Born in Reus, Catalonia on 25 June 1852, Antoni Gaudi was a notable Spanish Catalan architect and renowned for practising Catalan Modernism. Almost all of Gaudi’s works are located in Barcelona, including La Sagrada Familia, a church hailed as his greatest masterpiece. If you are planning on visiting Barcelona, you must see these 6 Gaudi buildings:
1.La Sagrada Familia
You’ve seen some of the pictures of La Sagrada Familia now, aren’t the pictures breathtaking? You have to see the real building, it’s even more breathtaking than the pictures! The most majestic building ever designed by Antoni Gaudi is still under construction. The construction project itself started in 1882 and nearly 134 years later, it’s not finished yet! But it doesn’t matter. The church is absolutely amazing! La Sagrada Familia, which means Holy Family in English, is an excellent depiction of the relationship between man, religion and nature.
2.Park Guell
Designed by Gaudi and built between 1900 and 1914, Park Guell is an attractive combination of buildings, urban furniture and nature itself. The beautiful park was officially opened to the public for the first time in 1926. Entering the park, you will see a series of dynamically designed buildings (most buildings were built with the trencadis technique: a combination of irregular ceramic pieces), in which one of them was Gaudi’s house. In 1984 Park Guell was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
3.Casa Batllo
Located on Passeig de Gracia, Casa Batllo is one of the city’s iconic landmarks. It used to be an old conventional house that was built in 1877. In 1904 the house was restored, and the result was Casa Batllo that stands elegantly in the city. Casa Batllo is proof that old things can have their own charm.
4.Casa Vicens
Constructed between 1882-1888, Casa Vicens was designed by Gaudi and built for an industrialist Manuel Vicens (Vicens was a wealthy family that owned a ceramic factory). Casa Vicens was Gaudi’s first important building in that it was the very first creation in the significant Gaudi’s collection of architecture.
5.La Pedrera
Like Casa Batllo, La Pedrera is also located on Passeig de Garcia, which was the main avenue of the city during Gaudi’s time. La Pedrera is also known as La Casa Mila, the real name of La Pedrera, but La Pedrera became a more popular name because of what-appears-to-be undulating stone as the facade. La Pedrera is claimed to be one of the best examples of Antoni Gaudi’s architectural concept.
6.Colonia Guell
Located in Santa Coloma de Cervello, this industrial colony was built between 1890 and 1917. The colony comprises buildings designed by different architects. Which ones were the work of Antoni Gaudi? The crypt and the irregular oval church, which are the main attractions there.
