La Sagrada Família is a stunning structure! Three times we've visited Barcelona and three times La…read moreSagrada Família has eluded us. We had a master plan to arrive at the church by 7:30 am and go inside. Unfortunately, others had the same plan. In fact, a line was wrapped around the church at 7:30 am, which means hundreds or maybe even a thousand folks had the same idea. They must have starting arriving at 5 am. So we could only view the church from outside again...
The history...
The idea for the La Sagrada Família began in the 1860s, when a religious group in Barcelona wanted to build a church dedicated to the Holy Family. Interestingly, the project was funded by private donations. Construction officially started on March 19, 1882 under architect Francisco de Paula del Villar, who planned a traditional neo-Gothic church. In 1883, a young architect named Antoni Gaudí took control and completely changed everything. He transformed the design into something radical and unique, inspired by nature, geometry, and religion. From 1914, Gaudí devoted himself entirely to the project. He worked on it for over 40 years, but when he died in 1926, only a small part of the basilica was finished. At that point, the building was less than a quarter done.
The La Sagrada Família project faced major interruptions. In 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, construction completely stopped. Gaudí's workshop was destroyed, and many of his plans and models were lost. This was a huge setback because future architects had to rebuild his designs from fragments. Construction slowly resumed in the 1950s. Architects used surviving materials and photos to continue Gaudí's vision. During 2005, parts of the basilica became a UNESCO World Heritage site. In 2010 the church was officially consecrated and became a functioning basilica. Sagrada Família is one of the longest-running building projects in the world and the largest unfinished Catholic Church.
