Diada Nacional de Catalunya

Dia festivo - public holiday in Catalonia and Barcelona

Event date:
Wed 11th September 2024

Event location:
Various locations Barcelona and Catalunya

Information:
Diada de l'Onze de Setembre, Diada Nacional de Catalunya. Catalunya National Day. Onze de setembre is the Catalunya National Day and a public holiday both in Barcelona and Catalonia region of Spain. The Catalan National holiday was first celebrated on 11th September 1886. Most shops are closed. Restaurants, bars and museums are open, but some might have reduced opening times. Many Barcelona residents prefer to leave the city to enjoy the public holiday. There are no public events of significant interest for tourists.

There is usually a political demonstration by supporters of independence from Spain at 5pm which can cause traffic disruption.

Unionist political parties whose support prefer to remain part of Spain, often accuse the pro-independence forces of turning this day into an exclusionary political celebration, instead of a celebration for all Catalan citizens of their cultural herirtage. They point out that it would be more in line with a robust democracy, if independence parties would consider designating a separate date for their protest thus allowing all Catalan citizens to come together to enjoy the national day together. 

Political gatherings 11th September 2024

The Catalan National Assembly (ANC) march for Catalan independence usually starts at 4 p.m. Because of possible disruptions in traffic during political demonstrations, this is perhaps not a suitable day for tourists to book afernoon city tours, or for arriving or leaving the city. Visitors and residents alike are advised to use public transport and expect delays and crowds in public transport in the afternoon and early evening on 11th September. 

The demonstration in Barcelona on 11th September 2024 starts at 4 pm from Estació de França, then continues along Passeig de Picasso , Passeig de Pujades, Passeig de Llúis Companys to end at the Arc de Triomf. After the march there is an event called 'Fiesta per la Lliberat' which features concerts and speeches.

Transport:
Visit the TMB Diada webpage to find information about disruptions to public transport on 11th September.  You can also find public transport information on TMB X Twitter and traffic news on the police Guardia Urbana Twitter page. 

Explainer:
There are two main separatist organisations - the ANC Catalan National Assembly and the Òmnium Cultural. These organisations sometimes join forces for an independence event in Barcelona on 11th September. In Barcelona the main separatist rally, organised by ANC Catalan National Assembly, usually starts around 4pm - 15.00 with a highlight of some kind at 17.14 hours - in reference to the year 1714 when the the The Principality of Catalonia (then in a union with the Kingdom of Aragon to form the Crown of Aragon) lost medieval rights over 300 years ago. It is much debated whether Catalonia was a fully independent state or kingdom prior to 1714, but like many regions, it did have certain rights as a county and then later as a principality. In 1714 Catalonia formed part of the Crown of Aragon as the Principality of Catalonia. The Crown of Aragon was an alliance with the Crown of Castille dating back to 1469.

The Crown of Aragon, which included the Principality of Catalonia, was abolished by the Nueva Planta decree issued by King Philip V in 1716 as a consequence of his victory in the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714. This was a conflict over the disputed succession to the Spanish throne following the death of the childless Charles II in 1700 which left the Spanish throne vacant. The Pricipality of Catalonia supported the claim to the Spanish throne of the Archduke Charles of Austria of the Habsburg dynasty. The other contender was Philip Duke of Anjou of the French Bourbon dynasty. Charles arrived in Spain in 1705 to make his claim and stayed for six years ruling as Charles III but he was only able to rule over Catalonia. When Charles' brother, Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, died in 1711, Charles returned to Austria to assume the Austrian imperial crown and the title of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI.

This caused 'the Grand Alliance' for Charles' claim to the Spanish throne to fall apart and the Bourbon contender for the crown, Philip of Anjou became Philip V of Spain. Philip was the first member of the French House of Bourbon to rule as king of Spain.The conflict ended after a 13 month siege of Barcelona which ended in 9th September 1714. The assault on Barcelona on 11 September started at 4:30 in the morning and succesfully breached the city wall in several places and Barcelona's chief councilor "Conseller en cap" and chief commander of the Coronela (the urban militia of Barcelona), Rafael Casanova i Comes, was wounded during the fight. The day was marked by fighting in the streets, led by Antoni de Villarroel, the general commander of the Army of Catalonia, who was also wounded and it ended in surrender. There is a monument to Rafael Casanova i Comes in Barcelona near the place, where it is believed he was wounded in battle on the last day of fighting in 1714. The defenders of the city were buried in a mass grave, now a square called 'Fossar de les Moreres' by the gothic church Santa Maria del Mar.

The war ended with the Peace of Utrecht which is a series of individual peace treaties signed in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. In 1714 Barcelona was defeated after the Siege of Barcelona siege that ended the 14-year War of the Spanish Succession, (1701–14). After the 1714 defeat, the Nueva Planta decree of 1716 was imposed by Philip V. King Philip V of Spain. Inspired by the model of French rule Philip imposed a unifying central government and administration across Spain, suppressing the Crown of Aragon, banning Catalan political institutions and rights and merging Catalonia into the Crown of Castile as a province. During his reign Spain evolved from a personal union of different states to a centralized kingdom.

Following Dictactor Franco's death in 1975 and the transition to full democracy, the Catalan autonomous community government was created and the  Diada Nacional de Catalunya celebration was reinstated in 1980.

Modern Catalonia 
Catalonia is a region in Spain, which is south of the eastern Pyrenees mountain range. It has a northern border with France. Politically Catalonia is an 'Autonomous Community'. Spain is divided into fifty provinces and seventeen Autonomous Communities. There are also two autonomous cities in north Africa: Ceuta and Melilla. Catalonia as a region has four provinces: Barcelona, Tarragona, Girona and Lleida - and a population of around 7 million people.

Languages in Catalonia.
Catalonia has four official languages: Catalan; Castilian Spanish (official throughout Spain); Aranese, a dialect of Occitan spoken in the Aran Valley; and Catalan Sign Language. Many other languages are now spoken in Catalonia as a result of recent immigration from all over the world. Castilian Spanish is still the most widely spoken language in Catalonia. According to a 2008 survey, in everyday use, 45.9% of the population habitually spoke Spanish, while 35.6% habitually spoke Catalan. 12% of the population used both languages on a daily basis.

Are shops open on 11th September in Barcelona?
No, most shops are closed

Are musuems and sights open on September 11th in Barcelona?
Yes, museums and top attractions are usually open as usual - and many restaurants too. But in the late afternoon and evening, there can be disruptions to traffic due to large gatherings by organised by the various parties and organisations who support the separatist movement. These gatherings usually start around 5pm so if you want to do sightseeing on that day in Barcelona it might be prudent to plan sightseeing before 3pm to avoid delays with public transport etc in the hours before the mass gatherings take place


What's on - Diada Nacional Catalonia National Day

Open House events
Open house at Palau de la Generalitat on Plaça de Sant Jaume in gothic area from 10:30am to 6.30pm
Open house at Catalan parliament building in Parc de la Ciutadella from 10am to 7pm.
The MNAC Catalunya National Art Museum near Plaza Espanya free from 10am to 3pm
Free admission at MCH Catalonia History museum - Museu d'Historia de Catalunya from 10am to 2.30pm 
Free admission at Born Cultural Centre where at 11.30am you can enjoy a free half hour display of Catalan traditions including giants and human tower building. 


Ofrena floral al Monument de Rafael Casanova. 

A significant 'Diada Nacional' de Catalunya1 tradition on 11th September is the ceremony at 9am of laying commemoration wreathes at the Rafael Casanova monument created by Rossend Nobas in 1886. The Rafael Casanova monument is at the junction of streets Carrer d'Alí Bei / Ronda de Sant Pere in Barcelona. Catalunya's current and former presidents, the Mayor of Barcelona and other city dignitaries area usually in attendance. 

Many citizens also lay flowers on the Diada at the memorial plaza Fossar de les Moreres by the Santa Maria del Mar basilica in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter, where 4,000 Barcelona victims of the 1714 siege were buried in a mass grave. It is now a public square and a memorial with a torch of eternal flame. 

There is also a wreath laying ceremony at the tomb of Rafael Casanova in the church 'Iglesia de Sant Baldiri de Sant Boi' in the town of Sant Boi de Llobregat near Barcelona.


Concerts 11th September Barcelona

There are concerts at 7pm at the independence festival "Festa per la Llibertat" at the Arc de Triomf monument on Passeig Lluís Companys. If the Diada falls on a weekday, local residents often take advantage of the holiday and leave the city for a long weekend called la 'Puente de la Diada.'

Feliç Diada a tots. Feliz Diada a todos. 

Barcelona Events
All public holidays Barcelona
Festa per la Llibertat
Wikipedia Rafael Casanova
Wikipedia War Spanish Succession

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