| El Prat de Llobregat | |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Image Alt: | El Prat airport and town |
| Pushpin Map: | Spain Catalonia |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Catalonia |
| Coordinates: | 41.3333°N 8°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Autonomous community |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Type3: | Comarca |
| Subdivision Name2: | Barcelona |
| Subdivision Name3: | Baix Llobregat |
| Leader Party: | IC-V |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Lluís Mijoler i Martínez[1] |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 31.4 |
| Elevation M: | 8 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Demonym: | pratense (Spanish), pratenc, -ca (Catalan) |
El Prat de Llobregat (in Catalan; Valencian pronounced as /əl ˈpɾad də ʎuβɾəˈɣat/), commonly known as El Prat in Catalan; Valencian pronounced as /əl ˈpɾat/, is a municipality of Spain located in the comarca of Baix Llobregat in Catalonia. The Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport largely lies within the municipal limits. It is part of the Barcelona metropolitan area.
It is situated in the delta of the Llobregat river on the right bank, bordering the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between Barcelona and Viladecans. More than a quarter of the area of the municipality is occupied by Barcelona–El Prat Airport. Apart from the transport links to the airport, the town of El Prat is served by a railway station on the coast line from Barcelona to Valencia. The municipality also has a beach and a small nature reserve at the Llac (Lake) de la Ricarda i del Remolar. El Prat is famous for its blue-legged chickens (known as gall potablava in Catalan). El Prat forms part of the metropolitan area of Barcelona.
El Prat was founded between the years 1720 and 1740, when the town started to grow besides a path crossing. The first buildings to appear were the church (dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul), the hostel (which served as a school, bakery, and obviously as a hostel), and some other houses built by the farmers of the delta, who came to the church to pray.
After this, the installation of a ferry to cross the river and, later, the construction of the Ferran Puig bridge, the arrival of the railroad and the discovery of underground water improved the communication of El Prat and consequently doubled its population. In 1917, the installation on the town of La Papelera Espanola, a factory producing paper and derivatives, started the industrial years of El Prat.
Next, in 1923, three private aerodromes started operations in El Prat, due to the flat terrain of the municipality. That was the beginning of the connection between El Prat and the world of aviation, that would end up creating Barcelona International Airport after the unification of the three aerodromes in 1948.
In 1926, another company, this time of the textile sector, called "La Seda de Barcelona", built a factory in the town. That caused the final spurt of growth of El Prat. With the immigration of people from the south of Spain (mostly Andalusia and Extremadura), the town almost doubled in size by 1930, and again by 1950, and then increased its size threefold in 1970 with the creation of the neighborhoods of Sant Cosme, Sant Jordi and La Granja, built to be the home of these immigrants. Finally, with the next expansion, the population doubled in size once again, although has now reached a period of stability.
At El Prat De Llobregat stands the Gearbox del Prat plant, fully owned by the Spanish car maker SEAT, which is one of the five production sites in the world manufacturing transmission parts and gearboxes for the Volkswagen Group.[3]
Also Vueling Airlines has its head office in the Parque de Negocios Mas Blau II in El Prat de Llobregat.[4] Before its dissolution, Clickair had its head office in El Prat de Llobregat.[5]
Public centers in El Prat de Llobregat