I’ve long said, “If there’s one building I’d like to see in Europe, it’s Gaudí’s Sagrada Família church in Barcelona…finished.” The church has been an epic work-in-progress for over a hundred years now, and in the last couple of years there has been huge progress. In fact, my breath was literally taken away during my visit today, as the main part of the church interior is enclosed and ready for worship. It was consecrated recently by the Pope. The stained glass needs to be put in (which will heighten the already magical ambience of its awe-inspiring interior), the towers need to be completed (the central one will be the tallest church tower in Europe by a long shot — functioning as a beacon to cruise ships far out at sea), and hundreds of condo dwellers need to be bought out so neighboring buildings can be demolished to make way for the regal esplanade, which will approach what promises to be the most exciting church built in our lifetimes. The hope: to finish the church by 2026—the 100th anniversary of architect Antoni Gaudí’s death. By then, it’s my bet that Gaudí will be sainted. If there is a miracle anywhere in the world of architecture, it is this building.
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.
My wife and I saw this on a Rick Steves tour and were perplexed at the time, money and labor being put into this gingerbread-like church. Does it provide zeitgeist for Barcelonans? We would have preferred to have seen the Picasso art museum as part of Rick’s tour. But viva la differance.
Glad to see the inside. We were in Barcelona last summer at the height of tourist season and never could get it together to get inside. The lines were very long and it was quite hot and humid. And did not want to take a tour (had been already on a few this trip). But the outside was spectacular. I know we will get back and that will be first on the list. Did see Picasso museum and it was great and very interesting, but nothing like all the Gaudi exhibits.
Next week I will be back in Barca and can hardly wait to see the SG changes since our first visit in 2008. The creative genius of Gaudi demonstrates that God cannot be constrained in one architectural style!
Never noted a bigger fan of RS than Judy
Visiting Sagrada Familia in 10/08 was pretty cool…even though visiting the Alhambra and La Mezquita were bigger highlights for me. I found the interior rather underwhelming considering the architectural expression happening on the outside. Imagine if the construction wasn’t financed by donations only…it’s taken way too long.
Thanks for the clip, Grizzly…er Rick…
I visited the Sagrada Familia while on a Rick Steves Barcelona & Madrid tour in 2008. The progress since then is astounding. It’s funny, we were there pretty early in the morning, and I saw lots of workers standing around smoking cigarettes and drinking red wine. Based on that, I (wrongly) assumed work was happening at a snail’s pace. Well, those must have been some hard-earned breaks because I never would’ve expected this much progress. Amazing. Makes me want to go back soon.