and formal elements give the building an overall, neo-gothic character.

Hospital-Asil

Located in Francesc Ribas Avenue, the Asil Hospital is a group of buildings built in 1919. Two watchtowers link the two side pavilions, which contain decorative and formal elements in modernist style. The project for the construction of the building was carried out by Josep M. Miró i Gibernau.

Trade in Granollers

Granollers is today the major business centre in the eastern Vallès region. According to the Spanish Economic Annual Report published by the savings bank, La Caixa, there are 1,569 retail premises occupying a total space of 191,561 m2 and 406 wholesalers. The business community of Granollers currently plays a major role in the life of the city where it has become an important force for promoting social, cultural and sporting activities.

The eastern Vallès region has a long tradition in trade which dates right back to Prehistoric times.  The first evidence of trade in the area dates back to the Iron Age, at the time when the Iberians occupied the region. This early commercial activity was the foundation for what would become a far more sophisticated trading network. The arrival of the Romans caused a remarkable increase in economic activity; during this period, our region was mainly concerned with cultivating cereals, wine and olives.

Areas such as Sabadell and Granollers, which had more sophisticated communications networks, were able to sell their surplus on a large scale; a trend that increased with the arrival of the millennium. The first stable settlements appeared at this time and these made it possible to set up markets. The spontaneous emergence of the Granollers market was very much due to its location at the crossways of a number of major roads and footpaths.

The 16th century saw great economic growth and markets were set up all over the region. The Granollers Corn Exchange known as la Porxada, built in 1587, would play a major role. With industrialisation and the development of communications, especially the railway, Granollers, along with Sabadell and Terrassa, underwent a significant increase in population. By the 20th century the city had experienced a total transformation. Trade and industry were now the backbone of its activities. The city and industry have developed along the same lines.

Granollers is today the major business centre in the eastern Vallès region. According to the Spanish Economic Annual Report published by the savings bank, La Caixa, there are 1,569 retail premises occupying a total space of 191,561 m2 and 388 wholesalers. This same publication states that there are 388 restaurants and bars in Granollers and 75 banks.

The thursday market

The Thursday street market has been and continues to be an essential part of the life of Granollers and has played a vital role in its development. The city’s perfect location makes it a meeting point, suitable for all types of business transactions. The Thursday market is diversified and is held in various streets and squares around the centre of the city every Thursday of the year. When Thursday falls on a public or local festival it is held on the Wednesday before.

The Thursday market has been and continues to be a fundamental part of the life of Granollers and has played a vital role in its development. The city's perfect location, as we have mentioned, makes it a meeting point, suitable for all types of business transactions. A logical consequence of the market's central role in the development of the city has been the increasing importance of trade and commerce. The market was a base from where Granollers' subsequent flourishing commercial life grew. The development of the town in mediaeval times was closely linked to the market business, first documented in 1040, and which has continued without a break up to today. The importance of the market can be seen in the names of many of the squares where this weekly event takes place, all within the old city walls. Names like Oli (Oil) and Cabrits (kid goat) Square, which are still in existence and others such as Bestiar (Livestock), Gra (Grain) and Porc (Pig) Square, gone but not forgotten. These streets and squares have been the setting for this hectic Thursday event that on a weekly basis both paralyses and motivates the whole town.

Resistance to the slightest change in the location of the market, even when considered absolutely necessary, has been a source of much controversy and open opposition.  In July 1872, the part of the market dealing with grains and potatoes was moved to Llibertat Square, now called Corona Square, having already changed its location a number of times, once on 2 November 1869 by plebiscite (although it quickly returned to its old site in front of la Porxada).

In August 1930, a group of neighbours asked the council to move the livestock market to Verdaguer Square, with a view to decongesting and making better use of the centre of the city. The request was accepted and agreed at a plenary session held on 21 January 1931. Much to the surprise of the council however, the decision did not go down well with citizens. A large number of traders involved in varied business and commercial activities related to the market absolutely rejected the decision, to the point of threatening to hold the market on private property. If the argument in favour of the decision was logical and easy to understand, the case against it was also strong, given that it would involve a serious financial loss that would affect the council, which would no longer receive the market taxes. It was finally decided not to enforce the agreement.

A few years later, in mid-1934, the same idea was suggested for the Station Park, this time it was the Guild Association that objected, despite the fact that the project had been considered as no more than a possibility. Little by little however what at first had seemed a minor grievance became an undeniable necessity. Health and hygiene questions made it advisable to move the livestock market to a quieter part of the city. By the end of the 1940s, it had been moved to Barangé Square and later it would be held in Agustí Vinyamata Street. The controversy over its location would eventually end when this part of the market lost all importance and livestock was no longer traded. Cattle dealers, a typical figure at this time, gradually disappeared from the scene. Deals were no longer made on the spot but negotiated directly with the slaughterhouses, which took on the tasks of distribution and marketing. It was now the huge centralised markets that fixed the prices. Personal contact was nothing more than a memory of times gone by.

The cattle and pig markets were closed down in 1967. As agriculture and livestock became marginal, small business and soci ety were industrialised, and the Thursday market changed its character. It did not disappear but was converted into a large city market offering a wide range of different products. The presence of poultry between Santa Elisabet Street and Corró Street and the presence of a huge number of farmers from the region around Fonda Europa are the last vestiges from the past. The motivation of these people might not be the same as in past times, but the necessity to mingle and exchange information makes them all return to this same meeting point, week after week.

The Thursday market is diversified and is held in various streets and squares around the centre of the city every Thursday of the year. When Thursday falls on a public or local festival it is held on the Wednesday before. 

Local Festival

The local festival, on the last Thursday in August, has its origins in a wager made in the city in 1897.

'BLANCS y BLAUS'
The beginning of the Local festival

In 1983 a group of young people members of the Sota el Camí Ral Neighbourhood Association headed by, among others, Albert Soler i Carles, expressed their dissatisfaction with the character given to the local festival. They worked on developing a new idea for the celebration. A story featured in the book "Granollers, Open Town" by Amador Garrell about a wager between two tile makers at the end of the 19th Century.

"El Rayo" and l'hereu Maynou, competed with each other to see who could make the most tiles in an hour. The wager was enthusiastically prepared by the friends and followers of the two rivals. The competition took place one Monday in July 1897 and the whole town participated...()... The "Whites" were on the side of "El Rayo" the "Blues" supported l'hereu Maynou...()... it all ended happily with a fine lunch at which the two rivals and their very many followers all dined together --the "Blues" and the "Whites".

This group of young people held their first meetings on the premises of the Sota el Camí Ral Neighbourhood Association in April and May 1983. Their idea finally took shape. If half Granollers almost a century before had supported one colour, they too would do the same, and their colour would be blue. Now they had to find their rivals, the "whites".

Pepus Costa of GRA (The Granollers Youth Service) was told of the idea and he found people willing to become the white team. All that was needed now was backing from an institution. After a number of meetings the idea was presented to the City Council. Montserrat Illa, head of the Culture Department, met the group of young people. The town councillor had no doubts; it must be tried, things could not be any worse. A recruitment campaign for the two groups was immediately launched.

 The local Granollers holiday has two outstanding features: the purely festive rivalry between the "Blues" and the "Whites" and the large-scale involvement of the public. The main theme is a competition between the two groups to see who cheers on and spices up the local celebration the most. The winning team has the privilege of choosing the town crier for the following year.

The result of this old wager, the festive rivalry created between the followers of one tile maker or the other, has carried through to our times and is the very soul of the Granollers local festival: the sides now compete to see who can cheer on and spice up the celebration the most. A jury decides the winner and the verdict is announced at a companionship dinner, which is held as a clear signal that the rivalry begins and ends at the local festival.

For some, the celebration means a few more days holiday before they go back once again to their daily working routine. For others, it is a sign of a living, breathing culture in all its expressions and a way to revitalise contacts and connections among the people of Granollers. It has, like most local festivals, a wide and varied program, designed to provide excitement for people of all ages and backgrounds.