“Wow.”
Few words provide a more fitting description for La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona’s most famous building and the crown jewel of Antoní Gaudí’s architectural career.
We love the Sagrada, and we want to share it with you. Take a look below for the building’s history, highlights, interesting facts and images.
Enjoy!
History of the Sagrada Familia
If you were around Barcelona during the spring of 1882, a short walk outside of the city center would’ve placed you amid cows, fields and the birth of arguably the world’s most famous church: La Sagrada Familia.
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| Antoní Gaudí |
During that spring, the first stones found their place according to the designs of Barcelona architect Francisco de Paula del Villar.
The project changed hands from Villar to Antoní Gaudi just one year later, and with the transition the future of the building also changed…for the better, we’ve concluded.
Barcelona knew Gaudí well. His quirky yet thoroughly Catalán style scored him both a bevy of awards and the respect of his colleagues. For a few decades, he split his time between the Sagrada and various private contracts. Eventually, he devoted nearly every minute of his day to the cathedral project. He died in 1926, his work unfinished.
Local officials are predicting the church will be completed in 2026. Time will tell whether the predictions are correct. One this is for sure, though. The finished product will be, undeniably, the peak of the Catalán spirit of creativity and beauty.
Highlights of the Sagrada Familia
The Sagrada Familia was, in many ways, the summation of Gaudí’s maturation as an architect: innovative in design, breathtaking in scale and beautifully linked to the forms of the natural world Gaudi grew up with.
The church’s four sides are called façades. Each side communicates an aspect of biblical history, telling the story of Jesus, his family and his disciples.
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| The Passion Façade |
If you look closely at the church – both inside and out – an amazing array of forms and colors will captivate you. Support columns that rise skyward resemble tree trunks. Colorful towers resemble clusters of lavender plants.
Lizards, turtles and snakes sneak around corners.Glowing greens, reds, yellows and blues spill out from stained-glass windows and splash like cans of paint against grey stone columns.
We put Sagrada Familia on the top of our list of places you absolutely must visit in Barcelona. Experience Gaudi’s masterpiece; you won’t be disappointed.
Click here to read more about Sagrada Familia. Click here to read more about Antoni Gaudi.
