Nothing prepares you for the impact of the Sagrada Família. A tour de force of the imagination, Antoni Gaudí’s church has provoked endless controversy. It also offers visitors the unique chance to watch a wonder of the world in the making. Over the last 90 years, at incalculable cost, sculptors and architects have continued to build Gaudí’s dream. Now financed by over a million visitors each year, it is hoped the project will be complete by 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death.
Entrances: C/Marina (for groups only) and C/Sardenya • 93 207 30 31 • www.sagradafamilia.org • Open 9am–6pm daily (to 7pm Mar & Oct, 8pm Apr–Sep) • Adm €15 (€22 with audio guide); €24 for combined ticket with Casa-Museu Gaudí, including audio guide; €29 including lift access to one tower.
The main entrance is on C/Marina, in front of the Nativity Façade, along with gift shops. There is a lift in each façade (stairs are not open to the public). The museum is near the entrance on C/Sardenya. 12 of the 18 planned towers are built and are open to the public, but these are not accessible for those with disabilities.
These helicoidal stone stairways, which wind up the bell towers, look like snail shells.
The immense central body of the church, now complete, is made up of leaning, tree-like columns with branches that are inspired by a banana tree spreading out across the ceiling; the overall effect is that of a beautiful stone forest.
Gaudí’s love of nature is visible in this façade. Up to 100 plant and animal species are sculpted in stone, and the two main columns are supported by turtles.
Adorned with serpents, four large snails and lizards, this was the first section to be completed by Gaudí. Here, the stained glass graduates in tones beautifully.
This contraption is testimony to Gaudí’s ingenuity. He made the 3D device – using multiple chains and tiny weighted sacks of lead pellets – as a model for the arches and vaulted ceilings of the Colonia Güell crypt. No one in the history of architecture had ever designed a building like this.
Gaudí’s plan originally detailed a total of 18 spires. For a close-up look at the mosaic tiling and gargoyles on the existing spires, take the lift up inside the bell tower for views that are equally spectacular.
In the only cloister to be finished by Gaudí, the imagery is thought to be inspired by the anarchist riots that began in 1909 (see Moments in History). The Devil’s temptation of man is represented by the sculpture of a serpent wound around a rebel.
Gaudí now lies in the crypt, and his tomb is visible from the museum. Using audio-visual exhibits, the museum provides information about the construction of the church. The highlight is the maquette workshop, producing scale models for the ongoing work.
Created between 1954 and 2002, this Josep Subirachs façade represents the sacrifice and pain of Jesus. The difference between the Gothic feel of Subirachs’ style and the intricacy of Gaudí’s work has been controversial.
The church buzzes with activity: sculptors dangle from spires, stonemasons carve huge slabs of stone and cranes and scaffolding litter the site. Observing the construction in progress allows visitors to grasp the monumental scale of the project.
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