In the year 2026 the contruction of a church will finally end. This church has been being build since 1866, essencially taking 2 centurys and 5 generations of people!
The church is called "Sagrada Familia" ("The Holy Family") and its located in Barcelona, Spain. It was designed by one of the best architects that ever lived... Antoni Gaudí.
2 centurys wow ok... What´s the deal?
Has I said, contructions started back in 1866, when Josep Maria Bocabella I Verdaguer had the idea to create a temple for the worship of the Christianitys Holy Family. He started raising money from people that wanted to help, and actually was able to buy a large piece of land.
He also hired the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano, whos project was a normal Neo-Gothic temple. Something that was very comon at the type for churches.
However, due to "disagreements", this architect quit, and they decided to hire Antoni Gaudí.
Antoni Gaudí at the time was already known... and in Barcelona: he was the guy. He basically designed Barcelona... and if you never been to Barcelona... its like being in Mars.
Antoni Gaudí had his own style. Everything he built was organic and colorful... and, has I said, he made Barcelona what it is today... kind of Disneyland for art lovers... lol.
So, he was given this project and responsibility of building this church. He was continuing the Neo-Gothic project of the previous architect and actually finished building a crypt in 1889.
That´s when the project recieved a large anonymous donation, and Antoni Gaudí proposed a new design. A more monumental and innovative one. I imagine he just said "You know who I am?! Im freaking Gaudí! Let´s make this go nuts bro!"... but probably not...
He started his new project in 1892 by starting to build the Nativity Facade, which is not the "main" entrance. It would have made more sence (from architectual point of view) to start building the Passion Facade. Antoni Gaudí said at the time:
“If, instead of building this decorated, richly ornamented facade, we had started with the hard, bare and skeletal Passion facade, people would have rejected it.”
Keep in mind that we are in 1892 and this is church. Nowadays, since the two facades are finished, we can see what Antoni Gaudí concerns were, since the Nativity Facade is very complex, but resembles a Gothic style look, and the Passion Facade looks like the tentacles of an alien spaceship.
Yeah... good call Antoni Gaudí.
Unfortunately this is where the story gets kind of dark. In 1914 Antoni Gaudí went full obsessed with Sagrada Familia, dedicating his full time to the project.
Not only he refused to enter any other projects but he started to live right next to Sagrada Familia, where he could photograph and be in full control of the project.
At this time, he was rich and famous, he could be living like a king, but he prefer to live like a homeless person... some believe he just went insain, by dedicating so mutch of his time for a thing he knew he could never live long enough to actually see.
Because of his dedication however, he was able to see built one tour. ONE!
But in 1926, Antoni Gaudí died run over by a bus.
Other architects came along the centurys, always respecting Antoni Gaudí original project.
Some say Antoni Gaudí was a fool. Others say he was a genius. Whatever he was he was a man with a dream and this church will not only be a great architectural achievement, but it will also represent that: that nothing is impossible... even if it takes two centurys to do...
It is predicted to finish in 2026 and it may look something like this:
Has always
Thanks for reading :)
@itsmeemario