Bellvitge (Hospitalet de Llobregat)
Bellvitge is a neighborhood of Hospitalet de Llobregat, in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, Spain. It is territorially classified within District VI, together with Gornal.
Bellvitge is located at a height of 4 to 8 meters above sea level, being limited by the Castelldefels highway, the train tracks of the Mataró line, the industrial estate and the La Marina neighborhood, also of Hospitalet of Llobregat. It borders on the west and south with the cities of Cornellá de Llobregat, El Prat de Llobregat and Barcelona; with the neighborhood of Gornal to the east, and with El Center to the north.
Its main festival is in September, which ends the city's festive calendar and marks the beginning of the new academic year after the summer period. Entities, institutions and anonymous citizens are massively involved in this party.
Population
Currently (data from the census as of December 31, 2008) Bellvitge has a population of 26,244 inhabitants on an area of 0.73 km², which results in a population density of 36,002 inhab/km².
In the last 25 years, Bellvitge has been gradually losing population, with the Hospitalet neighborhood having lost more inhabitants in absolute terms.
History
The territory that the Bellvitge neighborhood currently occupies was an area dedicated to irrigated agriculture, very productive thanks to the fertile lands, with a predominance of orchards. It was also characterized by the overflowing of the Llobregat River and by the catastrophic floods that occurred, which created ponds of mud and water that over time were sources of epidemics and malaria.
Even so, the first indications that the place was inhabited date back to the 10th and 11th centuries, including the construction of the Bellvitge hermitage, located about two kilometers south of the small town of Hospitalet, which today it constitutes the old part of the city. Having as the first written reference, both of the area and of its hermitage, some archives dated May 8, 1057, being Ramón Berenguer I Count of Barcelona.
The Neighborhood, the fight
In the summer of 1964, the company Inmobiliaria Ciudad Condal S.A. (ICC) began the construction of the neighborhood as it is today next to the hermitage, on land that it had previously purchased from the peasants of the area.
The construction of the industrial estate, which was conceived as a residential area, was included in a framework of actions that were carried out to house and offer housing to the huge number of immigrants from the rest of Spain - more than 126,000 people in 1964 - who came to Catalonia in search of work.
The first buildings were built next to the hermitage, taking the name of the street from this - Ermita street -, and extending throughout the southern part. This area later took the popular name of "Bellvitge Viejo". Subsequently, in 1968, the construction of the land in the northern part, Avenida América street, was carried out.
But the first problems began to arise between the newcomers and the construction companies (ICC, CIDESA, Lamano, UREDESA) due to the fact that they did not provide the neighborhood with the facilities provided for in the Partial Plan, being more interested in building the more blocks and faster better. Thus, the problems in lighting, in the paving of the sidewalks (when not non-existent), lack of schools and green areas and insufficient communications with the rest of Hospitalet and non-existent with Barcelona were not strange. In addition to these deficiencies were added the traditional rises of the Llobregat river.
The neighborhood's habitability problems were not enough, the construction companies launched into a speculative race in which they repeatedly modified the Partial Plan and repeatedly increased the density of housing, thus going from an initial project for a residential area to a project construction of the largest dormitory neighborhood in all of Europe and with the highest demographic density.
The residents therefore decided to organize themselves and form neighborhood associations and various platforms to make themselves heard before the competent authorities, such as the Hospitalet de Llobregat City Council.
Various protest actions were carried out among which it is worth noting, in addition to the numerous demonstrations, the construction of a tunnel under the Gran Vía to be able to cross it safely and the protests, which between 1973 and 1976 and under the motto "No more blocks", in which the same residents paralyzed the works of new buildings and were responded with police charges, complaints and threats by the construction companies. So until finally a Supreme Court ruling ordered the cessation of all construction in Bellvitge (1980).
In recent years, many improvements have been made: the arrival of the metro, the inauguration of a second market, the transformation of the Rambla Marina and the Travesía Industrial, the construction of two underground car parks and the Bellvitge park. In the 90s, the Sergio Manzano pavilion was built and the university campus of the University of Barcelona in Bellvitge was opened (1992), among other things.
Currently, the Bellvitge neighborhood is characterized by the numerous schools it houses, its numerous green areas - mainly the park - and promenades, a multitude of shops and facilities - such as the Sergio Manzano pavilion and the entire sports area - and the university campus from the University of Barcelona.
Etymology
There are several hypotheses about the origin of the word Bellvitge:
One of them is the derivation of expressions in Catalan or Spanish, made by travelers entering or leaving Barcelona, such as "bell viatge" or "bella vista".
Another version states that the place was known as Malvitge, since there was a farmhouse known as Mas de Malvitge around the area. This name would be transformed by the local people themselves due to negative references to Malvitge which resembled the Catalan "Mal Viatge" i.e. Bad trip.
Places of Interest
As unifying spaces for civic life, mention should be made of the Rambla de la Marina, the Bellvitge park and the Plaza del Mercado. The facilities include the Feixa Llarga sports complex, presided over by the old Olympic Baseball Stadium and currently renovated as a football stadium, home of the Center d'Esports L'Hospitalet football team of the city, the new baseball field home to the Hércules de Hospitalet team.
The Hospital de Bellvitge also stands out, one of the best hospitals in Catalonia, a reference center for transplants; the Duran i Reynals Hospital, which houses the Institut Català d'Oncologia, and the cultural center of the neighborhood, the scene of multiple activities promoted by the associative fabric.
The agricultural past of the neighborhood is preserved in the Marina sector where there are still some traditional farmhouses such as Ca l'Esquerrer, right on the border with Cornellá de Llobregat, or Can Trabal.
Bellvitge Hermitage
The Bellvitge hermitage can be defined as the most emblematic building in the neighbourhood. It is said that it was built when a boy from one of the farmhouses in the area observed how an ox dug in the ground, always in the same place. Finally the young man decided to look in that place and found an image of the Virgin, taking it to the town church (Hospitalet). Every time they took the image, it returned to the same place. So, it was there that it was decided to build the hermitage.
Its construction date is estimated around the year 1050, located on the road that connected Valencia and Barcelona, in the Llobregat delta - which has been displaced over the centuries.
For a long time the hermitage has been a meeting and recreation point for the people of the nearby farmhouses, currently being so for the people who live in the neighborhood and where both cultural and festive gatherings are held.
The current hermitage is a reconstruction made around the year 1717. Human remains dating from the 11th century have been found in its vicinity, including a child, which correspond to the time of the original hermitage.
Other representative buildings of the neighborhood
- Bellvitge Hospital
- Hotel Hesperia Tower
- Salut Cynth Campus (UB)
- Bellvitge Children's Club
Transport and mobility
Bellvitge is a neighborhood that, being located at the entrance of Barcelona, and after many years of neighborhood struggles, currently benefits from good communication both with the rest of Hospitalet and with the neighboring towns that make up the metropolitan area.
Basically, it has two metro stations, Bellvitge and Hospital de Bellvitge, on line 1 of the Barcelona Metro. It also has a station/halt for lines 2 and 10 of the RENFE Cercanías Barcelona, as well as various urban bus lines, both day and night.
Characters related to the neighborhood
Xavi Fernández: Former professional basketball player
Albert Lopo: Professional soccer player for Deportivo de la Coruña
Dani Flaco: Songwriter
Image gallery
Older people resting in front of the park next to the Great Way
Rotonda de entrada a Bellvitge from Hospitalet Centro
Rotonda de entrada a Bellvitge from Hospitalet Centro
Paseo que une Bellvitge con Hospitalet Centro (Mirando hacia Bellvitge)
Paseo que une Bellvitge con Hospitalet Centro (Mirando hacia L'Hospitalet Centro)
