
Sant Cugat monastery
Sant Cugat del Vallès (pop. 71,424 as of the year 2006) is a town and
municipality west of
Barcelona in
Catalonia,
Spain. In antiquity known as
Castrum Octavianum, it is named after
Saint Cucuphas, who is said to have been martyred on the spot now occupied by its medieval
monastery, which has a
Romanesque cloister with many historiated
capitals. The
altar of the church was painted by
Ayne Bru.
Sant Cugat has seen its population increase in recent years, with more births than bigger cities like Barcelona (2004).
The town's other buildings include the
School of Architecture of the Vallès and the
Centre d'Alt Rendiment (CAR, ), a famous center for professional sport training.
Sant Cugat has become an
affluent suburb of Barcelona due to its location (only 5 kilometers from the city), its natural surroundings, and its pedestrian shopping area. Sant Cugat also offers restaurants, a Concert Venue, two movie theaters, and one large shopping mall. It is also a political stronghold for
conservative Catalan nationalism, with
Convergència i Unió dominating the town's politics.
Sant Cugat has practically merged with the nearby
Rubí (population 62,475) and
Cerdanyola del Valles (population 58,347).
The town has its own
train station with a direct
subway connection into downtown Barcelona and the nearby industrial cities of
Terrassa and
Sabadell.
Demography