Sant Cugat del Vallès is a town and municipality north of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. Known as Castrum Octavianum in antiquity (which literally means the castle of Octavianus) and as Pins del Vallès during the Second Spanish Republic, it is named after Saint Cucuphas, who is said to have been martyred on the spot now occupied by its medieval monastery. The final part of its toponym, del Vallès, is a reference to the historical county where the town is situated, Vallès.

Description

In addition to the monastery, the town’s other notable buildings include the School of Architecture of the Vallès and the Centre d’Alt Rendiment (CAR, translit. High Performance Centre), a famous centre for professional sport training.

Sant Cugat has become an affluent suburb of Barcelona due to its location (only 20 kilometres from the city), its natural surroundings, and its pedestrian shopping area. Sant Cugat also offers restaurants, a concert venue, two cinemas, and one large shopping centre. It is also a political stronghold for conservative Catalan nationalism, with Convergència i Unió dominating the town’s politics for 32 years up until 2019 when Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya took control of the City Council with the support of other political forces (PSC and CUP).

Sant Cugat has seen its population increase in recent years, with more births than bigger cities like Barcelona (2004). It has also practically merged with the nearby Rubí (population 72,987) and Cerdanyola del Vallès (population 58,747).

The town has its own train station with a direct metro connection into Barcelona city centre and the nearby industrial cities of Terrassa and Sabadell.Monastery of Sant Cugat

Main sights

These are some of the main sights of the municipality:

• The Female Monkeys
• Hermitage of Sant Medir [ca; es] (10th century)
• Hermitage of Sant Adjutori [ca; es] (10th century)
• Torre Negra (12th century)
• Gothic bridge of Can Vernet [ca; es] (14th century)
• Casa Armet [ca; es]