Cathedral of the Holy Family (La Sagrada Familial) (51 photos + panorama)

Of course you have everything and know everything about this Cathedral. Read about its history and looked at from different angles. But to both the surround information, this magnificent virtual flight over Barcelona and the structure (s zaletom inside), you can watch and participate in it by clicking on the image at the beginning of Lent, I will remind you a little more information and photos about it. Barcelona - mysterious and bold city in Spain, a symbol of Catalan culture and contemporary art, strangely combining avtentiku and neo-gothic zealously defend their traditions and boldly challenging established views ... The capital of Catalonia is probably the biggest tourist attraction in Europe, offering visitors not only a rich selection attractions.

From the magnificent Montjuic to the National Palace, Museum of Art, "Spanish Village" and the Magic Fountain to the legendary "Barcelona Gaudi", this city knows how to enchant and amaze imagination. It is an outstanding work of Catalan architect, a bright spot soaring over the whole history of art, turned into a mecca of Barcelona artists and designers from around the world. Bizarre lights on the Royal Square and fantastic images of the estate of Count Guell (now the estate is a local university library) and surprise today at least on the day of its creation, and the palace near the Ramblas, Casa Vicens, Casa Batllo and Casa Mila equal footing with the Park Guell are part of world heritage by UNESCO. But the main character in many ways contradictory and still unsolved genius - this is definitely the Sagrada Familia, the legendary Sagrada Familia.

"Either man playing God, creating such masterpieces, whether God plays a man born in his mind such ideas," - said one of the researchers of Antonio Gaudi, frozen in a daze near the Sagrada Familia. For the construction of this temple has been allocated free land, which was to coin a few kilometers from the city. The project of the church was designed by architect Francesco del Villar. Lpan architect consisted in the construction of a church in neo-Gothic style, however, he managed to build up over a crypt apse. After him, in 1891 the head of the project was made by Antoni Gaudí, who, strangely enough, has never been a particularly religious, so still remains a mystery why the construction was entrusted to him. However, Antonio Gaudi undertook the project with all the zeal and has made significant changes in its original design. In '43 Sagrada Familia has become the meaning of his life, an architect devoted his creation all the time, he even lived in it.

Sagrada Familia - bold attempt at nearly godless XX century has repeated on a new level of consciousness classical building of the Catholic Middle Ages, such as Milan and Cologne Cathedral. Gaudí himself understood that he could not live up to the dream come true. The cathedral was built for centuries - it is only Sophia in Constantinople and the Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow, built in the five years since they worked as a whole system. In the western civil society, which count every penny, this does not pass. Besides the Sagrada Familia was originally built only on private donations. A Gaudi in this regard was ironic, saying, "My client is in no hurry," referring to God.

Sagrada Familia built by the Gothic canons, but Gaudi in this form has made its own unique content. Gaudi - a mixture of mathematics and mysticism. It is up to the limit of his creation saturated the Christian symbols, sometimes to the point of paranoia. The Council must have three facades (the Nativity, the Passion and the Resurrection) and four towers on each side - it turns 12, according to the number of the Apostles, and their height should be 100 meters. Currently, only four of them rose up (one in the life of Gaudí, the other three - in the years 1926-1936, under the guidance of one of his assistants). Another planned 4 towers dedicated to the evangelists (they are higher than the previous 12), the tower of the Virgin Mary (even higher), and, finally, a central tower with a giant cross of Jesus is to be 170 meters high, which is a meter below the hill of Montjuic - according to Gaudi You can not lay claim to a height greater than that implied by God. Four Evangelists bell tower should be crowned with symbolic figures - the bull (Saint Luke), a winged man (St. Matthew), the eagle (St John) and the lion (Saint Mark). As for the fine details of the structure, they are unique - Gaudi did not recognize any of the canons of classic and boldly set their standards.

Facade of the Nativity, completed during the life of Gaudi, full of pretty surreal sculptures of the Holy Family, angels, birds, fungi, plants and animals. Under the columns of the facade - figure turtle, which are symbols of Joseph and Mary. The main portal is designed as a palm trunk, twined ribbons ancestors of Jesus, and the doors of the portico of the internal display Christian precepts. The second of the Passion facade, opposite to the first, should, on the contrary, to talk about the death of Jesus on the Cross. There's a 50s working sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs. His creations have many controversial and unpleasant, considered a perversion, but to make up their own opinion, you need to look at it personally ... The idea of building a new church in 1882, came to mind the conservative wing of the Catholic community (Josephites), who believed that the Barcelona mired in sin and decadence, and that citizens need a new place where they could repent. To do this, they chose the most unprestigious portion of the then Barcelona - a vacant lot that was used for grazing goats. Construction was interrupted several times due to lack of funds. In fact, in the mid 20-ies funds for the construction of the cathedral was over, and he lived as a hermit Gaudi directly in an unfinished church. June 7, 1926, Gaudí was hit by a tram, returning from the construction site and on zasmotrevshis silhouette of the cathedral. He died three days later of severe agony in a hospital for the poor - none of the doctors and passers-by did not recognize in him the architect Sagrada Familia.

After the death of Gaudi Cathedral continued to build another ten years, until in 1936 the Catalan anarchists in their godless fury not staged in the cathedral massacre, killing all models of the architect. Only after Franco's victory in 1940 continued the work group's most respected architects of Barcelona. However, because of too much sympathy for the Catalans caudillos and Barcelona and because of apparent lack of funds the construction proceeded slowly. The scale and originality of design Gaudi is simply amazing. In his project Cathedral he was to be erected in the form of a cross, and consist of three fronts: the Nativity, the Passion and the Resurrection. During the life of the architect it was built only the first one.

Each of the facades was to symbolize the most important stages in the life of Jesus Christ's birth and life, betrayal and crucifixion, and most important - the resurrection from the dead. Because of the Resurrection of the portal according to the author the most majestic and grandiose. It is the architecture of the Cathedral of the Sagrada Familia and many other characters. So each facade should marry four towers, and twelve - as the twelve apostles. The center will be built as part of the four chapels, symbolizing the four evangelists: Mark, Luke, Matthew and John. In the center there is a place for the construction of the two highest spiers: the towers of Jesus Christ and the bell tower of the Virgin Mary.

Because of the huge number of windows and niches building surface looks like a delicate openwork lace. It seems that embody the elegance is in the stone is simply impossible. At the same time, a general view of the Cathedral Cathedral is massive and majestic, and his mysterious aura completes an indelible impression, which produces the Sagrada Familia on everyone who saw it. The interior of the cathedral is not inferior in originality and fantastic outer facade. It is particularly pronounced natural motifs in the works of Gaudi. Giant columns, branching at the top and decorated with unusual stucco arch reminiscent of the ancient trees, propping up the star sky. Carved stained glass similar to the heavenly flowers and spiral staircases - with huge snails.

The unique acoustics, over which the creator worked for a few years, requires a large choir. In addition, it provided Gaudi's Sagrada Familia Cathedral in place for thirty thousand worshipers. While all these ideas have not yet implemented, but perhaps in a couple of decades, the temple will still be completed, and its beauty will get finally finished and perfect form. After visiting the Sagrada Familia is a sense of unsolved mysteries. As if the curtain rose and the area has seen the mystery, a little bit more and everything will become clear and obvious ... but no. The most important thing is beyond comprehension, we can never fully understand the ingenious idea of Gaudí, like never know what the result would be the Cathedral of the Sagrada Familia, the architect had lived to see its completion

The apparent revival of the construction site was in the 80s. Now the work is headed by Jordi Bonet. According to the plans, by 2026, ie, to the centennial anniversary of the death of the architect, construction will be completed. But there is another view. More than 400 workers of culture of Spain encouraged in 2008 to stop the work. According to them, the builders "have betrayed the spirit of Gaudi", which is under construction Cathedral is just a caricature of a brilliant idea. The problem is that Gaudí always improvised during flexibly changing its initial plans. Therefore, he was present at the site. But now the Sagrada Familia can not be called Gaudí - too many individual and his followers made the new, take the same sculptor Subirachs. Yet, if you remember the story of the construction of the great temples of the Middle Ages, there is nothing surprising in this - Romanesque Gothic was improved, and then added another with bell towers and facades in the Baroque style. Cathedrals where sustained one original style, can be counted on the fingers.

The creation of the most visited and well-known symbol of Barcelona, Gaudi devoted much of his life, but this was not enough: the end of a grand building "the temple of the new age" is expected only in 2030, when finally completed will be one of the fronts and the central bell tower. The greatness and amazing allegory - the main characteristics of this unique masterpiece. The architect wanted to create a building that would fully convey the allegory of the birth of Christ, and there is hardly a critic who says that he did not succeed. The building is wonderfully combines three facades: the west facade, one of the most famous, reveals an allegorical embodiment of the Nativity, the eastern - the passion, the southern - the Death and Ascension. The most valuable in terms of art, considered to be the central facade of the Temple of expiation of sins (or the Atonement of the Holy Family), also known as the facade of the Nativity, which connects the amazing four towers, thanks to the unusual shape of spindle-like sand castles, and absolutely original ornaments and silhouettes.

Through stylistic solutions, has received the title of Gothic direction, it seems as if the towers rise out of the total, solid rock foundation, "breaking away" from the basics to the heights. Sculptural group and unusual reliefs are the main means of expression sense ideas, but not only in the bizarre images embodied an incredibly ambitious project of the cathedral. Tower of Christ, crowned with a bell tower reaches 170 meters in height, and the lower church, largely hidden behind the magnificent facade hides sumptuous arches, the outlines of which are not repeated anywhere in the world and the magnificent stained glass grotesque. The grotesque incarnation of religious fanaticism and certainly the most original religious building in the world, the Sagrada Familia and today remains one of the most controversial architectural masterpieces. After the completion of the cathedral will be crowned with eighteen towers, made in the same bizarre spindle-style.

Each year, the cathedral is visited more than two million people, and the popularity of the Sagrada Familia competes with Madrid's Prado. The age-old Spanish-Catalan "El Clasico" continues here.