County, Crown and the medieval golden age
Taken from the Muslims around 801 by the Franks, Barcelona became the head of the Hispanic March and then the capital of Catalonia's most important county. In 1137 the county joined Aragon dynastically and the city grew as the commercial engine of the new Crown.
The guilds' city
The Gothic churches you visit today —Santa Maria del Mar above all— were raised with the money and muscle of the Ribera's port guilds: the medieval city was sea, market and trade.
The Call and 1391
Barcelona held one of the Crown's largest Jewish quarters, the Call, until the 1391 massacre destroyed it. The neighborhood and its interpretation center keep that community's memory.
The 1401 Taula de Canvi
In 1401 the city magistrates founded the Taula de Canvi, considered one of Europe's first public banks: mercantile Barcelona was inventing financial instruments before almost anyone.