Editing Sabadell (section)

==History==
In Roman times, a little village called ''Arragone'' existed near where the church of La Salut  now stands. This grew into the town called ''Arraona'' or ''Arrahona'' in the [[Middle Ages]]. Another little village was built just on the other side of the river. This second village, called Sabadell, located on a plain, began to grow and its population was about 600 people (152 houses) in 1378. Sabadell was enclosed by a wall, but due to population growth in the 16th century, some houses were built outside the wall. At that time the first textile industries appeared in the town, devoted especially to [[wool]]en clothing. The woolen industry grew over the next centuries, and in 1800 the town's population was about 2000 people.

The 19th century brought two important developments to the town: in 1856 the railway arrived, and in 1877 the town was dubbed a "city". In the 1897 census the population of the city was 23,044 people. The city had become the most important producer of woolen clothing in Spain, and these clothes achieved worldwide fame.

The ''[[modernisme]]'' movement (related to [[Art Nouveau]]) had an important influence in the architecture of the city in the early 20th century  and distinctive buildings such as the ''modernista'' Hotel Suís (1902), Despatx Lluch (1908), and the Caixa d'Estalvis de Sabadell (1915), as well as the Torre de l'Aigua (1918) and the [[Central Market, Sabadell|Mercat Central]] (1930), were built during the first half of the century.

In the early 20th century, Sabadell, with [[Terrassa]], was the textile city par excellence, being the driving force of a territory poor in natural resources. The population was multiplied by eight, its industry boosted, particularly textiles and metals, and its economy was modernized in the service sector. Due to this industrial activity, Sabadell received massive waves of immigration in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s leading to uncontrolled urban expansion and the creation of some new neighborhoods such as Ca n'Oriac and Torre-Romeu.

There has always been since those days a rivalry between Terrassa and Sabadell, because both of them wanted to be capitals of the Vallés Occidental, as both were pretty relevant while this rise textile industry. Nowadays, still there are some popular sayings: "Sabadell mala pell" (Sabadell bad skin) and "Terrassa mala raça" (Terrassa bad race).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Verdaguer|first=Joaquim|date=2013-05-04|title="Terrassa mala raça, Sabadell mala pell" {{!}} La torre del Palau|url=https://www.naciodigital.cat/latorredelpalau/noticia/25021/terrassa/mala/raca/sabadell/mala/pell|access-date=2020-08-09|website=Nacio Digital|language=ca|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227072705/https://www.naciodigital.cat/latorredelpalau/noticia/25021/terrassa/mala/raca/sabadell/mala/pell|url-status=live}}</ref>

The growth of industry and population favored the emergence of an important [[Labor movement in Spain|workers' movement]], and [[Catalanist]], socialist and anarchist parties were very influential up until the upheavals of the [[Spanish Civil War]] (1936–39). The victory of the Fascist faction in the war was a step backwards for the city, but in the fifties industry recovered and grew once more.  Industries needed workers, and many people came from [[Andalusia]], [[Murcia]], [[Extremadura]], [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]] and other parts of [[Spain]] to work in the textile and the metal industry. Again, a new workers' and Catalanist movement emerged, this time against [[Francisco Franco]]'s regime and with the support of the [[Roman Catholic Church]].

Sabadell was the host of some sessions of the [[Assembly of Catalonia|Assemblea de Catalunya]], a multi-party organization that brought together communists, socialists, Catalan nationalists, Catholics and others against the Franco regime. The [[1973 oil crisis]] and Franco's death in 1975 meant an important change in [[Spain]] and, of course, in Sabadell. The economic crisis compelled the city to diversify its economic activities. New commercial and leisure areas (the ''Eix Macià'') appeared next to the traditional industries, leading to important economic development for the city. An [[ETA (separatist group)|ETA]] [[car bomb]]ing in 1990 [[Sabadell bombing|killed]] six [[Mossos d'Esquadra|police]] officers.