Hello everyone, we are in the final stretch of August! Today we come to explain to you that near the city of Barcelona there is an architectural jewel created by Gaudi. Near Santa Coloma de Cervelló, 30 minutes by car or 45 by train / bus, the famous “Colonia Güell” trip.
History of Colonia Güell
The story begins in 1890, when Eusebi Güell was forced to move his textile factory from Barcelona to Santa Coloma de Cervelló. That made the creation of an industrial colony with social services that would improve the quality of life of the workers, which was not bad: single-family homes, an athenaeum, theater, school, shops, gardens and church.
Modernist architects intervened in the construction of the colony, and the result was spacious buildings, with simple shapes and great beauty. The church was commissioned by Antoni Gaudí, who made a design with two naves, lower and upper, side towers and a 40 m high dome.
In 1914, when the lower nave was finished, the Güell family abandoned the financing of the project. The church, called the crypt, includes Gaudí’s architectural innovations for the first time: catenary arches, exterior walls and vaults in the shape of hyperbolic paraboloids, ornamental “trencadís” and integration of materials with the natural environment. You could say that it was a laboratory for him, that’s why this place is so magical.
This factory closed in 1973, but in 2000 the recovery processes of these modernist buildings began.
Also …
If when you have finished seeing the Colónia Guell you want to investigate a little more, very close you have ‘Catalonia in miniature’ a corner where you will find an exhibition of models, which is a map of Catalonia of 25,000m2 of “real” reality. You will become a giant and in a pleasant walk in the middle of nature you will get to know the geography, architecture and culture!
To know more about Catalonia, check our plans