Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/577

BARBY. mouth of the Saale, 16 miles southeast of Magdeburg. It has ship-building industries and an agricultural trade. The town is well built, has a mediæval castle, and was the seat of a countship. Population, in 1900, 5137.

BAR'CA, or BARCE, biir'se (Gk. Bdp/cj;, liaii.i'}. An ancient city in Cyrenaica, in the district of Barca, Africa. The ruins are now known as Medinet-el-Merj. It was founded by a Cvrencan colony, about B.C. 554. The Persians captured and pillaged the city about B.C. 510, and many of its people were led off as captives into Bactria. Barca gave its name to the entire surrounding region.

BAR'CA. A Turkish vilayet in the north of Africa, situated in longitude 20° to 25° E., and latitude 29° to 33° N., between Tripoli, Egypt, and the Libyan Desert, and bounded on the north by the Mediterranean Sea (Map: Africa, G 1). It has an estimated area of 20,000 square miles, and a population of about 300,000, consisting mainly of Berbers, Arabs, Turks, and Greeks. It is an arid, elevated plateau, for the most part covered with sand. A range of mountains reaching in Jebel Akhdar an elevation of 3300 feet traverses the northern part from east to west. A fringe of fertile plains of red allu- vium on the borders affords good arable and pasture land and contributes to the principal industries — agriculture and cattle-raising. Con- siderable quantities of grain and cattle are ex- ported. The chief imports are textiles and drugs. The sponge-fisheries are also important. In the time of Cyrus, Barca became a State which proved dangerous to the neighboring State of Cyrene, but within a century it became subject to Egypt. In the Roman period, its inhabitants were noted for their predatory incursions. It was afterwards a province of the Greek Empire, and had declared itself independent when the Arabs invaded and conquered it in 641. It became part of Tripoli, but is now a separate province under Turkish dominion. It is some- times called by the name of its capital, Bengazi (q.v.).

BARCA (Sp., It., bark). A small two-masted vessel. A barca-longa is a large Spanish coasting vessel having pole-masts and lug-sails; the name is also applied to a gunboat. Both terms are used in the Philippine Islands in the senses given.

BARCA, or BAR'CAS (Gk. Bipras, Barkas; Punic, lightning, gleaming; cf. Heb. barak, a gleaming, or gleaming sword). A surname which was applied to Hamilcar and other Carthaginian commanders.

BARCAROLLE, bar'ka-rol (It. barcarolo, boatman, from barca, boat). A species of song peculiar to the gondoliers of Venice. Hence the name is applied to musical compositions of a similar character for voice or pianoforte.

BARCELLONA, bar'chel-lr/na. A city in Sicily, on the Longano, 27 miles west of Messina, famous for sulphur baths that are frequented from May to September. The suburb of Pozzo di Gotto is separated from the main town by a small stream, the Fiume di Castro Reale, sup- posed to be the Longanus of antiquity. The chief commerce is in oil and fish. Population, in 1881, 15,000; in 1901 (commune), 23,493.

BAR'CELONA, Sp. pron bar'tha-lo'na (an- ciently, Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia

Barcino). The capital of Catalonia and of the Province of Barcelona, the largest city of Spain, after Madrid, and the most important maritime! commercial, and industrial centre in the kingdom (Map: Spain, G 2). It is situated in latitude 41° 21' 44" N., longitude 2° 30' 32" E., on the Mediterranean coast, between the mouths of the Llobregat and the Besós, in a fertile and well- populated valley surrounded by hills. 440 miles northeast of Madrid by rail, 310 miles in a direct line. It has a pleasant and equable climate (mean temperature, 61° F.), and a good municipal water-supply. Barcelona consists of the old city, formerly surrounded by walls, which have been converted into promenades, and numer- ous suburbs of modern architecture containing the various manufacturing establishments to which the city owes a great deal of its im- portance. The only fortification of Barcelona is the Castillo de Monjuich, situated on an iso- lated mountain near the city, and provided with large magazines and extensive barracks. In the older portion of the city, bounded by the Rondas and the Salons, which mark the site of the old walls, the streets, with the exception of the wide Rambla, the Calle de Fernando VII.. and the Cal- le de la Princesa, are narrow and crooked. They are lined with houses most beautiful in desisn, although of somewhat gloomy coloring. The Eambla, which begins at the Columbus Monu- ment, near the harbor, and ends at the Plaza de Cataluña, is the favorite city promenade, and contains most of the theatres, hotels, and shops. On the northern side of the city is situated the magnificent public park, with its fine avenues, flower-beds, lakes, and several museums, includ- ing the Museo de Reproducciones, containing a fine collection of plaster casts. The Cathedral of Barcelona occupies the highest point in the centre of the old city, a site formerly occupied by a Roman temple and a Moorish mosque. It is a magnificent building of Spanish Gothic, founded in the Thirteenth Century, with a spa- cious nave, ornamented with fine reliefs. Its 26 chapels date chiefly from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries. The Church of Santa Maria del Mar, in late Gothic, has a fine façade decorated with bronze statues and two towers. Among other churches may be mentioned that of San Pedro de las Puellas, dating from the Tenth Century, and the Gothic Church of Santa Maria del Pino.

The secular buildings of Barcelona include the old palace of the counts of Barcelona, containing the archives; the Casa de la Diputación, erected in the Fifteenth Century, and used by the chamber of deputies for the province; and the Casa Consistorial, containing the municipal archives. Among the more modern buildings are the exchange, the custom-house, and the palace of justice. As the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona is the seat of the Captain-General, a supreme court, and a bishop. It has a large number of nunneries and monasteries, to which are attached numerous educational and benevolent institutions. The University of Barcelona was founded in 1450, partly removed in 1714 to Cervera, and again established at Barcelona in 1837. It has faculties of philosophy, law, natural sciences, mathematics, medicine, and pharmacy, with a total attendance of over 3000 students. Other educational institutions of Barcelona include schools of architecture, engineer-