Rubí, Barcelona

Rubí is a municipality, currently under the Spanish administration, placed in Catalonia, in the comarca of Vallès Occidental and the province of Barcelona, 15 kilometers far from Barcelona. It is bordered on the north by Terrassa and Ullastrell, on the south by Sant Cugat del Vallés, on the west by Castellbisbal and on the east by Sant Quirze del Vallès.

History

The city is believed to be of Roman origin, based on the amount of amphoras and writings that have been found, although the city was reportedly founded 986 with the name of Rivo Rubeo. With the death of Wilfred the Hairy's death, the border between Al-Andalus and Catalan counties was delimited by river Llobregat: Catalans were situated on the north and Muslims on the south; so Rubí was very close to the border.

In 1233, Berenguer de Rubí asked the king Jaume I to build a new castle, the nowadays Ecomuseu Castell de Rubí, a museum about the town.

With the Industrial Revolution, town population grows dramatically, and changes from agriculture to textile industries near the Riera de Rubí. Some of the first factories are still conserved today.

In 1919 Rubí is connected with Barcelona and Terrassa by railway and the new and rich bourgeoisie builds new modernist-styled edifications like Escoles Ribas or Torre Bassas. During the existence of Mancomunitat de Catalunya and the dominant cooperativism impulsed in agricultural sectors, the Celler Cooperatiu was built.

Industry developed very quickly and nowadays there are a large amount of different kinds of industries located in Rubí, from textile manufacturing to electronics or chemistry products. Some of these factories are closing to move to China or eastern countries. This fast industrialization all over Catalonia made that loads of immigrant people from the rest of Spain came to Barcelona to find a job.

Rubí lost the most part of its agriculture in 1962, when a disastrous flooding destroyed the lowest part of the town and affected the cities near the Riera de Rubí. That flooding is deemed to be the worst hydrological catastrophe in Spain.

During the 1990s and the 21st century, Rubí is receiving a new wave of immigration from South America and northern Africa.

Facilities

Education

Rubí has eleven public elementary schools (CEIP): CEIP 25 de Setembre, CEIP Ca n'Alzamora, CEIP Joan Maragall, CEIP Maria Montessori, CEIP Mossèn Cinto Verdaguer, CEIP Pau Casals, CEIP Ramon Llull, CEIP Rivo Rubeo, CEIP Schola, CEIP Teresa Altet and CEIP Torre de la Llebre.The town has got four public middle schools (IES): 'IES Duc de Montblanc, IES J. V. Foix, IES L'Estatut and IES La Serreta.

Health

Rubí has two health centers (CAP): CAP1 Mútua de Terrassa and CAP2 Anton de Borja. In addition, there is a Health Orientation Center (COS) Ferran Salsas i Roig and a Mental Heath Day Center (CDSM). A new CAP is being built in Sant Jordi Park neighbourhood and a new hospital is being projected.

Communications

Rubí's municipality is situated near one of the main communication's hub in Catalonia. Some highways cross the town in many directions. Also, public transport lines are included in the integrated fare system of Barcelona, ruled by the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità.

Railway

The two main railway companies that operate in Catalonia, have stations in Rubí.

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya's lines, named "Metro del Vallés"; join Barcelona with Terrassa and Sabadell. Lines S1 and S5 stop in Rubí's FGC station.Renfe Rodalies Barcelona opened a new station in Rubí a few years ago, R7 line stops in Rubi's Rodalies station and joins Martorell with Barcelona

Demography

* It has a population of more than 70,000 inhabitants. The gentilicio of the inhabitants of this locality is “rubinenses”, or “rubinencs” in Catalan.
* Population: 70,067 inhabitants (IDESCAT 2006).

Geography

* Altitude: 124 meters.
* Latitude: 41° 28 ' 59 " N
* Length: 002° 01 ' 59 " E

Economy

The present growth of the population of Rubí must to the strong lived immigration, because of the dislocation of the population of Barcelona city, because of the high prices of the house. The most part of the population works in services sector (47,9%), basically in minor commerce. Industry is still a very important sector (40,1%), although the unemployment rate (6,4% in 2006) is higher than the province average.