An essential guide to Catalonia

Located in the far north east of Spain, Catalonia is the country’s second most populated autonomous community with a staggering 7.5 million people living inside its borders. Its populace even accounts for over 16% of Spain’s total population. Catalonia’s history and culture are regarded extremely important to those that live within the region, and many appreciate if those visiting are familiar with some of the things that make up part of Catalonia’s identity.

A brief history of Catalonia

The first use of the term ‘Catalonia’ was in the 12th century, and after the fall of Charlemagne in this era, Catalonia united with the neighbouring Kingdom of Aragon. It was still part of the Kingdom of Aragon when Spain became unified following the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand, but it operated as a separate region with its own language and laws.

However, when Catalonia chose to support the Habsburgs instead of the Spanish in the War of Spanish…