The Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia) is Antoni Gaudí's most significant project, the work to which he devoted the main years of his creativity and which he himself considered the main work of his life. The temple has been under construction for many years, starting in 1882, and is located in Barcelona's Eixample neighbourhood.
The first architect of the project was Francisco del Villar. In 1883, Antoni Gaudí was invited to continue the work he had started, and almost completely changed the original design.
Gaudi left the original plan of the building in the form of a Latin cross and created completely his facades of the temple, dedicated to the main episodes of the life of Christ - facades "Christmas", "Passion of Christ" and "Resurrection". According to the grandiose idea of the author, the church building should be crowned with 12 towers equal to the number of apostles, 4 on each of the facades. The height of the towers is from 98 to 112 metres. In addition, the architect planned to erect two colossal spires, one of which, 170 metres high and surrounded by four towers created in honour of the Evangelists, is dedicated to Jesus, and the other, slightly smaller, is dedicated to Our Lady. The central spire of Jesus Christ is crowned by a huge cross. All the elements of the facades that abound in the Sagrada Familia - columns, portals, sculptures and bas-reliefs - are filled with deep meaning, revealing the content and symbolism of Holy Scripture and church rituals.
The construction of the temple was carried out entirely on voluntary donations. During his lifetime, Gaudi only had time to start the construction of the façade of the Nativity. In 1911, the architect created the design for the second façade of the church, the Passion façade. Around the same time he created sketches of the facade of the Resurrection.
The crypt of the cathedral was built in 1882 by architect Lozano. It houses Antoni Gaudí's tomb and a small museum dedicated to the architect's work and the history of the cathedral's construction.
The cathedral's towers and galleries can be climbed up spiral stone staircases. The Sagrada Familia is a work in which all the facets of Gaudí's skill and extraordinary talent are fully revealed, an outstanding work in which the star of a great genius has shone brightly.
The construction of the Sagrada Familia continues to this day. According to the Spanish government, it will not be finished until 2026.
