La Sagrada Família by Antoni Gaudí

La Sagrada Familia, the 'Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family', is Barcelona's landmark and undoubtedly the greatest building by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí. Construction work on this once-in-a-century project began in 1882 and survived Gaudí's death in 1926. Gaudí's components were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005. The Roman Catholic cathedral attracts around 3.8 million visitors a year and is one of the most visited sights in Spain, along with the Alhambra castle in Granada.

A church like a forest

In 1883, Antoni Gaudí began building the Sagrada Familia church. With the honor of being entrusted with this project , Gaudí thought he had reached the goal of his dreams. "I have always dreamed of building a church that looks like a forest where birds build their nests," said Antoni Gaudí, describing his design concept. At the same time, this mammoth task became his life project. The Sagrada Familia is Gaudí's and Barcelona's most imposing and probably best-known building. Until his death in 1926, the grand master of architecture continued to work on the building, which was finally completed in 1935 in the form of the so-called 'birth façade'.

Project of the century and construction of the century

While the construction of the Casa de los Botines only took a year, the church became the project of the century, which continues to be built in Gaudí's style to this day. The construction plan envisaged that work on the Sagrada Familia would be completed in 2026, the centenary year of Gaudí's death. This now seems unrealistic. Current plans are for 2030. The church is a masterpiece of Modernisme, Catalan Modernism, a very unique style of Art Nouveau that Gaudí had a decisive influence on. It is representative of Gaudí's and Barcelona's architecture.

Twelve apostles - twelve towers

The church has a cross-shaped floor plan. All the stones of the original building are uneven, which greatly influenced and complicated further construction. The bell towers are dedicated to the twelve apostles and nine of the more than one hundred meter high towers have now been completed. A central dome in honor of Jesus Christ is to be erected in the middle. This will be 172 meters high and make the Sagrada Familia the largest church in the world.

Architecture of light

It is clear from Casa Calvet that Gaudí was a pioneer in the use of light in architecture. He placed particular emphasis on allowing natural light to flow into his buildings. Gaudí integrated artificial light as an accent or used it to achieve special effects. This design aspect is particularly evident in the Sagrada Familia church and Park Güell.

Beauty created by God

Gaudí was a very spiritual man and was inspired by nature, the beauty created by 'God', as he called it. He subordinated his entire work to this vision: "I try to show the beauty of God that I see in his creation," Antoni Gaudí commented on his philosophy. As a child of a family of boilermakers, Gaudí acquired an understanding of materials, space and volume by watching his grandmother and father at work and putting his own hands to work. As a child, he was often ill and therefore forced to look after the house. He spent his time observing nature, yes literally studying it. This unique understanding of the materials and structures found in nature characterizes the Catalan's works and can also be experienced in the Sagrada Familia church.

Gaudí's style

Gaudí had his own unique and unmistakable style, which was inspired by nature as well as Catalan culture and folklore and was and still is clearly out of the ordinary. He often used organic shapes and colors reminiscent of nature and incorporated them into his designs in a unique and artistic way. He used traditional techniques and materials such as brick, ceramics and wood. Gaudí achieved the necessary stability with steel girders, which give his buildings the required stability - despite their dynamic forms and playfulness. The steel girders act like bones in a skeleton. In general, Gaudí's structures seem less like buildings and more like organisms that seem to adapt to their purpose. "I believe that nature is the best architect," says Gaudí.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

It is therefore not surprising that 'Works by Antoni Gaudí' is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Spain, which includes a total of seven sites. In addition to Park Güell and the Palau Güell of the same name, the houses Casa Vicens, Casa Milà and Casa Batlló are also listed as World Heritage Sites. Not forgetting the crypt in Santa Coloma de Cervelló, the crypt of the Sagrada Familia and the façade of the Sagrada Familia. If you are visiting Barcelona, you should definitely book your tickets online in advance to avoid additional waiting times.