Spain, Barcelona: Park Guell

In this article we will make a small trip to Spain. Barcelona, Park Güell attract thousands of tourists from all over the world every year. The original project was ordered by Eusebio Güell, who dreamed of creating a territory that harmoniously combined the garden areas with residential areas.

History of the park

The architect of the Park Guell in Barcelona is the most famous master Antonio Gaudi. He started to work when there was a vacant lot on this territory.

Park Güell is in the Gracia area. In 1900, Eusebio Güell bought an empty area of fifteen hectares. He planned to build 70 mansions on this land. As a result, only two plots were sold and two houses were built with the money of Güell himself. According to witnesses of this construction, one of the reasons for the failure was the location of the facility. It did not like either those who wanted to live outside the city, or those who were more attracted to the center of Barcelona. Completion of the conceived project was the sale of land by the heirs of the Güell municipal authorities and the opening of a city park on this territory.

In one of the houses that was built on this territory, almost to its tragic death lived Antonio Gaudi. A few months before his death, he moved to live in the Sagrada Familia. Today, here is the house-museum of the great master, where for an extra fee you can see his old books, unusual furniture, drawings. In the second house lived the family of Eusebio Güell. Now here is the municipal school.

Park or settlement

Park Guell in Barcelona, the photo of which you see in our article, according to the idea of the industrialist Gaudi was to become a housing estate for very wealthy citizens. He was supposed to be surrounded by an English park. Mansions and villas were going to be built on a raised platform, from which a magnificent view of Barcelona was opened.

It was also planned to separate the private parts of the park. Antonio Gaudi acted as architect of all landscape design and recreation areas.

Architecture

The failure of Güell in the construction of mansions and the sale of land did not prevent the great Gaudi from realizing its part of the project. He created a highly artistic sculptural landscape in which he embodied the idea of the unity of man and nature.

Knowing the tastes of his client and keeping the style of the English park, Gaudi harmoniously combines a bright and expressive architecture with a strict landscape. As a result, there was a peaceful walk version of Park Güell.

Spain, Barcelona: Park Guell

The famous architect designed all communications, the lands were divided into 60 plots with a garden, planned streets, built viaducts and squares.

Particular attention to Gaudi gave the fence of the park. Hilly landscape also assumed the picturesqueness of the wall that protected it. Several sections of Gaudí were highlighted by color, and over the wall a canopy was built, covered with ceramic tiles of brown and white colors. Such a decision turned the wall into a fence sparkling under the rays of the sun and in reliable protection from the rain.

This unity of style with the practical side of the decor is typical for all works of Antonio Gaudi. Barcelona, Park Guell in which is one of the most popular and visited attractions, is very proud of this structure, guides of all tour groups are always eager to show it to the guests of the city. Thanks to the efforts of a wonderful master in the park, every detail is thought through.

Gingerbread Houses

In the most decorated part of the park, tourists get through the entrance from Olot Street. At the main entrance there are two pavilions, like fairy-tale huts. They are made in the same architectural scale with a wall and are its logical completion. The uniform building material, the correspondence of the beautiful roof of the houses with the decoration of the top of the wall strengthens harmony.

One of these houses is crowned with a toadstool and the other by a cross. The pavilions were built for the gatekeepers, now they have a souvenir shop and a cafe.

Of the general order, only a ten-meter tower is knocked out, which is installed in one of the pavilions. Finishing with tiles of white and blue colors, arranged in staggered order, symbolizes the clouds and the sky.

Outside the gate you can see a huge lizard decorated with mosaic that has become a symbol of Barcelona. Together with the coat of arms of Catalonia and the fountains, she is on the stairs leading to the top of the hill. The lower platform of this ladder is adorned by a dragon - the favorite character of Antoni Gaudi. On the middle platform flutters the Catalan flag. On the upper terrace there is a long bench, located along the perimeter. It is called "Zhuzep-Maria Jujol".

Workers engaged in construction, was instructed to collect on the streets of the city different dishes, bottles, tiles. All these findings were brought to the hill, where one brigade thoroughly crushed them, and the other laid the shards on the parapet and the stairs.

So there was the first collage, which later became a source of inspiration for the works of Joao Miro. Here he spent a lot of time in search of ideas for creativity.

The profile of the bench coincides with the outlines of the human body. Gaudi managed to achieve this by putting the worker in the wet clay.

Hall "100 columns"

Barcelona (Park Guell in particular) is a vivid example in the history of world architecture, allowing you to see how many different combinations exist in the combination of stone architectural buildings with living plant greens. Here and there are numerous columns on the way that resemble a petrified forest. Some parts of the park the architect singled out in color.

First of all, this applies to all seven gates, including the central entrance. The hall, which is called "100 columns", actually has only 86. They support the upper terrace on which the parapet bench is located. The halls of the hall are decorated with fragments of bottles with a predominantly saturated blue color. Antonio Gaudi conceived this grotto as a kind of market square in the village-park. Today it is a beautiful concert hall.

The park has three galleries, very similar to aqueducts. Their columns are decorated with an untreated brown stone. The Mediterranean area of Antonio Gaudi was emphasized by the planting of palm trees. During the creation of the park, the trees were transplanted many times from place to place.

Roads

The unique building is Park Guell. Barcelona (Spain) stores many valuable monuments of culture, history, architecture. But this complex invariably causes the increased interest of tourists from all over the world.

The last stroke, which managed to make a great architect in the park, is the laying of a complex system of roads. It links mansions and stone arcades, the supports of which are somewhat inclined to the ground from different angles.

Park Guell today

Before the outbreak of the First World War, most wealthy residents of Barcelona did not want to invest money in the mansions of the village park. Eusebio Güell passed away in 1914. In connection with these construction work on this territory were stopped.

After the death of his client, Antoni Gaudi fully devoted himself to the construction of the Sagrada Familia.

Since 1962, Park Güell has received the official status of the Art Monument of Barcelona. And seven years later (1969) it was declared a national monument. Since 1984, the Park Güell in Barcelona (how to get to it, we'll tell you later), like many other masterpieces of the great Antoni Gaudi, is under the protection of UNESCO. This is really a unique structure. Particular pleasure from his visit is given to children who seem to be immersed in a fairy tale.

How to get to Park Guell in Barcelona

This is not difficult at all. On the metro you have to get to the station "Lesseps". Go up, then turn right along Travessera de Dalt Street and follow the well-marked signs. Going to the mountain, because parents with young children should choose a different route.

You can get to the metro station "Joanik" and change to bus number 116. In addition, the bus will take you to the bus number 24 from Plaça Catalunya. Another, very common way - a tourist two-story excursion bus, which takes you to the stop "Park Guell". From it you have to go up the street 8-10 minutes.

Many of our compatriots know Barcelona well. Park Guell during the trip visited by far not all. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you visit this amazing place at the next opportunity. We are sure - you will not be sorry for the time you spent.