When you think of Barcelona, what is the first thing that comes to mind?
Maybe you think of the architecture or the amazing food. Or instead, you might think of the country’s rich history and beautiful artwork. But when you narrow that question down to a place, you find there is a common answer: La Sagrada Familia.
La Sagrada Familia is the gem of Spain. It is a large church, or basilica, that looks over the city of Barcelona. The church is greeted by hundreds of thousands of visitors, and their admission fees are what have been funding the end of the building’s construction.
The church has been under construction for the past 140 years. The recent Covid-19 pandemic slowed down the process, but the finish date is set for 2026. The date happens to fall on the 100th anniversary of Antoni Gaudi’s death, who was the church’s architect.
Let’s discover the history of La Sagrada Familia and some fun facts before visiting.
Over a Century of History
At the very start of the development of the church, the original design was mapped out by Francisco de Paula del Villar. The first stones for La Sagrada Familia were laid over a century ago in 1882 by Bishop Urquinaona. The church was originally going to be a neo-gothic church, but that quickly changed. Just one year after construction began, Villar resigned from his position as the head architect after some conflicts arose.
Antoni Gaudi was soon asked to fill his place as the director of the project. At this time, Gaudi was a rising star in the world of architecture. He was about to embark on creating some of his most famous pieces around the city of Barcelona. His vision for the church was far different from most; he wanted to design a church of the future by combining gothic and modern styles.
Gaudi’s design for the church includes three facades (passion, nativity, and glory) and 18 towers. 12 towers will be dedicated to the apostles, 4 will be dedicated to the evangelists, one will be dedicated to Virgin Mary, and one will be dedicated to Jesus Christ.
In the nave of the church, stained glass windows of different colors are lined along the walls of the room. Gaudi planned the windows with intricacy, so the nave would be lit by warm or cool colors from the windows depending on the time of day.
When Gaudi designed his plan for the church, he knew that he would not live to see the final product because of how grand and ambitious his idea was. However, that was never a concern for him. When referring to the church and God, Gaudi once said “My client is not in a hurry.” He spent hours in his workshop building detailed models and writing out descriptive plans for future architects to continue his vision. When Gaudi died suddenly in 1926, these laid-out instructions came in handy.
In 1936, the Spanish Civil War started. During the war, the crypt of the church was set on fire, and many of Gaudi’s plans that were inside got destroyed. Construction of the church was also stopped at this time.
Once construction resumed, there were long periods of time where nothing could be built because there wasn’t enough money to fund new sections. Soon enough, the church opened to the public, and tourists’ donations have been helping architects finish the project strong.
In 2010, La Sagrada Familia was consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI. This changed the status of the building from a church to a basilica. After the consecration, the nave opened for daily Masses for the first time ever.
The deputy mayor for the environment, urban planning, and transportation of Barcelona, Janet Sanz, made a recent discovery about the church. Up until 2019, she found that La Sagrada Familia had been building without a license or permits. The church ended up paying 4.6 million euros for permits and construction taxes, and an extra 36 million euros to cover costs for the next decade.
The latest addition to the structure is the tower of the Virgin Mary, which was finished on December 8th, 2021. It is the second-tallest tower on the basilica. The tower is covered with trencadis mosaics and topped with a 12-pointed star.
Local store owner Aryna Lytvynenko has lived in Barcelona for 20 years after moving from Ukraine and has seen the church from the outside many times. “I like the [Virgin Mary’s] star, the new star,” she said. “I can see it almost from my house.”
Unique Facts About the Church
Before visiting a landmark, it is always useful to have some information about the place before you go. Here are 5 fun facts about La Sagrada Familia that you probably didn’t already know:
The church has no right angles inside. Gaudi’s style is inspired by nature, where right angles don't naturally occur. The pillars in the nave, for example, represent trees and curve into the ceiling.
The tallest tower of the church, the tower of Jesus Christ, is one meter shorter than Montjuic Hill (the tallest mountain in Barcelona). Gaudi did this intentionally because he believed no man-made structure should overpower God and nature’s creations.
The Nativity façade and crypt were added to the UNESCO world heritage list in 2005. Ironically, these two structures were the most finished parts of the church when Gaudi died.
Gaudi’s grave is located inside La Sagrada Familia. When Gaudi died suddenly after a tram accident, his grave was buried in the underground level of the church.
La Sagrada Familia is the first place in the world to reach over 100,000 reviews on TripAdvisor. Currently, it has a 4.5/5 star rating.
The Constantly-Changing Church
As time passes, more and more features are being built onto the church to prepare it for its completion date. As that day starts to appear on the horizon, La Sagrada Familia is finally embodying the look that Gaudi wanted for it.
Chuck Stinnett is a tourist who flew into the city from Las Vegas. A well-versed traveler, he has seen La Sagrada Familia more than once and visited the church recently. “My favorite part actually was to see the improvements they have made since the last time we’ve been there.”
The last time he visited the church was 4 years ago, when the passion facade of the building was still being worked on. Now, the church is one quarter from completion. Both times, he enjoyed looking at the stained glass windows and seeing the colors shine inside the building. Although he has already been twice, Stinnett plans to return to the church again.
“It will probably be a few years, but the next time we’re back this way or anytime we’re in Barcelona, we will stop there,” Stinnett said. “I can’t wait until the center tower gets built.”
If you are traveling to Barcelona, you simply cannot miss out on the beauty that is La Sagrada Familia. To buy tickets or make a donation to the church, visit the church’s official website.
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