L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (, often shortened to L'Hospitalet or just L'H, is a municipality of Spain, located to the immediate southwest of Barcelona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is part of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. By population, it is the second largest in Catalonia and the sixteenth in Spain. It is one of the most densely populated cities in the European Union. Name The name of L'Hospitalet (literally, 'the small hospital' in Catalan) makes reference to a hostel. The name of the river Llobregat is added as an accompaniment. History The first records of the settlement date to the Neolithic era with artefacts showing human habitation in the Llobregat river area. Roman artefacts have been found dating to the 2nd century BC such as a funeral decoration representing the head of Medusa, now in the Archaeological Museum of Catalonia. However it is not until the 10th century that written references to Provençana (the city's original name) appear. The place had about 5,000 inhabitants by the turn of the 20th century. Throughout the early 20th century, it consisted of three different urban settlements, Centre, Sta. Eulàlia and Collblanc. Local agricultural output and profitability experienced a peak in this period. A chunk of the municipality (900 ha) was lost to the municipality of Barcelona in 1920. L'Hospitalet then became a primarily industrial municipality, focused on textile, metalworking, ceramic and building materials industries. The 1960s and 1970s saw a second population boom, caused by immigration from poorer regions of Spain: however this was not matched by construction of the necessary amenities and it was only in the 1990s that public investment resulted in additional schools, leisure facilities and housing. Demographics As of 2020, the registered population stands at 274,320, of which 126,237 were born in Catalonia, 54,098 were born in other Spanish regions, 93,984 were born abroad and 1 person was born in former Spanish territories. As of 2020, the foreign population amounts for 67,213 people. The largest groups of foreign citizens are listed as follows: Geography L'Hospitalet's surface is . The area on which the city is constructed may be divided in two different geological areas. One of them follows the coast typology and is called La Marina, similarly to two coast areas of neighbouring Barcelona's Zona Franca: La Marina del Prat Vermell and La Marina de Port. The latter half of L'Hospitalet is called El Samontà, which consists of