Every year, for four days in September, locals and tourists flock to one of Barcelona’s biggest events, La Mercè Festival. It got its beginnings in 1687 when Barcelona was suffering from a plague of locusts. In desperation, city officials voted to ask for the assistance of La Mare de Déu de la Mercè (the Virgin of Mercy). Eventually, having been delivered from the pestilence, the officials named the Virgin of Mercy the patroness of Barcelona, and an annual festival has been celebrated in her honor in the city ever since.
Barcelona bids farewell to summer
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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World Book Day
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A towering view of the Pale Mountains
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Fog above the forest
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Goliath heron in Kruger National Park, South Africa
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Fall color sweeps across the West
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Navajo Bridge in Marble Canyon
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Black-naped monarch
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International Day of Peace
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A magnificent monolith
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Presidents Day in America’s front yard
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What s better than a smile?
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Santorini, Greece
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Celebrating 30 years of eye-opening images
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Daiichi Tadami River Bridge, Fukushima, Japan
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One for the books
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Giving Tuesday
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Illuminated Uluru
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A little blue
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Celebrating Helsinki’s birthday at the Kiasma Museum
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Mont-Saint-Michel
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Best. Holiday. Ever.
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Long-eared owl in the Czech Republic
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Cinco de Mayo
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Seasonal lights dazzle in Japan
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Bournemouth beach huts
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Porto Cathedral, Portugal
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Celebrating whales—and a whale of a tale
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Native American Heritage Day
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Everglades National Park marks 90 years
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Happy World Meteorological Day