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Catalonia

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Road Map of Catalonia

Catalonia saw the first railway construction in the Iberian Peninsula in 1848, linking Barcelona with Mataró. Given the topography most lines radiate from Barcelona. The city has both suburban and inter-city services. The main east coast line runs through the province connecting with the SNCF (French Railways) at Portbou on the coast.

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Barcelona Metro Map

High-speed rail (AVE) services from Madrid currently reach Lleida, Tarragona and Barcelona. The official opening between Barcelona and Madrid took place 20 February 2008. The journey between Barcelona and Madrid now takes about two-and-a-half hours. A connection to the French high-speed TGV network has been completed (called the Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed rail line) and the Spanish AVE service began commercial services on the line 9 January 2013, later offering services to Marseille on their high speed network. This was shortly followed by the commencement of commercial service by the French TGV on 17 January 2013, leading to an average travel time on the Paris-Barcelona TGV route of 7h 42m. This new line passes through Girona and Figueres with a tunnel through the Pyrenees.

Flag of Catalonia – Senyera:

The Senyera is a vexillological symbol based on the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, which consists of four red stripes on a yellow field. This coat of arms, often called bars of Aragon, or simply “the four bars”, historically represented the King of the Crown of Aragon.

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Senyera

The senyera pattern is currently in the flag of four Spanish autonomous communities (CataloniaAragon, the Balearic Isles, the Valencian Community), and is the flag of the historically Catalan-speaking city of Alghero in Sardinia. It is also used on the coat of arms of Spain, the coat of arms of Pyrénées-Orientales and of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the flag of RoussillonCapcirVallespir and Provence in France, one quarter of the coat of arms of Andorra, and on the local flags of many municipalities belonging to these territories. The Senyera (sometimes together with the flag of Andorra) is also used more informally to represent the Catalan language.

The Senyera is one of the oldest flags in Europe to be used in present day, but not in continuous use since its creation. There are several theories advocating either a purely Catalan or a purely Aragonese origin for the symbol.

The Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana (1968) claims that the first appearance of the flag is in the arms of the tomb of Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona, died in 1082 as well as later in the seals of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona of Barcelona and III of Provence in Provençal (1150) and then in Catalan (1157) documents.

The Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa states that its first material undisputed evidence dates back to a royal seal of Alfonso II of Aragon (1159), and that all evidence about a “Catalan” origin is debatable since historically nothing can be accepted other than the concept of “barcelonès”, and understanding that as allusive to the House of Barcelona (Counts of Barcelona), and then, nothing referring to the ancient geographical area known as CathalaniaCatalonie (Catalonia) where the County of Barcelona was found.

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Papal States Flag Prior to 1808

Besides, amongst the ancient manuscripts preserved today in Poblet Monastery is found a carte plegada on son tots los Reys d’Arago e Comtes de Barchinona figurats, a genealogical roll of the Kings of Aragon and Counts of Barcelona commissioned between 1396 and 1400 by King Martin I of Aragon. In the document, the four red stripes on a golden background appears only in the royal images painted of Wilfred the Hairy Count of Barcelona (878–897), Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona (1131-1162), King Martin I of Aragon (1356-1410) and King Martin I of Sicily (1390-1409). So it may suggest the Four Red Bars on Golden Background emblem was believed to belong to the House of Barcelona and the Counts of Barcelona in times of the initial dynasty (1164–1410) who ruled the Crown of Aragon.

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