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TEMPLE EXPIATORI DE LA SAGRADA FAMÍLIA (1883-1926)
Visiting Hours: From October
to March from 9,00 to 18,00
From April to September from 9,00 to 20,00
Special opening hours: 25th and 26th December and 1st y 6th of January from 9,00 to 14,00.
Address: Plaça de la Sagrada Família, Barcelona
Getting there: METRO L2 and L5 Sagrada Familia
BUS 19, 33, 34, 43, 44, 48, 50, 51
Entrance fee: Individual - 8 €; Groups + from 20 pax - 5 €; Students - 3 €; Elevator
- 2 € |
The Sagrada Familia is one of the most important buildings of Gaudí. He officially took over construction on March 18, 1883 because of some disagreements between the first architect and the council, but he couldn't finish it.
Gaudí always said that gothic architecture did not provide a definitive solution to the problem of the thrusts on the arches and vaults; it only made it appear that the walls held the weight, because in reality it fell upon the flying buttresses, which were like the crutches of a cripple. Gaudí concentrates the weight on the supporting elements-the columns, that is-and he uses one material or another depending on the weight they have to support.
Above each façade there will be four towers, 12 in total, which will be dedicated to the Apostles. The tower in the center, the tallest of all at 170 m., will be dedicated to Jesus Christ. Around these will be the towers of the four Evangelists, and the tower over the apse will be dedicated to the Virgin.
Gaudí died in 1926 but he left, clearly specified on the model which was built, his thought about the form and symbolism of the building. He was always conscious that he would not be able to finish the work due to its great magnitude. He also left some drawings in which the polychrome nature that the building will have can be observed-because he said that color is life.
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