‘Barcelona,’ ‘Modernisme’ and ‘Gaudí’ are near synonymous. That’s because this city is filled with the quirky Modernisme (or Art Nouveau) works, exemplified and crystallized by native Catalan architect, Antonio Gaudí (1853-1926). He attempted to mimic nature with his unique style—refusing to use straight lines and ninety-degree angles and filling his works with a sort of whimsy not outdone since. His charms are found scattered around the city as buildings, in parks and as one huge cathedral (La Sagrada Familia).
A mi, me parece que, his style inspires the observer to wonder and be amazed by the absolute ‘weird-ness’ of the architecture. But, it’s not beautiful in the classical sense of the word. Below are a few pictures of the building and church architecture.While many tourists think that his masterpiece is the Sagrada Familia, I think his most interesting and stunning work is a few kilometers north at Parc Güell. His architecture perfectly fuses with the nature of the landscape, instead of oddly sticking out like that of his buildings.
Gaudí ‘s patron (read: biggest-fan and money-man), Count Eusebi Güell, bought the land that later became the park on Carmel Hill in 1900. Gaudí and Güell wanted to create a planned community for the Barcelona bourgeoisie to station themselves. At that point, the park was located on the outskirts of the city. The wealthy were not interested in the project and, after 14 years, the project was stopped and later sold to the city.
Three kilometers of walkways with seating, one market, one plaza with serpent like-seating (Banc de Trencadis), the start of a ‘holy’ hill, two completed houses later and countless garden areas, the park is open for tourists to explore. It really does complete Barcelona by providing a very natural and exceptional place to escape day in and day out (our friend Ana jokes that she doesn't need to ask what Christa did on the weekend, because it always includes some visit to the park!).
‘Barcelona,’ ‘Modernisme’ and ‘Gaudí’ are near synonymous. That’s because this city is filled with the quirky Modernisme (or Art Nouveau) works, exemplified and crystallized by native Catalan architect, Antonio Gaudí (1853-1926). He attempted to mimic nature with his unique style—refusing to use straight lines and ninety-degree angles and filling his works with a sort of whimsy not outdone since. His charms are found scattered around the city as buildings, in parks and as one huge cathedral (La Sagrada Familia).
A mi, me parece que, his style inspires the observer to wonder and be amazed by the absolute ‘weird-ness’ of the architecture. But, it’s not beautiful in the classical sense of the word. Below are a few pictures of the building and church architecture.While many tourists think that his masterpiece is the Sagrada Familia, I think his most interesting and stunning work is a few kilometers north at Parc Güell. His architecture perfectly fuses with the nature of the landscape, instead of oddly sticking out like that of his buildings.
Gaudí ‘s patron (read: biggest-fan and money-man), Count Eusebi Güell, bought the land that later became the park on Carmel Hill in 1900. Gaudí and Güell wanted to create a planned community for the Barcelona bourgeoisie to station themselves. At that point, the park was located on the outskirts of the city. The wealthy were not interested in the project and, after 14 years, the project was stopped and later sold to the city.
Three kilometers of walkways with seating, one market, one plaza with serpent like-seating (Banc de Trencadis), the start of a ‘holy’ hill, two completed houses later and countless garden areas, the park is open for tourists to explore. It really does complete Barcelona by providing a very natural and exceptional place to escape day in and day out (our friend Ana jokes that she doesn't need to ask what Christa did on the weekend, because it always includes some visit to the park!).
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