La Sagrada Família

This is the reason visitors come to Barcelona: to see the church of Sagrada Família. It’s an unusual building that is not of this world. It looks more like something from an alien planet and would look right at home on the set of a science fiction film. It’s the work of Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí. Construction began in 1882 and is still ongoing. The admission fee from the two and half million visitors who visit the church each year is what pays to complete it.

Antoni Gaudí must have had an appreciation of the natural world as various plants and animals have been carved into the outside of the church. This gives it a unique texture which from a distance makes the building looks alive.

We went up to the top of one of the towers where there were some wonderful views. They take you up in a lift and you can walk down a spiral staircase. It’s definitely worth doing.

Note the penis building on the right in this next photo:

I slept in complete darkness and silence last night and so I slept really well. I’m feeling much better today.

Posted

January 8, 2015

Travel

Rachel M

Tags:

Barcelona, Featured, La Sagrada Família, photos, Spain, travel

Comments

14 responses to “La Sagrada Família”

anniegoldfisher

January 8, 2015

Wonderful post about a pretty spectacular church. I love Gaudi’s work. 🙂

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1. Rachel M
  
  January 8, 2015
  
  Thanks! It was spectacular.
  
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fossilcyclist

January 8, 2015

Try to get to Park Güell also amazing

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1. Rachel M
  
  January 8, 2015
  
  Yes, others have suggested that. If I have time I’ll go and check it out.
  
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matthewcevans

January 8, 2015

Did you get a chance to climb up the towers (can’t quite tell from your photos). Going up was easy, but going down was a bit scary as the railing at the right height is behind you as you go down the stairs. Last time I was there they hadn’t started building the roof of the sanctuary, so I’m thrilled to see that they have made progress on the building.

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1. Rachel M
  
  January 8, 2015
  
  Yes, we went up the towers by lift and then walked back down 300 steps in a very narrow spiral staircase. It was great.
  
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ladysighs

January 8, 2015

It’s just a wee bit creepy……..but as others noted ….. spectacular. 🙂

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1. Rachel M
  
  January 8, 2015
  
  Yes, creepy is a good word. There’s definitely an element of that.
  
  Reply
Victor Venema (@VariabilityBlog)

January 8, 2015

Now that it is build, it is clearly a beauty. That people in 1882 agreed building such a thing when it was just on paper is what truly amazes me.

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1. Rachel M
  
  January 8, 2015
  
  It is amazing that they built it. I think this reflects on the power of the church and perhaps, to some extent, the fear of it.
  
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Richard

January 9, 2015

Whenever I foolishly say about large IT projects that overrun “but that does not happen in the disciplined world of civil engineering” the monkey on my shoulder always say “but remember La Sagrada Família” (and a few other famous overruns). The Emirates Stadium was a success (the requirements were clear, the management was focused), but the new Wembley Stadium (the requirements kept changing, the management suffered political interference) was late and over budget. For works of art, like the Cathedral, overruns are a price we pay for the rewards that live long after the project is completed. You cannot put a price on art. The journey is as important as the destination. When you enter the building, you are part of that journey (but there is a price at the door).

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1. Rachel M
  
  January 9, 2015
  
  That’s an interesting way to look at it. La Sagrada Familia is priceless and the joy of seeing it and experiencing it – even thought it’s unfinished – is infinite. I suppose some things take time and the 100+ years and counting for this project is well worth it. I did not feel like I had missed out simply because it was still under construction. It’s nice that people can still get up and close and walk around inside.
  
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Denise

January 9, 2015

I didn’t really like the outside, with its over-ornateness, but the clean white and coloured inside was spectacular. Did you watch the video about the cathedral’s making? I always love watching processes. There was also a better view of the coloured fruits and amazing things right on top of the cathedral on the video.

We didn’t go up because I hate coming down steps, it makes me dizzy, so it was nice to see your more close up pics.

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Chait

January 13, 2015

I have no words to describe this magnum opus. Awe!

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