I love Spain and all the cities I have visited so far in that amazing country (Madrid, Toledo and Bilbao) were inspiring but none of them I found as wonderful as Barcelona. The city was on my ‘must see’ list for a while and I’m happy to say I have finally had opportunity to visit it.
The city has wide streets, imposing buildings, lively atmosphere and warm climate. It has a beautiful old town, with an impressive Cathedral, the beating heart of the city, famous Las Ramblas is full of people at any time od the day and Barceloneta is a picturesque area with narrow streets and many nice fish restaurants. All that is already fulfilling the formula of a beautiful European city. So why is Barcelona still more impressive than most of the cities I have visited so far?
Antoni Gaudi is a wizard whose magic spell has created the city that is above the average Mediterranean metropolis due to breath taking pieces of architecture he has created. Seven of his works were declared World Heritage by UNESCO and majority is set in Barcelona. I had the chance to visit Park Guell with his sculptures, house called La Pedrera and famous church Sagrada Familia.
I wanted to visit Park Guell for a long time as the Doors were the most important band in my formative years. I always liked lizards in any form because they are the main motive of some of their most popular songs and Jim Morrison was often refereeing to himself as the ‘Lizard King’. Sculpture of lizard is the most impressive part in the park but the park as a whole is beautiful. A green oasis on the hill with a mesmerising view on Barcelona with Gaudi’s artwork certainly met my expectations.
La Pedrera is a modernist building and Gaudi’s last civil work that he built between 1906 and 1910. It is an innovative piece of architecture and it curvy lines on the outside imitate nature. Gaudi is often called the architect of nature, as nature within religion was the main source for his work. The roof of the building is particularly interesting because there are different sculptures that look like surrealistic soldiers and are made to hide the chimneys so he managed to combine practical and aesthetic value. I visited the house in the evening so I had the opportunity to see special night show of lights and music on the roof. Sculptures were illuminated with different motives from the nature and acoustics that were reproduced created an almost ‘out of space’ atmosphere.
Sagrada Familia is with no doubt the biggest masterpiece and probably the most impressive church I have ever seen. The way how it looks like from the outside is well known and although it was fantastic to finally see it live I was more impressed when I stepped inside the building. It looks like a step into the future. It reminded me of some films with futuristic script and surreal scenery like Avatar. Gigantic pillars in the shapes of the palm trees, vivid colours on the stained glass mirrors and beautiful vast area that looks so modern in 2015 makes it hard to believe that Gaudi became involved in building it in 1883. It is a never ending project not only because it’s an ambitious task to finish technically but also because Gaudi’s wish was that it has to be built only from the donations. It is estimated that it will be finished by 2030.
The emotion that went through me when I first saw it from the inside was similar to what I felt when I first saw Eiffel Tower, or when I landed in New York City after my first airplane ride ever or when I first visited my biggest love London. Travelling is my huge passion and in most of the places I visit I find something interesting and worth to see but rarely I feel such strong emotions as in those couple of occasions.
Gaudi was not only an architectural genius he was also a visionary. He said 120 years ago when tourism didn’t exist in the form as it is now and people weren’t travelling to Barcelona that Sagrada Familia belongs to people from all over the world and that people from all over the world will be visiting it. We can see today how he was right because it is a place of great interest for the people from all around the globe who are visiting it daily and by buying tickets helping Gaudi to finish his project in the way he wished – donations from everyone for the place for everyone.
Gaudi wasn’t before his time in the era he was living in, if he was alive today he would still be so much ahead. His genius did not only take Barcelona into the future with inventive ideas and unique architectural approach, it gave to the city the charm that made it so different than any other place I have seen so far and it created a pieces of universal value that will last forever.
ardenlea 