Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sagrada Família
C/de Mallorca 401 • Daily: April-Sept 9am-8pm; Oct-March 9am-6pm • €13.50 (under-10s free) or €18 in-
cluding guided tour or audio-guide; combination ticket with Casa-Museu Gaudí at Parc Güell €17 • 50min
guided tours (no advance purchase) daily, in English at 11am, noon (Sat & Sun only), 1pm & 3pm • 935 132
060,
sagradafamilia.cat
,
advance ticket sales through the website • Sagrada Família
Nothing - really, nothing - prepares you for the impact of the
Temple Expiatori de la
Sagrada Família
, which occupies an entire city block between c/de Mallorca and c/de
Provença, north of the Diagonal; the metro drops you right outside. In many ways the over-
powering church of the “Sacred Family” has become a kind of symbol for the city, and was
one of the few churches left untouched by the orgy of church-burning that accompanied both
the 1909 “Tragic Week” rioting and the 1936 revolution. More than any other building, it
speaks volumes about the Catalan urge to glorify uniqueness and endeavour. It is the most
fantastic of the modern architectural creations in which Barcelona excels - even the coldest
hearts will find the Sagrada Família inspirational in form and spirit.
Brief history
Initial work on the church was slow. It took four years to finish the crypt (1901), the first
full plan of the building wasn't published until 1917 and by the time of Antoni Gaudí's death
only one facade was complete. Although the building survived, Gaudí's plans and models
were mostly destroyed during the Civil War - George Orwell (whose political sympathies
were clear) remarking that the Sagrada Família was “one of the most hideous buildings in
the world” and that the anarchists “showed bad taste in not blowing it up when they had the
chance”.
Work restarted in the late 1950s amid great controversy, and has continued ever since - as
havethearguments.SomemaintainedthattheSagradaFamíliashouldbeleftincompleteasa
memorial to Gaudí, others that the architect intended it to be the work of several generations.
Construction is financed by private funding and ticket sales, not by government or church,
and for many years the work has been overseen by chief architect Jordi Bonet, the son of one
of Gaudí's assistants. His vision has attracted no little criticism for infringing Gaudí's origin-
al spirit, not least the work on the Passion facade, commissioned from sculptor Josep María
Subirachs. Computer-aided design and high-tech construction techniques have also proved
controversial, while tunnelling under the temple for the high-speed AVE train line kicked up
ahugestinkamongcriticswhoclaimthatthechurchwillbeputatrisk(notso,saythetunnel
engineers). All in all, though the project might be drawing inexorably towards completion
(within the next twenty years, it's said), there's still plenty more time for argument.
