This collection of articles emerged from the Nobel Symposium 98 that celebrated the centenary of the Nobel Prize as well as the one of the famous Swedish astronomer Bertil Lindblad. Many outstanding scientists contributed to this unique review of the state of the art in barred galaxy research. Theoretical papers describe their evolution, the dynamics as well as fundamental physical effects near their nuclei. Other contributions cover numerical and observational aspects and thus represent a very active area in astrophysics. The centre of our galaxy was also amply dealt with. The collection...