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125th anniversary
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17 April 1877: a Royal decree by king Alfonso XII grants Sabadell the title of City. This recognises its pioneering role in both economic and social spheres and also the fact that it had become a strong pole of attraction for neighbouring towns and villages. Sabadell had been pressing for the title of City for some time. It was not just a question of prestige, but the fact that the grant consolidated its request to become the centre of a legal
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division, presented by the City Council on several occasions and which was finally achieved in 1883 as a first step to becoming its own electoral district (1886).
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In 1877, Sabadell had approximately 18,000 inhabitants and grew rapidly in the shadow of the textile factories. Sabadell had specialised in the production of woollen fabrics and, by 1860, it was the top woollen textile centre. The old medieval town, which had been little
altered until the 19th century, underwent marked economic, population and territorial growth in this century.
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Some of the main events:
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The Sabadellès Atheneum is created (1880); the Banc de Sabadell, the Academy of Fine Art and the Sabadellenca Co-operative are founded (1881); the first sewers are built (1886); the City Council buys the Piarist Fathers' building (1887) intended as the municipal headquarters; public electric street lighting begins to be installed in some streets in the city centre (1894).
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In 1900, Sabadell had 23,294 inhabitants. Steam energy coexisted with gas, but from 1910 onwards, steam was replaced by electricity. Trade union struggles achieved improvements in the tough working conditions of men, women and children. In 1911, 62 hours a week were worked, but by 1919 the figure was 48.
The city changed its appearance: it became a Sabadell of great industrial buildings and luxurious company offices, but also cheap houses.
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Some of the main events:
The Industrial School of Arts and Trades is set up (1902); Sabadell annexes Creu Alta and the farmhouses and other land, practically expanding to its present boundaries (1904); Ferran Casablancas presents the invention for stretching thread that made him famous throughout the world (1913); the construction of the Caixa d'Estalvis de Sabadell's modernist building is finished (1919); construction of the Water Tower is finished (1915); and the electric train of Ferrocarrils de Catalunya arrives in Sabadell (1922).
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During the 19th century, the city had a very dynamic tradition of associations and culture. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1932. Sabadell City Council continued the tradition of lay teaching and the generalisation of education. It also worked on health care and prevention.
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The Civil War (1936-1939) meant a radical break with the previous period. Francoist repression meant the loss of a large part of the wealth and diversity that had been encouraged in the first part of the 20th century.
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Some of the main events:
The Sabadell's Rambla is remodelled to turn it into a boulevard (1928); the new market, work of the architect Josep Renom, is opened (1930); the City Council recognizes a centre of population in the north of the city, at Ca n'Oriac, calculated to have 355 inhabitants (1945).
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During the second half of the fifties and the sixties there was a spectacular increase in immigration. By 1963 (120,416 inhabitants) the city had doubled the 1950 population(59,494 inhabitants).
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Sabadell grew and new suburbs - usually poorly equipped and with difficult living conditions - transformed the shape of the city. The underground struggle for democracy intensified at the end of the sixties and beginning of the seventies.
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Some of the main events:
The City Council allows the owner of the land at Torre-romeu to sell plots to house the immigrants living in caves on the banks of the River Ripoll (1951); construction of houses begins in the Nostra Llar district (the Cal Garcia-Planas houses) (1954); the Duran House is declared a historic-artistic monument (1955); Sabadell annexes Creu de Barberà, which had belonged to Santa Maria de Barberà (1959); the Nova Creu Alta municipal stadium is built (1969); the construction of Gran Via is approved (1972).
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During the seventies, the economic crisis led to the end of the city-factory model which had been based on industry. Many textile companies closed their doors. The recovery of democracy in the city (with the elections of 1979) had cost many citizens - men and women - years of struggle and sacrifice in political, social and cultural activism.
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Sabadell began a new era, when many issued needed to be resolved: the development of the city, the creation of public facilities, the expression of representative life, etc. Sabadell had experienced radical change and had moved from having an economy dominated by industry to being a city with the majority of its population working in the service sector.
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Some of the main events:
Bread strike and metal strike (1976); elections for the recovery of local democracy (1979); establishment of the Sabadell Association of Friends of Opera (1982); opening of La Bassa de Sant Oleguer leisure park(1986); beginning of development work in the Eix Macià sector (1989); establishment of the Vallès Symphony Orchestra (1987); opening of Catalonia Park(1992); opening of the Vapor Badia Library (2002).
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