Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WORTH A DETOUR
COLÒNIA GÜELL
Apart from La Sagrada Família, Gaudí's last big project was the creation of a uto-
pian textile workers' complex for his magnate patron Eusebi Güell outside Bar-
celona at Santa Coloma de Cervelló. Gaudí's main role was to erect the colony's
church, 7 Colònia Güell. Work began in 1908 but the idea fizzled eight years
later and Gaudí only finished the crypt, which still serves as a working church.
This structure is a key to understanding what the master had in mind for his
magnum opus, La Sagrada Família. The mostly brick-clad columns that support
the ribbed vaults in the ceiling are inclined at all angles in much the way you
might expect trees in a forest to lean. That effect was deliberate, but also groun-
ded in physics. Gaudí worked out the angles so that their load would be transmit-
ted from the ceiling to the earth without the help of extra buttressing. Similar
thinking lay behind his plans for La Sagrada Família, whose Gothic-inspired
structure would tower above any medieval building, without requiring a single
buttress. Gaudí's hand is visible down to the wavy design of the pews. The
primary colours in the curvaceous plant-shaped stained-glass windows are an-
other reminder of the era in which the crypt was built.
Near the church spread the cute brick houses designed for the factory workers
and still inhabited today. A short stroll away, the 23 factory buildings of a
Modernista industrial complex, idle since the 1970s, were brought back to life in
the early 2000s, with shops and businesses moving into the renovated complex.
In a five-room display with audiovisual and interactive material, the history and
life of the industrial colony and the story of Gaudí's church are told in colourful
fashion.
EATING
Montjuïc is largely bereft of notable eating options, for the obvious reason
that it is mostly parks and gardens. In gruff old El Poble Sec, however, you'll
turn up all sorts of priceless nuggets, from historic taverns offering Catalan
classics to a handful of smart, new-wave eateries, while Sant Antoni is the
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