ere, in spite
of the opposition of the central government, finally abolished by the local
authorities in 1845. The walls of the moat were utilized for the cellars of
the houses which soon occupied the site of the ramparts, and the ground,
which had been covered by the citadel, was laid out in gardens. A rapid
extension of the city to the north-west took place, and in 1860 an
elaborate plan for the laying out of new districts received the royal
sanction. Barcelona thus comprises an old town, still consisting for the
most part of irregular and narrow streets, and a new town built with all
the symmetry and precision of a premeditated scheme. The buildings of the
old town are chiefly of brick, from four to five storeys in height, with
flat roofs, and other oriental peculiarities; while in the new town hewn
stone is very largely employed, and the architecture is often of a modern
English style. To the east, on the tongue of land that helps to form the
port, lies the suburb of Barceloneta. It owes its origin to the marquis de
la Mina, who, about 1754, did much for the city, and is regularly laid out,
the houses being built of brick after a uniform pattern. The main street or
axis of the old town is the Rambla, which has a fine promenade planted with
plane-trees running down the middle, and contains the principal hotels and
theatres of the city. The most important suburbs are Gracia, Las Corts de
Sarria, Horta, San Andres de Palomar, San Gervasio de Cassolas, San Martin
de Provensals and Sans. Exclusive of these, the city contains about 334,000
inhabitants, an increase of nearly 150,000 since 1857. Large numbers of
immigrant artisans joined the population during the latter half of the 19th
century, attracted by the great development of industry. Barcelona is the
see of a bishop, and, like most Spanish towns, has a large number of
ecclesiastical buildings, though by no means so many as it once possessed.
No fewer than eighteen convents were still standing in 1873. The cathedral,
erected between 1298 and 1448 on Monte Taber, an oval hill which forms the
highest point of the Rambla, is one of the finest examples of Spanish
Gothic; although it is not designed on a great scale and some parts have
been freely modernized. It contains the early 14th-century tomb of Santa
Eulalia, the patron saint of the city, besides many other monuments of
artistic or historical interest. Its stained glass windows are among the
finest in Spain, and it p