Sacred Family Barcelona - Sagrada Família

The Sagrada Família church (its official name being "Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família", the Holy Family Church of the Atonement), is the most famous sight in Barcelona and also one of Europe's most unconventional churches. Dominating its surroundings, it stands in the northern part of the city.

When Antoni Gaudí was put in charge of constructing the church in 1883 plans had already been drawn up and some work done on building the crypt of what was to be a purely Neo-Gothic church.

Picture - View of Gaudi's Sagrada Família cathedral in Barcelona Spain.

Picture - Gaudi's Temple of the Sacred Family, Barcelona.

Picture - New Side of Familia Sagrada in Barcelona.

Picture - The old Barcelona cathedral tower.

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Important Information:

Official site: www.sagradafamilia.cat/

Address: Carrer de Mallorca 401, E-08013 Barcelona, Spain

Opening hours: Mar 1 to Sep 30: 9am-8pm
Oct 1 to Feb 28: 9am-6pm

Always closed on: Epiphany (3 Kings' Day ) - Christian (Jan 6), New Year's Day (Jan 1), Christmas - Christian (Dec 25), Day after Christmas, St Stephen's Day, Boxing Day (Dec 26)

Entrance fee in EUR: Adult €8.00, Students €5.00, Group discounts €5.00

Useful tips: Closed in the afternoon on December 25th, 26th and January 1st and 6th.

Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.

Guides: Guided tour available as optional extra.

Facilities: Gift shop

Transit: Metro: Sagrada Familia; Bus: 19, 34, 43, 50, 51, 54.

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Gaudí decided to change the plans completely but - as in the case of most of his other works - had no firm ideas in mind, preferring to alter and add to the plans as work progressed. Of course, this meant that there was no question of getting it built quickly, although Gaudí had originally forecast between ten and fifteen years; there were also financial limitations, as the cost was to be met solely from alms and public subscription. As a result the "Church of the Poor", the main work by the most important Catalan architect of modern times, remains just a shell, and nobody knows whether and when it will ever be completed.

The church is planned to have a total length of 110m/354ft and a height of 45m/148ft, with a principal dome of 160m/525ft and towers up to 115m/378ft. So far, however, only the four- towered east doorway (the "Nativity Front"), the outer walls of the apse, the crypt in which Antoni Gaudí was buried in 1926 (not open to the public), parts of the west doorway (the "Passion Doorway") and the nave walls have been built.

From an artistic point of view the Templo de la Sagrada Família is an extremely unconventional mixture of established styles and new ideas. The ground- plan, the way the area is divided up and the firm lines strongly reflect Gothic and mid-19th C. Neo-Gothic, but are combined with the flowing, herbaceous ornamentation so typical of the Art Nouveau style.

Sacred Family Highlights

Sagrada Familia View

The towers of the right side doorway (Nativity Doorway) can be climbed, but the open, narrow winding staircase makes it a rather unattractive proposition for anybody prone to giddiness. Nearby is an ancient lift; it is worthwhile going up in this to enjoy the fantastic view over the city and of the helm roofs of the towers, clad in colorful majolica, reminiscent of bishops' mitres.

Museum of the Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family

The museum contains the sketches and photographs illustrating Gaudí buildings and of the ancient ones on which they are modeled. In separate departments can be seen plaster mock-ups of the sculptured decoration; there is also a large, partially restored model of the church which was shown in Paris in 1910. The studies covering the window and facade designs clearly illustrate the principle of "diagonal supports" which Gaudí wished to see replace the Gothic buttress. Also of interest is a wire model illustrating structural engineering principles; Gaudí hung weights on an inverted wire framework to represent the anticipated stresses and strains, thus showing clearly the static base structure. To understand it fully you have to imagine the picture turned through 180 degrees. At the end of the crypt is a large photographic reproduction of the Passion Facade; to its right is the iconography, in the Catalan dialect, of the individual motifs. There is also a multi-vision show, and in one of the side rooms a model cut in half to show the nave and side aisles.

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Sagrada Familia Church

The first doorway, the west or Passion Doorway, has been added to in recent years. There is a striking difference in styles between the sculpture forms (by José Maria Subirach) used here and the other decoration influenced by Gaudí. Note the portrayal of Christ wearing a veil; it is in bas-relief and produces the optical illusion that the head is moving closer to the observer.

Through the entrance stands the large plaster model of the church (scale 1:25), showing the Passion Facade; here too are a number of water-colors of the other fronts and doorways.

The broad interior is still a building site with several rotary cranes; pre-fabricated building sections give a close-up idea of the form it will take. Where the transepts and apse meet stands the altar protected by a canopy, under which lies the main crypt (where Antoni Gaudí was interred in 1926; normally closed).