Secrets of the Sagrada Familia

• Tweet

If you plan a visit in Barcelona, Sagrada Familia shall be one of the first things which must been seen in the multitude of offers the city presents!

Sagrada Familia is “the church of the poor”, as Antonio Gaudi, its architect, used to say. Gaudi was a genial, brilliant  and succesfull architect, who dedicated his life mainly to the construction of the Sagrada Familia. He joined the group of the Modernistas, active by the end of 19th century and was a fervent catholic and a catalan nationalist.

The first design and the first stones were laid in 1883. Two years later, Gaudi had the ingenial idea of making the bell towers round instead of square as usual in catholic churches. In 1923 the Saint Joseph chapel, the crypt and the east facing were completed. Sadly in 1926 Gaudi died smashed by a tram near his church.

Gaudi wished to make the Sagrada Familia “the last sanctuary of the Christendom” and he did. This church is honored as the world’s 8th wonder, attracting 2 millions of tourist every year. The entrance fee is used for the construction, as no government or church is supporting it. The construction of the church was based from its beginning exclusive on donations.

After Gaudi’s death the construction has been continued up today, and will be finished in 2026, on the centenary of Gaudi‘s death. During the spanish civil war the cathedral was partially destroyed by catalan anarchists and then rebuild according to the master’s original drawings.

So what about the secrets spread around and in Sagrada Familia? To leave you a taste of what you might find (open your eyes to discover more and share them with us!), here an example of what Gaudi, probably a masonist (although there’s no documentation proving that), built into his church: