Museu Temple de la Sagrada Família
- Julieta
- First Reviewer
- 4 out of 5
- Avg. Member Rating
- 42
- Reviews
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144
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Editor Pick
The 'Unfinished' Church
- September 10, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
Jennifer23 from Sunderland, United Kingdom
I visited Barcelona last year, and really wanted to visit the Unfinished Church (La Sagrada Familia) but did not have time as we were only there for the day and Barcelona is such a huge city it is impossible to see it all in such a short time. I loved my day in Barcelona but was disappointed not to have seen the chuch during my visit.
So we visited again this year and at last were able to visit the Unfinished Church, which I absolutely loved!
I must admit I do like to visit cathedrals and churches and am also a fan of the work of Antoni Gaudi, the Catalan architect who designed the church and whose work can be seen in many places in Barcelona. In Gaudi's works there are the most diverse construction techniques, and great architectural innovation due to his knowledge of geometry.
Unfortunately, Gaudi was run over by a tram and died in 1926, aged 73 and is buried inside the church. He had spent more than 40 years working on the church, and knew anyway that it would never be completed in his lifetime, but had drawn plans so that the church could continue to be built after his death, which is what has happened and continues to this day.
Four architects have continued to work upon the church and despite some of Gaudi's plans being destroyed in the Civil War, they have been able to continue with reconstructed plans.
On arriving at the church, there were hundreds of visitors both inside and out, walking around and taking photographs. We were facing the facade which is known as 'The Passion' and this is the facade you can see on the photograph here.
There are 3 facades in total : The Passion, The Nativity, and The Glory which is not yet completed.
We decided to walk around the perimeter of the church, taking photographs, and I was amazed by the work and detail which has gone into the two facades you can see. We were given a lot of information from our helpful guide, Teresa.
The Passion facade depicts the the story from the Last Supper and betrayal of Jesus, through to his crucifixion, with four spires rising above which represent four of the apostles.
The Nativity facade is the oldest facade and we learned that this facade is the favourite of many visitors because it was completed before building work was interrupted due to the Civil War in 1936, and it is also the facade which depicts the most Gaudi influence.
I found the detail amazing and very beautiful, and again there are four spires representing another four apostles.
When the Glory facade is completed, it will depict the Resurrection of Christ, and will include another four spires, making twelve in total to represent all the apostles. We were told there will then be a further group of four spires built to represent the four evangelists, and two further spires to represent Mary, mother of Christ, and Jesus Christ himself, making 18 spires in total!
We were told by our guide that various dates have been mentioned for completion of the church, but it is envisaged that the church will be completed by 2026, which will mark 100 years since Gaudi's death. No exact date can be given as the building of the church is funded entirely by charity and from the admission fees to visit the inside of the church.
Also, there are a block of apartments facing the Glory facade which is currently under construction, and our guide explained these have to be knocked down to allow the work to continue, and negotiations are ongoing with people who live in the apartments to agree compensation.
We were shown the crypt, the wall of the apse and facade of the Nativity, which were all parts carried out by Gaudi himself, and the susequent works which have been and are still being carried out by the architects, who were left the task of interpreting the complicated sketches and models which Gaudi left after his death.
The crypt , apse and Nativity begin in a neo gothic style and develop into an ornamental style based on natural and animal forms worked in stone.
What becomes apparent, when we walked from the Nativity facade round to the Passion facade is the differences between the two. Not only in the colour of the stone, which is dark with age on the Nativity facade and lighter on the newer Passion facade, but also differences due to the use of modern techniques and equipment which have been implemented over the years.
It felt to me like it is three buildings combined into one, as it is three very different styles, but somehow it works and fits together, making it probably the most unique building I have ever seen.
There is a small souvenir shop which sells small ornamental replica's of the church, as well as photographs and books, along with the usual bookmarks, fridge magnets, pens etc. I bought a few items and like to think I have contributed a tiny amount to the building of the church!
It really is a beautiful and very striking building, and I would recommend a visit if you are in Barcelona.
Our guide told us that some people have said that the work should be brought to a halt, and the church left as 'Unfinished' as a mark of respect to Gaudi, but most people want to see the church completed. I can see both points of view and I did think when walking around, that maybe it should have been left unfinished, but then the work which has been completed since Gaudi's death is also amazing, and I realised I would like to see what it will look like when it is eventually completed.
I only hope it happens in my lifetime, so I can visit the 'Finished Church'.
From journals
A Break in Barcelona,
A Trip to Spain
A Must for Every Visitor
- June 9, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
Travel_Sarah from Barcelona, Spain
The Sagrada Familia is the symbol of Barcelona and thats why every tourist has to visit her. It is really easy to get there by metro with the lines L2 and L5 and you need to leave at Sagrada Familia.
Then you have a beautiful view and should sit down in one of the little parks next to the cathedral to get a better impression and see all the little details.
The Sagrada Familia is not finished yet after more than one hundred years of construction. So there are still building cranes and its not going to be finished in the next years as so much is still missing although some people say that its going to be finished in 2026, the 100th death year of Gaudí.
Editor Pick
Sagrada Familia - The Original Frontage
- March 29, 2008
- Rated 5 of 5 by
MichaelJM from Nottingham, England
As well as being referred to as a bible in stone the Sagrada Familia has been called the “craziest building site in the world” made “even more astonishing” by the fact that the “cathedral will never be completed”. But take some time out from the crazy skyline and the apparent recklessness of some of the interior features and check out the amazing detail of the sculptures on the front facade.
There’s a large viewing area jutting out from beyond the “territory line” of the church and here you can sit and view. Having said that there were throngs of people when we visited, and it wasn’t even the busiest time of year. For a time we sat and watched the world go by – you get great views of the temple itself but also the surrounding area. However, to fully appreciate the facia of the church we found that it was necessary to stand and stroll to take in the detail. Like the back of the church the sculpture of the facia clearly tell the story of Christ’s birth, although it’s perhaps a little harder to follow than the modern imagery of the crucifixion (see separate journal entry) because it seems much more cluttered.
It’s crammed with figures and the detail on each is absolutely fantastic. These are traditional sculpted figures with the sculptor ensuring that all the fine detail of the human body has been adhered to. The faces are full of amazing detail confirming the conscientious work that each master-craftsman must have put into every individual element. I found the scene of Mary riding the donkey a bit confusing because she was actually holding the infant Jesus, but later assumed that this was a the point that she was fleeing the mass infanticide ordered by Herod. The shepherds and wise men were real easy to find as was the birth scene in the stable, but around each scenario there was some beautiful crafting around the temple’s ornate stained glass windows. Although magnificent this weave of detailed sculpture ornamented in the baroque fashion with motifs of animals and plants did distract us from the centrepieces of the design although in themselves they are, of course depicting, the very essence of life. There are angels playing harps and flutes and scenes of the annunciation and the coronation of the Virgin Mary.
I can’t take credit for spotting the following but I read that this front façade is oriented to the east and the rising sun, symbolic of the birth of Jesus. It is also stated that “the ground plans of the bell-towers are squared and the diagonal of these goes perpendicular to the façade, creating in their confluence a tripartite entrance with three portals dedicated to the three Christian virtues: Hope, Faith and Charity.” That sounded real complicated to me but as with every little detail in the Temple “everything has a meaning.”
This façade was in fact completed off by Gaudi and he must have taken great pleasure in his finished work. It is a masterpiece that will command your attention and I can almost guarantee that you won’t be able to take it in on one visit. It is truly a great sight and site.
From journal Sagrada Familia
Editor Pick
Sagrada Familia - inside
- February 3, 2008
- Rated 5 of 5 by
MichaelJM from Nottingham, England
The Sagrada Familia is one of the buildings that you MUST see when visiting Barcelona. Its silhouette IS Barcelona and this modernistic building is highly symbolic for the City and for the religion it represents. I read somewhere that this was a bible in stone and that is an excellent way of describing this magnificent structure.
But inside this magnificent unfinished edifice resembles a builder’s yard. It’s not the fact that it’s “work in progress” but the fact that, strangely, the workmen store their raw materials and tools in the body of the church. However, this gives the place a je ne sais crois feel to it. I guess I can best describe it as art in the making and as we progressed around the church it began to feel as if everything had been “placed” to create an ambience.
On entering there’s a magnificent stained glass window in full view whereas another is tantalisingly partially hidden behind a high panel. It demands your extra attention and I was left feeling that the panelling had been installed to ensure that very attitude.
Indeed as you walk around this inside building plot the views of the arches and the brightly coloured windows is often partially obscured by scaffolding and this provides an added mystery and character to the temple. Every so often there was small corner that provided an uninterrupted view and this seemed to offer a chance to celebrate. The pure white spiral staircase with the odd dash of a peachy cream inset looks absolutely stunning and when it is finally connected to an upper storey I’m sure it will also prove to be most functional. Currently it looks like pure art!
The majestic fluted pillars with their delicate carvings seem to have erupted from the ceiling rather than grown out of the floor and their “toppings” are home to a multitude of fan-like shapings that seem alabaster thin and the peachy cream of the staircase is again used at the highest points on the pillar. Beautiful windows set into the high ceiling give off a wealth of colour that bounces off the otherwise stark pure white surfaces.
The side walls are shaped to give interest and are as Gaudiesque as you’d expect with features that shouldn’t really be at ease in a Temple (walls should be functional and bare!).
Just as we focus on the unfinished beauty of the place our eyes are drawn to a pile of ordinary building bricks, a cement mixer, half empty buckets of water and a leaking water hose. What a contradiction. As we strolled around rejoicing in the fine workmanship, expressing surprise at the amount of discarded building rubble I couldn’t help feeling that part of the attraction of this place is the unfinished nature of the temple. Perhaps it would be more mundane (although hardly ordinary) if it wasn’t work in progress.
Certainly the Temple does not feel like a holy place or a place of worship. It is truly a place where the dream of an artist is being developed and a place I suspect that you could visit annually and not be disappointed with new and emerging themes. Who knows we may return one day to check it out further.
From journal Sagrada Familia
Editor Pick
Sagrada Familia Museum
- February 2, 2008
- Rated 4 of 5 by
MichaelJM from Nottingham, England
Having walked, climbed and inspected the “building site” that is to become a truly magnificent modern church we entered the “basement” to gain an insight into the construction of the Sagrada Familia and a glimpse into the mind of Gaudi.
Work started on the temple in 1882 and the following year Gaudi was appointed as Project Director and he continued in this role until he died in 1926. I guess he’d never heard of Prince 2 as a means to aid project management because ninety years later the project is still ongoing!
The museum is accessed through the Atonement Temple underneath the main construction and there’s plenty of information to read and digest about the life of the Temple. Perhaps too much information and after a time I contented myself with a bit of “rapid reading” just to get the gist of what the exhibit was about,
I guess the most fascinating has to be the hanging used teabags (well that’s what they looked like from a distance). This hanging model was based upon the “theory of the reversion of the centenary” (not sure I was much wiser!) which is something to do with the tension of the wires caused by the gravitational pull on the weights hanging on the chain (Gaudi used sachets with lead shot) giving the perfect shape for an arch. Personally I would need a lot more imagination to get this one, but still I found it an interesting piece of sculpture.
There was a range of scale models of the temple ranging from the table-top version which has provided successors of Gaudi with the template for the continuation of his work. A larger version highlights the scale of the project and these together with Gaudi’s original drawings help put some context around the ongoing work of the Temple. There are numerous scale models of the external sculptures and plenty of signs that work is continuing on reproducing Gaudi’s original quest.
There are examples of Gaudi’s church furniture just waiting for a permanent home in the body of the church and an illuminating description of how work on the Temple has progressed over the years. Ten years fater gaudi’s death the temple was desecrated during the Spanish Civil War and much of Gaudi’s work damaged. The fragments have been painfully re-assembled and the restoration work continues to ensure that the design is as close to Gaudi (taking account of the passage of time) as is possible.
The temple was initially conceived back in 1874 by “the devotees of Saint Joseph” and a century and three decades later it’s still not finished. Although I'm sure that Joseph Maria Bocabella and his association (formed in 1866) would have been real pleased with the numbers of visitors to the Temple i just can't help but wonder what they would have thought about the progress made on their original vision. But that, like the Temple itself may be something that I'll never see resolved!
From journal Sagrada Familia