Barcelona Cathedral

The main body of the Barcelona Cathedral was built in the 13th-15th centuries, and the facade of the church was not built until the end of the 19th century with the help of a banker, so each part of the church presents a different architectural style. The main body of the church is mainly in Gothic style, with slender lines as the main feature, while the dome and internal structure show neo-Gothic style.

The patron saints of the handicraft guilds are enshrined in the prayer rooms of the cathedral cloister. The choir seats, religious frescoes, sculptures, and various gold and silver utensils in the Santa Eulalia Chapel are gorgeous. In addition, the tomb of Virgen Eulalia (she is worshipped as the “protector of Barcelona”) and the prayer room of Christ in Lepanto deserve special attention.

You can go up to the top of the church through the elevator next to the dome of the church and enjoy the scenery of the old city of Barcelona.

Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Familia is the masterpiece of Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi. It is located in the city center of Barcelona, ​​in the Catalonia region of Spain. It was built in 1884 and is still under construction. Despite being an unfinished building, it does nothing to detract from its status as one of the most famous attractions in the world. The main body of the church is mainly in Gothic style, with slender lines as the main feature, while the dome and internal structure show neo-Gothic style.

Church Introduction

Sagrada Familia, also translated as “Holy Familia”, is referred to as “Sagrada Familia”, the building of God, it is the masterpiece of Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi. It is located in the city center of Barcelona, ​​in the Catalonia region of Spain. It was built in 1884 and is still under construction. Despite being an unfinished building, it does nothing to detract from its status as one of the most famous attractions in the world.

　　

The purpose of building the church is to make it a spiritual pillar for maintaining social order, and also a center for urban social activities. The original plan was not only to have a church, but also corresponding schools, factories, conference halls, and so on. The location of the church is very important in urban planning and is an iconic building in Barcelona. The church was originally named the Church of the Poor and was once renamed the New Church, and finally decided named the Holy Family Church, which shows the degree of importance it attaches to.

The Sagrada Familia is a magnificent Catholic church whose overall design is inspired by nature such as caves, mountains, flowers, and animals. Gaudí once said: “Straight lines belong to human beings, and curves belong to God.” The design of the Sagrada Familia has no straight lines and planes at all but combines various changes of spirals, cones, hyperbolas, and parabolas into a sacred, rhythmic, and dynamic architecture.

A historical allusion

Dedicated to the patron saint of laborers, St. Joseph’s Sagrada Familia was built in 1884 in a neo-Gothic style on the northeast side of the urban planning area. Gaudi took over the next year and spent the last 40 years of his life on the church project. Not only did he do model research, he even observed the effect through mirror reflection, and even the statues on the exterior were sculpted by real models. . Although this church, which is a huge project in terms of creativity and ambition, has not yet been completed, it is 95 meters long and 60 meters wide, which is estimated to be able to accommodate 10,000 believers.

Gaudi went away with his ideals and persistence, and he left us an unfinished anecdote, and no one knows when the church will be completed. This church may become an eternal church, maybe it will be built endlessly, maybe this will become forever, this may be Gaudí’s original wish. After Gaudi’s departure, he used his life to prove the power of worship. He used his experience to tell the world and religion, that he was going to wash away the sins of the soul, transcend the world, and ascend to the kingdom of heaven. Use an unfinished anecdote to commemorate a great man – Antonio Gaudi.

Church Structure

The church has a total of 18 towers, with the central 170-meter-high tower representing Jesus Christ. It will be surrounded by four 130-meter towers representing the authors of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) – Matthew, St. Mark, Luke, and John. A rear tower to the north will be 140 meters high and represent the Virgin Mary, none of which is currently built, including the “Facade of Glory”. The rest are placed on each façade with a total of 12 towers representing the twelve disciples of Jesus, with a height of 100 meters or 110 meters respectively.

The initial designer of the internal and external structures was the parish architect Vera. The style of the church was academic neo-Gothic, and the foundation was laid in 1882. Due to the conflict between the foundation and the designer, it was changed to the design of the young Gaudí in 1883. It is not easy to take over such an important project in his thirties. Who knows that this marathon project has spent almost his entire life energy. The design was not fully completed until his death in 1926. After Gaudi took over the task, he first studied the relationship between the church and the urban master plan. In order to highlight the iconic status of the church in the city, according to the needs of the landscape, Gaudí suggested that corresponding open spaces should be reserved around the church to form a four-star square, so as to obtain the best visual art effect and minimize the occupation of urban land. From 1883 to 1893, Gaudí mainly modified the original plane and did not dare to make too many changes. From 1891 to the beginning of the last century, due to the success of the Mira Apartment and the Guell Park, Gaudí began to boldly modify the church design. Gaudí used a metaphorical approach to symbolize the three stages of Jesus’ life: birth, crucifixion, and resurrection, and changed the original square tower of the church to a round tower and increased it to 18 – representing Jesus respectively. The 12 believers, 4 missionaries, the Virgin Mary, and the highest spire in the center symbolizes Jesus himself. Not only does the number of spires have a certain meaning. Gaudí pushed the monumentality of the church to the top through metaphor and decoration, no wonder C. Jenks has repeatedly pushed Gaudí to be the originator of postmodern architecture.

Gaudi’s early works all have carefully drawn drawings. Later, he only draws sketches, mainly relying on models to scrutinize the design. In the long design cycle, he repeatedly scrutinizes and strives for perfection. It is an almost endless pursuit of artistic perfection. It is a veritable research design. . The later period of church design reflects the further development of Gaudí’s creative ideas, and the modeling tends to be pure, abstract, and rough. It is a pity that Gaudí did not finalize the design, and the unfinished church became an important milestone in architectural art. What is puzzling is that the church has been under construction all the time. It is said that it is carried out according to the understanding of Gaudí’s art successors. How can ordinary successors be able to complete works that are not satisfied with the genius himself?

Historical Development

The idea for the construction of this church was proposed by the Barcelona bookseller Giuseppe-Maria Bocaberia. He was the founder of the Reverence of Saint Joseph, whose members gave generously to it, and hired architect Francisco de Beria to design and preside over its construction. But soon after the start of construction, the architect and the reverence club quarreled, and Guell suggested that Gaudí should take over and preside over it.

The ” Facanadel Naixement” (Facana del Naixement), “Facana de la Passio” (Facana de la Passio), and “Facana de la Gloria” (Facana de la Gloria) on the east, west, and south sides of the church, currently only the first two Tao; the “nativity façade” depicting the birth of Christ was by Gaudí, and was completed in 1912, together with the wall of the rear niche on the north side; the “resurrection façade” depicting the Last Supper of Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, the giant sculpture with simple lines is Josep M. Subirachs’s 1990 work, the figure of the soldier in the scene of Jesus going to the scene, is a reference to the sculpture on the roof of Casa Mila.

Gaudí arranged the “nativity façade” in the east of the church, which has its own metaphor; the sun rising from the east illuminates the “nativity façade” every morning, representing an endless miracle. Regardless of whether you are familiar with the Bible stories or not, the lifelike statues and intricate details on the door will amaze people. It is said that Gaudí used human bones for research in order to require the statue’s posture and rhythm to be exactly the same as the real one. On both sides of one of the doors, there are turtles carrying jambs. It is Gaudí’s introduction to the oriental turtles, which means longevity, symbolizing the immortality of Jesus. Such meanings and legends add to the visibility of the church. There is an elevator in the church to the top of the 112-meter-high tower, where visitors can see the city of Barcelona. If physical strength permits, it is best to climb up the spiral stairs, and not have a feeling. The basement is a small museum, displaying the blueprints and models of the Sagrada Familia. You can also see the sketches and plaster models made by Gaudí for the “Nativity Facade”.　

Since Gaudí’s architectural plans were destroyed by fire, the subsequent construction was difficult. According to conservative estimates, the Sagrada Familia will take another 200 years to complete. Whether this day will come or not is still unknown, but Barcelona people still look forward to it with pride and look forward to the “facade of glory” to be completed in the 21st century; the Sagrada Familia has won the hearts and minds of the people. Receive a deep throbbing.

Barcelona is a city of great character and charm. She makes people believe that there will be miracles in the world. When you look at this pearl of the Mediterranean from a distance, there is a proud building on the city skyline – Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia.

Holy Family Cathedral

The Sagrada Familia, also known as the Sagrada Familia, was designed by Gaudi, Spain’s greatest architect, and no matter where you are in Barcelona, ​​you can see it as long as you look up. The entire building is gorgeous and breathtaking, a miracle in the history of architecture. Climb to the top platform of the church and get a panoramic view of the city of Barcelona.
This is a building full of symbolist symbols, it can be said to be a “Bible” carved out of stone. The three facades of the church, depicting the birth of Jesus, the crucifixion, and the glory of God, represent the three aspects of Jesus’ divinity and are covered with reliefs depicting biblical scenes. According to Gaudí’s design, the church has a total of 18 minarets, representing Christ, the Virgin Mary, 12 disciples, and 4 evangelists. The walls are mainly decorated with local animal and plant images, and the three doors on the front are made of Gaudi’s usual colored tiles.
The works under the supervision of Gaudí himself mainly include the semi-circular vault of the apse and the nativity gate. The Nativity Gate and the Underground Chapel were selected as World Heritage Sites in 2005. Now a small museum has been established in the church, which displays Gaudí’s photos, biography, and some architectural design drawings and models.

History:

The Sagrada Familia was built in 1882 by an organization called Josephine to build a chapel of atonement where decadent people could pray to God and seek forgiveness. In 1883, at the age of 31, Gaudí took over as chief architect until his death in a car accident 43 years later. The successor continued to build on the designs and models left by Gaudí, but these precious materials were mostly destroyed by the anarchists during the civil war. In 1952, the construction started again, and until now, the interior of the church still looks like a large construction site, only 8 minarets have been completed, and the top of the tall tower is still covered with scaffolding.

Zaragoza

Zaragoza is the capital of the Aragon region and a famous university city in Spain. Moors and Christians once settled here, leaving a rich cultural legacy. Zaragoza is also the hometown of Goya, a Spanish national treasure painter, and the pilgrimage center of the Virgin Mary in Spain.
The main attractions of the city are concentrated in the vicinity of Pilar Square (Pl. del Pilar), which can be visited on foot.

Valencia

Valencia is located in the south of Catalonia and its capital is the city of Valencia. This area has developed agriculture and has been Spain’s largest granary since ancient times. Although it is the third largest city in Spain, the old town of Valencia still maintains its quaint appearance, and most of the main attractions are concentrated in this area. The silk market in the city has been selected as a world cultural heritage.

Valencia Cathedral (Catedral):

Built on the site of the former mosque in the 3rd century, it has mixed a variety of architectural styles during a long period of continuous reconstruction and renovation. The three entrances to the church are neo-Romanesque (main entrance), Baroque (south gate) and Visigothic (north apostolic gate). The Chapel of the Holy Grail houses the utensils that are said to have been used by Jesus at the Last Supper.
Miguelete Tower (Torre del Miguelete): located on the facade of the cathedral, built in the 14th-15th centuries, named after St. Michael. Climb to the top of the tower for a panoramic view of Valencia’s old town.

Silk Market (Lonja de la Seda):

Visigothic building, used as an exchange for silk and other commodities from the 15th to the 19th century, and is currently a concert hall. The spiral columns in the hall are elegant and light in shape and very distinctive. It was selected as a World Cultural Heritage in 1996.

Fire Festival Museum (Museo Fallero):

Every year in mid-March, Valencia’s spectacular fire festival attracts tourists from all over the world. The Fire Festival Museum collects the fire festival dolls that have won the championship since 1930. The different themes each year are interesting records of the social hotspots at that time. Related videos are also available in the museum.
National Museum of Ceramics (Museo Nacional de Ceramica): Displays masterpieces of Valencian pottery since the 13th century. The pottery manufacturing industry in Valencia is very developed, and almost every village has developed a unique craft and style.

Valencia Art Museum 

(Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia): Collection and display of Spanish painters, especially the works of local Valencia painters.