Barcelona city in spain gaudi houses. Gaudí's creation: Casa Batllo in Barcelona (30 photos)

The Spanish architect Gaudi and his houses, which have become iconic in world architecture, have turned the capital of Spain, Barcelona, into an architectural gem. In what style did a unique, gifted person work, who additionally combined an artist, sculptor and builder? What is the secret of his work? What is the fate of a genius?

Gaudí - style at the service of tradition

The founder of his own architectural style Antonio Gaudí i Cornet

The Catalan architect, born on June 25, 1852, through his work expressed the peculiarities of the culture of his homeland through the merger architectural styles and traditions. It does not fit into any architectural trend. His work is unique and completely different from generally accepted concepts. And the power of the aesthetic experience of the creations of Gaudí only becomes greater with time.

There is not a single straight line in its structures. Architectural forms flow from one to another. He modestly built according to the laws of Nature and did not seek to surpass it.

What is the originality of Gaudí's style?

In 1878, the director of the Barcelona School of Architecture, Elies Rogent, said of Antonio at the graduation ceremony: “We have given this academic title either to an idiot or a genius. Time will tell". At first, Gaudi unsuccessfully participated in competitions, studied crafts, designed fences, lanterns, and furniture.

“There is nothing invented, everything originally exists in nature. Originality is a return to the origins,” said the master about his works. The hallmark of Gaudí's style was the expression of natural forms in architecture.

Gaudí's style is

the world of uneven surfaces that we see in nature;
design solutions proposed by nature;
decorativeness that exists in nature;
continuation of the space created by nature.

Five years after graduating from the Barcelona School of Architecture, he received his first important commission from the owner of a ceramic factory, Manuel Vicens.

Dashing trouble - the beginning: the house of the magnate-ceramist Vicens

Casa Vicens (1883-1888) is a residential building for the owner of a ceramic factory, which is clearly reflected in the "trencadis" facade (i.e. the use of ceramic waste). Gaudí decorated the facade of the house with a mosaic of tile pieces, which was quite unusual in the use of building materials.

At this time in Europe, there was an interest in the neo-Gothic style with the motto "Decoration - the beginning of architecture." Gaudí also adhered to this rule in his works. His work at the time resembled the Moorish (or Mudéjar) style of architecture, a unique blend of Muslim and Christian design in Spain.

The private house once a year, on May 22, opens its doors to visitors. Everyone can appreciate the detailed design of the building, from the exterior mosaics to the stained-glass windows and wall paintings.

Incredible luck and the only unrequited love of Gaudí

In 1878, Antonio Gaudí decided to showcase his work at the Paris World Exhibition. His work made an impression on the richest man in Catalonia, esthete and philanthropist, Eusebi Guella. He gave Antonio what every creator dreams of: complete freedom of expression with an unlimited budget!

Gaudí carries out projects for the family

pavilions of the estate in Pedralbes near Barcelona;
wine cellars in Garraf,
the chapels and crypt of the Guell colony (Santa Coloma de Cervelho);
fantastic park Guella and its palace in Barcelona.

It was the best and at the same time sad period in the personal life of the architect. The only girl who turned out to be worthy of his attention, Joseph Moreu, did not reciprocate. Accepting fate, Gaudí devoted himself entirely to creativity and religion.

Royal garden in the style of Gaudí

Gaudí's first large-scale project, carried out for his great patron, Eusebi Güell, was the pavilions of the estate. Construction took place between 1883 and 1887. The landscape design of the park of the count's summer residence, which has become the park of the Royal Palace today, the entrance gates, pavilions, stables bear the characteristic features of the early period of creativity.

The most interesting work in the complex was the northern iron gate. They are decorated with floral motifs in the style , and a medallion with the letter "G". An impressive feature is a large wrought iron dragon with glass eyes.

This is the same Ladon who turns into the constellation of Serpenes for stealing golden apples. Its figure corresponds to the location of the stars in the constellation.

Palace Guella (Palau Güell) (1885-1890)

The residence of the patron's family became the first building of the architect, in which the structural elements also perform a decorative function. Antonio uses steel supporting structures as decor.

Two pairs of large gates stand out on the facade of the building, through which horse-drawn carriages and carts could go directly to the lower stables and cellars, while guests could climb stairs to the upper floors.

The soul of the creator is looking for new forms. From the outside, the house has a calm façade, reminiscent of a Venetian palazzo. But the interior and roof make up for the lack of Gaudí elements in the exterior.

Living room of Palau Güella with Gaudí style starry ceiling

In the central living room, an unusual parabolic dome is studded with round holes that make the ceiling starry during the day.

The silhouettes of chimneys and ventilation shafts leading to the roof take on various fantastic shapes. The roof is reminiscent of Park Güell.

The rich interiors of the palace combine works of arts and crafts, intarsia (inlays on wood) and custom-made furniture.

The design of the walls and flat vaults of the palace is peculiar. In 1984, the Palace Güell, along with other architectural masterpieces of Gaudí, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Expression of Gaudí's style in the architecture of Park Güella

In 1900 - 1914, Gaudí worked on the creation of a park residential area in the English style. In order to implement the garden city concept that was fashionable in those years, Güell acquired 15 hectares of land for the construction of 62 private mansions. The project's economic failures forced its heirs to sell the park to the city. It now houses the Gaudi Museum.

For this place, Gaudi designed two magnificent entrance pavilions that serve as gates. A large ornamented staircase leads to the Hypostyle Hall, conceived by the architect as a place for a market. The esplanade is surrounded by a long, serpentine bench of precast concrete blocks clad in ceramic mosaics.

Devoted to his principles, Gaudí used only local materials. He designed the system of streets and viaducts in such a way that their construction had a minimal impact on environment. They have been adapted to the landscape as much as possible.

This principle makes his architecture and some researchers of his work call Gaudí's style eco-modern.

Gaudi and his houses "From Bones" and "Stone Quarry"

Thanks to his inimitable style, Gaudí becomes the most fashionable architect in Barcelona. It turns into "an unaffordable luxury", creates houses one more unusual than the other. The Spanish bourgeois spend their fortunes on the implementation of the artist's brilliant ideas.

Casa Batlló or House of Bones. The Barcelona people also call it “Yawning” and “Dragon House”, its facade is so diverse.

Gaudi's style is a reverently respectful relationship with the Creator, which was established in childhood. Rheumatism limited the boy in games with peers, but did not interfere with long solitary rides on a donkey.

Observing the surrounding world, the architect drew inspiration to solve constructive or decorative architectural tasks for customers. In his work, he used elements of a wide variety of styles, transforming them into a special direction called Spanish ( modernismo).

Why did the city authorities criticize the House of the Bones?

A living, quivering creature was the fruit of the architect's whimsical fantasy - the residential building of the textile magnate Josep Batlló (Casa Batlló). Gaudi reconstructed an already existing building in 1904-1906, awaiting demolition. He used the typical structural elements of Catalan architecture: ceramics, stone and wrought iron.

Despite the fact that the work was criticized by the city, in 1906 the city council of Barcelona recognized him as one of the three best buildings of the year.

Due to the radical design during construction, Gaudí violated all by-laws of the city. And not because he is a "mischievous person", but because the author's style went beyond the limiting framework of traditional architecture and urban planning. The powers that be had to change the laws.

Which building was Gaudí's last secular work?

Quarry house in Barcelona in the style of Gaudí

In 1906, another big loss happens in the life of an architect: his father, a blacksmith and boiler master, Francesc Gaudí i Sierra, died. According to Antonio, it was in his father's workshop that he felt space as living matter. His father taught him to understand the beauty of the objective world and instilled a love for architecture and drawing.

This is not the first loss in the life of the master. Born the fifth child in the family, this year he was left all alone with his niece in care, whom he buried after 6 years.

It was during this period that Antonio's new ideas were embodied in the house for the Mila family (casa Mila, 1906 - 1910). His innovation was as follows.

He thinks through the system of natural ventilation, which makes it possible to abandon air conditioners.
Builds a building without load-bearing and supporting walls (reinforced concrete structure with load-bearing columns). This makes it possible to move the interior partitions in each apartment at your discretion. Today, this technology is popular with builders of monolithic-frame houses.
Arranges an underground garage.
Each room in the house gets a window, which is also unusual for the beginning of the 20th century. There are three courtyards for this.

The undulating façade is a harmonious mass of all kinds of stone, which, along with the wrought iron balconies, was nicknamed by the people of Barcelona "the quarry" or La Pedrera.

One of Gaudi's most interesting design solutions is the attic of the house. The hall, once intended for washing and drying clothes, today has become a permanent exhibition of Gaudí's work and life.

This building was the first building of the twentieth century, included in the heritage of UNESCO (1984). And during construction, the customer and the builders paid more than one fine for violating generally accepted standards.

The House of Mila was the last secular work before the architect devoted himself entirely to creativity on the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia). He no longer took new orders, but worked on finishing the current projects.

Crypt of the Guella colony

The word "colony" does not carry the burden of "corrective labor" at all. What is it you can read on channel Zen Architecture.

Crypt, in this case, means the lower floor of the church, the construction of which Gaudi began in 1908 and completed in 1914, commissioned by his friend and patron Eusebi Güella. The architect was instructed to provide a cultural and religious basis for the life of the town of workers employed in the production of an industrialist.

Interior of the crypt of a church in the Guella colony. The columns are made of basalt, brick and limestone depending on the load.

Following his principles, Gaudi organically entered the church into the landscape of the area. For the interior, he designed amazing benches made of wood and iron, reflecting his roots as a hereditary blacksmith.

Learn more about the masterpiece crypt of the colony Güell, if interested, read on the Zen Architecture channel.

The brilliance and poverty of the architect Gaudí

Dandy in his youth, a gourmet and theatergoer, traveling in his own carriage, in adulthood began to lead an ascetic lifestyle. On June 7, 1926, he, a 73-year-old man, dressed in a worn suit and without documents, was hit by a tram. Not knowing that this is a great architect, the victim was taken to the hospital for the poor. The next day, the chaplain (the main creation of Gaudí, to whom he devoted more than 40 years) found him and transferred him to another hospital. But the best doctors were powerless.

The architecture of Antonio Gaudi, his houses in Barcelona, which have become the world heritage of mankind, you will recognize even if you are not at all familiar with his work. continue to build and hope to complete by 2026.

Nowadays, few people have not heard of the architect and the Sagrada Familia, his most famous work. The Catalans idolize Gaudi, because it was thanks to him that Barcelona acquired its own unique style.

Biography of Antonio Gaudí reveals a lot of interesting moments about his life, despite the fact that all his life the genius was a rather withdrawn person, having practically no friends. Architecture was the main meaning of his life, the element in which he gave no concessions to anyone, often being tough and cruel with workers. Antonio Gaudí i Cornet was born on June 25, 1852 in Reus (Catalonia), or in a village near this town, becoming the fifth child in the family. It is the fact that his entire childhood was spent near the sea that explains the bizarre forms of the buildings of a genius, reminiscent of sand castles. As a child, Antonio suffered pneumonia and rheumatism. Due to diseases, he had practically no friends, so the boy was often alone with nature, even then dreaming of becoming an architect. Subsequently, this influenced the creation in his creations of forms close to natural.

Since 1868, Gaudí moved to Barcelona, where he took architectural courses. One of the teachers called him either a genius or crazy for his non-standard projects. Gaudi never used drawings and computers, in his work he was guided only by intuition, making all the calculations in his mind. It cannot be said that the architect was in search of his own style, he just saw the world like that, creating masterpieces of architecture. Here you can point out the fact that Antonio's ancestors, up to great-grandfathers, were boilermakers, the most complex products were made "by eye", without drawings. This, apparently, was their family feature. In 1878, he was finally noticed and received his first commission, designing a Barcelona street lamp. The project was fully implemented the following year.

House of Vicens

Vicens House (Casa Vicens, 1878) was designed for the diploma student and manufacturer of building materials Manuel Vincens at the beginning of Gaudí's architectural career. The house has a simple rectangular plan, built of stone and brick, but the architect provided the building with rich ceramic decoration and so many outbuildings, turrets and balconies that the house looked like a fairy-tale palace. The master drew inspiration from ancient Arab architecture. Gaudí himself designed the window bars and the garden fence, and also made sketches of the interior of the dining room and smoking room. In this project, for the first time, the experience of creating a parabolic arch was used. This villa can be seen on Carolines Street, unfortunately now devoid of a garden.

His career began with very modest orders, in addition to a street lamp for the Royal Square, he was engaged in the design of shop windows, designed street toilets. But thanks to this, he was noticed by the wealthy industrialist Count Eusebio Güell y Basigalupi, who became his patron and regular customer until the count's death in 1918. Count Güell gave Gaudi complete freedom, thus allowing him to express himself. Everything that Antonio built for Güell has become a collection of masterpieces that Barcelona is so proud of.

Gaudí's first job for Count Güell was the construction of the count's estate in the district of Garraf (1884-1887). Only the gate with a forged dragon survived, the appearance of a mighty monster on the gate was very symbolic, since it is part of the emblem of Catalonia, and its curves repeat the outlines of the constellation Draco. This was the whole Gaudi, all his buildings and sculptures are permeated with symbolism. Next to the gates are the entrance pavilions, which used to house the stable, the arena and the gatekeeper's house, and now the Gaudí Research Center. The domed turrets on these pavilions are reminiscent of the book One Thousand and One Nights.

The most unique work of Gaudí for the count was the building of the Barcelona residence of Güell - (1886-1891). This building is a vivid display of Gaudí's own style. The unique combination of materials and multicolor creates fantastic looks. The roof of this building is lined with decorative chimneys and ventilation pipes of unimaginable types, none of which is repeated. Gaudi did not forget about the practicality of his buildings, thanks to the huge arches it was easy for the carriages to enter the stables located under the house. Inside the house there was a spacious main hall, which was crowned with a dome with holes, so that even in the daytime, raising your head, it seemed that you were looking at the starry sky. Everything in this building is designed by Gaudí, balcony railings, furniture, moldings on the ceilings, columns (forty different shapes).

The main dream of the architect was the construction of churches, he was a deeply religious person. He was approached by the Catholic Church to complete the building of the College of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Teresa, which had been abandoned by another architect. The funds of the order were very meager, since the order had taken a vow of poverty. But Gaudi was able to give this building a refined, refined style, decorating it not luxuriously, but modestly: with the emblems of the order, turrets with crosses and arches.

Another order of the church was the episcopal palace in Astorga (1887-1893), which he never managed to finish, since the Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid, whose permission was required for the implementation of this project, harassed the architect with amendments, and he quit work, since defended every stroke on his drawings. The palace was completed by another architect, but retained from Gaudí the overall appearance, reminiscent of medieval castles with its turrets and buttresses.

However, most certainly famous work the master remains the Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia), made in an atypical style for temple architecture. erection of the cathedral architect Antonio Gaudi devoted a lot of time and energy, starting it in 1883, however, the building was never completed due to the death of Antonio Gaudí. After the genius died, the Sagrada Familia project remained unfinished, since Antonio did not like to draw, there were no author's drawings left after him. The forms and symbolism of the cathedral are so complex, and Gaudi's method of work is so unique that all subsequent attempts to continue the construction looked too uncertain.

In addition to the Sagrada Familia, there are 13 major buildings of Antonio Gaudi in Barcelona, giving the city a unique touch and allowing you to create an idea of the style of the genius creator. These include the House of Mila (a residential building whose walls are painted on the inside, and on a flat, uneven roof there are chimneys lined with pieces of glass and ceramics), the House of Batllo (whose wavy, scaly roof resembles a giant snake), the Mirales Gate (a rounded wall , covered with tortoise shell tiles), Park Güell (which is an urban style in nature, there is not a single straight line here, this park has become the pearl of Barcelona), the church of the Guell country estate, the Bellesgvard house (a villa in the form of a Gothic castle with stained glass windows of a complex star shape ) and of course many others, since, having entered “fashion” among rich citizens, he did not go out of it until the end of his life.

Architect Antonio Gaudi died when he was hit by a tram on June 7, 1926. There is widespread information that on this day the first tram was launched in Barcelona and allegedly it was the architect who was crushed by him, but this is just a legend. Gaudí was a neglected old man and was mistaken for a homeless man. He died three days later on June 10, in a homeless shelter, but was accidentally identified by an elderly woman. And thanks to her, the great architect was not buried in a common grave, but was buried with honors in the building of his entire life, the Sagrada Familia, where you can see his grave and death mask.

By decision of UNESCO, Park Güell, the Güell Palace and the House of Mila were declared heritage of mankind.

Gaudí architecture

At the beginning of Gaudi's work, being influenced by the architecture of Barcelona and the architect Martorel, he builds his first buildings, richly decorated: "stylistic twins" - the elegant House of Vicens () and the quaint El Capriccio (Comillas, Cantabria); also the compromise Calvet House (Barcelona) in pseudo-baroque style. At the same time, Gaudí is making a project in a restrained Gothic, even “serf” style - the School at the Monastery of St. Teresa (), as well as an unrealized project for the buildings of the Franciscan Mission in Tangier; Neo-Gothic episcopal palace in Astorga (Castilla, Leon) and Dom Botines (Leon).

A decisive role in the implementation of Gaudí was played by the architect's meeting with Eusebi Güell, with whom he became friends. This textile magnate, the richest man, not alien to aesthetic insights, could afford to order any dream, and Gaudi got what every creator dreams of: freedom of expression without regard to estimates.

Gaudí designs the pavilions of the estate in Pedralbes near Barcelona for the Guell family; wine cellars in Garrafa, chapels and crypts of Colonia Güell (Santa Coloma de Cervello); fantastic().

Over time, Gaudi developed his own style, where there was not a single straight line. The construction of the Palau Güell turned Gaudí into Barcelona's most fashionable architect, soon becoming "an almost unaffordable luxury". For the bourgeois of Barcelona, he built houses one more unusual than the other: a space that is born and develops, expanding and moving like living matter - the House of Mila; a living quivering creature, the fruit of a bizarre fantasy - Casa Batllo.

Customers, ready to throw half a fortune on the construction, initially believed in the genius of an architect who paves a new path in architecture.

Death of Gaudí

Gaudí died at the age of 73. On June 7, 1926, he left the house, setting off on his daily journey to the church of Sant Felip Neri, of which he was a parishioner. While walking absentmindedly along Gran Via de las Cortes Catalanes between Girona and Bailen streets, he was hit by a tram and Gaudí lost consciousness.

The cab drivers refused to take an untidy, unknown old man without money and documents to the hospital, fearing non-payment for the trip. Still, Gaudi was taken to a hospital for the poor, where he was given only primitive medical care. Only the next day he was found and identified by the chaplain. By that time, Gaudí's condition had already deteriorated so much that the best treatment could not help him.

Gaudí died on June 10, 1926 and was buried two days later in the crypt of the unfinished cathedral.

Gaudí architecture in Barcelona:

Casa Batlló y Casa Novas

Casa Batlló(cat. Casa Batlló), also called "House of Bones"- a residential building built in 1877 for the textile magnate Josep Batllo y Casanovas at , 43 in the district, and rebuilt by the architect Antoni Gaudí in 1904-1906.

Before finishing the construction work, Gaudi received an order to remake an apartment building owned by the family of a wealthy textile manufacturer, Josep Batllo y Casanovas, and located next to the modernist house of Amalie. The owner of the house intended to demolish the old building of 1875 and build a new one in its place, but Gaudí decided otherwise.

Architecture of Casa Batlló

Gaudi retained the original structure of the house, adjacent to the side walls of two neighboring buildings, but designed two new facades, the main one from the side, and the back one - inside the quarter. In addition, Gaudi completely redesigned the ground floor and the mezzanine, making the original furniture, and adding a basement floor, attic and asotea (stepped roof terrace). Two light shafts were combined into a single courtyard, which improved daylight and ventilation of the building. The idea of attaching special significance to the light court, first realized in Casa Batlló, was used by Gaudi during the construction Houses of Mila.

Many researchers of Gaudí's work recognize that the reconstruction of Casa Batllo is the beginning of a new creative stage for the master: from this project, Gaudí's architectural projects will be based on his own vision, without regard to accepted norms and styles.

Features of Casa Batlló

A distinctive feature of the Casa Batlló is the almost complete absence of straight lines in its architecture. The decoration of the façade is made of hewn stone, quarried on Barcelona's Montjuïc hill, as well as the interior design - everything is done on the basis of wavy lines. The appearance of the facade is interpreted in very different ways, but in general they agree that the main facade is an allegory for the dragon - Gaudí's favorite character, whose image was used in many of his creations. The victory of the patron saint of Catalonia, St. George, over the dragon may be an allegory for the victory of good over evil. The sword of St. George, thrust into the "backbone of the dragon", is presented in the form of a turret topped with a St. George's cross, the facade of the building depicts the sparkling "scales" of the monster and is littered with the bones and "skulls" of its victims, which are guessed in the forms of the mezzanine columns and balconies.

As is characteristic of Gaudí, every detail in the Casa Batlló is carefully thought out. Pay attention to the design of the light palace, where Gaudí created a special play of chiaroscuro. To achieve uniform lighting, the architect gradually changes the color of the ceramic cladding from white to blue and blue, deepening it as it goes from bottom to top, creating a real splash of azure in the finishes of chimneys and ventilation pipes. For the same, the size of the windows overlooking the patio also changes, which gradually decrease with height. The elegant attic of the house is based on the parabolic arches used by Gaudi and other projects.

Decor of Casa Batlló

All home decor is made by the best craftsmen. The forged elements were made by blacksmiths, the Badia brothers, the stained-glass windows were made by the glass blower Josep Pelegri, the tiles were made by P. Pujol-i-Bausis son, other ceramic details were made by Sebastian-i-Ribo. The cladding of the main façade was entirely made in Manacor (Mallorca). The furniture created by Gaudí during the interior design is now included in the collection in Park Guell.

Casa Batllo, together with the House of Amalle and the House of Lleo Morera, is part of "Quarter of Disagreement", so named because of the stylistic heterogeneity of the modernist buildings that form it.

In 1962, Casa Batllo was declared an Artistic Monument of Barcelona, in 1969 - a monument of national importance, in 2005 it was included in the list.

Visit Casa Batlló in Barcelona:

Website: www.casabatllo.es
Opening hours: daily 9 - 19 (last entry at 20:00)
Directions: 7, 16, 17, 22, 24 and 28. Barcelona Tourist Bus (North & South) stop Casa Batlló – Fundació Antoni Tàpies.| Barcelona Tourist Bus (North & South) stop Casa Batlló – Fundació Antoni Tàpies.| Metro: Station Passeig de Gràcia: L2, L3 and L4.
Audio guide - included in the ticket price. There is in Russian.
Entrance:
- adults: 21.5€
- students and pensioners > 65 years old: 18.5€
- 7 - 18 years old: 18.5€
- children under 7 years old - free of charge
- Night visit (21:00) - 29€

House Mila

On the corner with Carrèr de Provence (Provence St.) stands the main boulevard - Mila's house(Casa Milà, Provença, 261-265, Passeig de Gratia, 92). This building by Antoni Gaudí is more like a piece of sculpture than a piece of architecture.

Architecture of the House of Mila

The six-story house looks like a huge rock, its window and door openings resemble grottoes, the wrought-iron balcony railings are made in the form of fantastic plants. The house is often called La Pedrera, meaning "The Quarry". Gaudi erected it in 1906-1910. for the richest Mila family; the owners' living quarters, an office were located here, and some of the apartments were rented out. Now, in addition to the bank CaixadeCatalunya, who allocated funds for the restoration of the building, the house houses the Gaudí Museum.

In one of the apartments there is a kind of museum of life of the Art Nouveau era; note that there are no straight lines here! You can also climb up to the fantastic rooftop, where giant multicolored chimneys resemble medieval knights. It was on this roof that the shooting of M. Antonioni's famous film "Profession: Reporter" took place.

Religious motifs in the architecture of Gaudí

The house was built on the site of the temple of the Virgin Mary of the 11th century, and therefore its entire appearance is permeated with religious motifs. The building was to be crowned by a colossal figure of the Madonna (12 m) with angels - the entire building of Mila's house would then be perceived as her grandiose pedestal. However, the Madonna was never installed because of the anti-church riots of the Tragic Week of 1909, when the crowd smashed and burned churches and monasteries. Religious symbols are present in all the buildings of Gaudí; “silent wave of the blue mountain” (as the English art critic D. Ruskin called Mila’s house) was supposed to capture the “soul of Catalonia2 and remind monastery of Montserrat.

But it must be remembered that Gaudi intended to somewhat soften the impression of the harsh power of this house - the residents had to decorate their balconies with creeping and hanging flowers, cacti, palm trees, thereby complementing the architecture and sculpture with living vegetation. The most important role in the construction of the Mila House was played by Gaudí's permanent assistant J. Jujol, who designed the wrought-iron grilles of the building's balconies.

Visit Casa Mila in Barcelona:

House Mila - on the list
Address: Provença, 261-265, Barcelona
www.lapedrera.com
Directions: metro: L3 and L5 stop Diagonal.| buses: 7, 16, 17, 22, 24, 39 and V17.| FGC trains: Provença station.| Barcelona Bus Turistic: stop Pg. de Gracia-La Pedrera.
Working hours:
November - February: La Pedrera in the afternoon: daily 9 - 18:30, last admission 18 hours. The Secret Pedrera: Wednesday - Saturday 19 - 22:30, choice of tours and languages.
March - October: La Pedrera by Day: hedgehog. 9 - 20, last entrance 19:30. The Secret Pedrera: hedgehog 20:30 - 0:00, choice of excursions and languages.
Closed: 25 December and 1 week in January.
Entrance: AFTERNOON: adults €16.50, students: €14.85 disabled: €14.85, children (up to and including 6 years old): free, children 7 - 12 years old: €8.25
Entrance IN THE EVENING: adults: 30 €, children 7-12 years old: 15 €, children under 6 years old inclusive - free of charge.

Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia)

It was one of his first buildings, which Antonio Gaudí built in 1886-1889. for his patron, the textile magnate Eusebio de Güell Bacigalupi. Probably, it was thanks to close friendship with him that Gaudi managed to achieve unprecedented architectural perfection: Guell did not count the money that he allocated for Gaudi's buildings and their constant restructuring, he settled numerous legal problems, and as a result, Gaudi became, in fact, the family architect of the Guells. He built everything for them - from clothes drying devices on the roof of a city house, and a mansion, and a church, and a whole park.

The architect and the industrialist had much in common: they were both from the neighborhood, both were fanatical patriots. Be sure to visit the palace; Fireplaces, bat-shaped weathercocks, parabolic arches, neo-Byzantine living rooms, spear columns on the second floor, multi-colored ceramic chimneys on the roof are unlikely to leave you indifferent (according to legend, to achieve the desired effect, Gaudí smashed objects of an extremely expensive Limoges service).

Interior of the Palace Güell

The decoration of the rooms was fabulously expensive - carved ceilings of rosewood and oak are decorated with false leaves of gold and silver, inlaid with ivory and tortoiseshell; candlesticks were attached to the marble walls. Some art historians believe that the drawing of the mansion resembles a plan in; others note similarities with Babylonian ziggurats. The mansion was the main official residence of Güell - even before the completion of construction work, he was visited here by the Queen Regent Maria Cristina.

In the 1880s, when construction was underway Palace Güell, the southeast side was considered unsuitable for a fashionable life - this cereal area was then called Chinatown and was teeming with prostitutes, alcoholics, syphilitics; it was here that the French writer Jean Genet lived, creating his "Diary of a Thief" - a chronicle of the life of the Barcelona "bottom". Now this area is populated mainly by emigrants from Latin America and is still considered the slums of Barcelona. By the way, if you want to live close to the center of Barcelona and very cheap, and you are not too scrupulous, then this place will be perfect - lots of cheap restaurants around, within walking distance…

Visit Palau Güell in Barcelona

Palau Guell
Address: Carrer Nou de la Rambla, 3-5
Tel: +34 934 72 57 75
Working hours:
Open from Tuesday to Sunday, both days inclusive.
- Summer work schedule (from April 1 to October 31): from 10 am to 8 pm (ticket office closes at 7 pm)
- Winter work schedule (from November 1 to March 31): from 10 to 17:30 (the box office closes at 16:30)
- Day off: Monday, excluding holidays, December 25 and 26, January 1 and from January 6 to 13 (for prevention)

Entrance:
- adults: 12€
- other options:
- The audio guide is included in the ticket price.
Buy ticket to Vdorets Güell:
- Tickets can be purchased at the box office of the Palau Güell, located on the street. Nou de la Rambla, 1, 20 meters from the main entrance to the Palau Güell. Tickets can also be purchased in advance for a specific time and date.

Do people live in Gaudi's houses?

The man with a hundred oddities and the great architect Antonio Gaudí was born in 1852. He lived for 74 years, and his work peaked in the 1890s–1910s.

At that time, Catalonia was experiencing a financial boom, closely intertwined with the ideological task to revive the former glory of the region and the national language. Literary critics and politicians wrote about the Catalan soul, the poet Jacinth Verdaguer created a long-desired epic in the original Catalan language - "Atlantis". The textile magnates tried to compete with London and Paris and wanted to think of themselves as little more than regional merchants. The Barcelona elite wanted to feel like a metropolitan elite, not a peripheral one; their companion and accomplice in this was the local national movement - Catalanism. Magazines and shops on the theme of Catalanism and the Fatherland sprang up like mushrooms after the rain, and all art, wittingly or unwittingly, was thrown into the task of glorifying Catalonia and everything that this undoubtedly great land gave birth to.

Casa Mila, aka La Pedrera. In 1984, it became the first building of the 20th century to be included in the List world heritage UNESCO

Architecture became the main art of the city. Wealthy people commissioned their homes from Catalan architects who sang of their homeland in stone and brick. Sometimes houses were built from scratch, sometimes artistically altered. As a rule, the owners of buildings lived on the second floor - that is why in Spain it is called principal, that is, "main", where the owners live. The remaining three or four floors, which rose above the owners' chambers, were rented out - mostly to people who were not poor either. Therefore, in the houses of the work of Antoni Gaudi they live: houses were built for this.

Of all the pro-Catalan figures, this architect was the most Catalan. He was born in the city of Reus, spent his childhood there and eventually became the main attraction of this tiny town 100 km from Barcelona. Naturalness, unevenness, natural asymmetry are recognizable motives of the Gaudian style in architecture, and it was in Catalonia that Gaudí observed the endless bends of plants and life. For the pious master, nature embodied life and creation, it was God as he is, and this God was inseparable from the Catalan land. In the work of Gaudí, radically believing and stern, Catalonia, nature and God are a kind of rethought Holy Trinity. The architect refused to speak Spanish and, even when he was introduced to King Alfonso XIII, he answered all questions in Catalan, shocking the courtiers.

Central entrance to La Pedrera

1 of 6

The corridor where the apartment of Carmen Burgos-Bosc is located - Afisha Daily asked for a visit. The hostess flatly refused to be photographed full face

2 of 6

The main dining room, where guests were previously received

4 of 6

Wooden bench - according to the hostess, the work of Gaudi himself

5 out of 6

Living room that looks like a museum

6 out of 6

What happened to the houses

In Barcelona itself, not counting the Sagrada Familia (anticipating the question - it will be completed by 2026), there are seven buildings of Antoni Gaudí. These are the houses of Batlló and Mila, located on Gracia Avenue, the house of Vicens, the Guell palace and pavilions, the Calvet house and the Bellesguard tower. Of these seven buildings, four buildings were not rented out, but were wholly owned by the customer's family. And Calvet, Batllo and Mila initially combined two functions: permanent residence of the owners and income from rent.

The Calvet House is still owned by private individuals - the descendants of João Boyer-Vilaseca, who bought it from the Calvet family in 1927. The Boyer-Vilasek family is not interested in commercializing the building and does not open it to tourists. On the ground floor, there is an elite restaurant, Casa Calvet, where Hollywood stars supposedly dine. Here, for example, .

Residence Carmen Burgos-Bosc - one of the last two private apartments in the house of Mila

The fate of the houses of Mila and Batlló - the most spectacular in Gaudi's career and located five hundred meters from each other - turned out to be very similar. After the owners of the buildings died, their children and grandchildren followed them for some time. Gaudí's work was then resold to various corporations.

Batllo's daughters Carmen and Mercedes sold the family home in 1954 to the Seguros Iberia insurance company, which used it as offices. At that time, Spain was under Franco's control and few people came to Barcelona to stroll along Las Ramblas in the relaxing atmosphere of a right-wing dictatorship. The situation changed dramatically in 1992, when the city hosted the Olympics: it was an unequivocal, stunning success, and Barcelona began the path to its current glory as the main resort in Europe.

Just a year after the Olympics, Casa Batlló was bought by the Bernat family, owners of the Chupa Chups company and, apparently, people with exceptional financial sense. They restored the building (in the Franco era, they did not restore houses that embodied the pride and claim to exclusivity of Catalonia) and opened it to tourists. Today, few people leave Barcelona without paying their €30 entrance fee to the Dragon House. So it is called because of one of the versions of the interpretation of the decor: the facade is similar to the scaly mounds of a dragon defeated by St. George - the patron saint of Catalonia. Rumors circulate around the city that an old woman of about a hundred years old still lives in Batllo, but there is no documentary confirmation of this information.

House Mila - also known as La Pedrera, "The Quarry" - was originally conceived not only as a residence, but also as a luxury residential complex. Gaudi even designed an underground car park for future residents. Work began in 1906, La Pedrera was built with scandals and was somehow completed by 1912. The result of the conflict between Gaudí and the clients - Mr. Per Mila and Mrs. Ruzer Segimon - was the architect's refusal to ever work with private individuals and his subsequent move to the workshop on the territory of the Sagrada Familia.

During the Civil War, Mila and Sejimont were forced to flee, and the building was taken over by the Republican government of Catalonia. After the victory of Franco and the unification of Spain, La Pedrera changed hands many times, until in 1986 the building was bought by the main bank of the region - Caixa de Catalunya. In the house, as Gaudí intended, people lived, renting premises on indefinite contracts. The Bank of Catalonia, having become the owner, decided to respect these contracts, and the bulk of the tenants remained in their apartments. All residents of La Pedrera received the right to occupy premises in the building until their death, without the right to transfer the contract to children, relatives and anyone else. Now two people live here; they can get into their apartments through a separate elevator, inaccessible to tourists.

Impressive ornament on the ceiling of the living room

Live in La Pedrera

With a resident of the Mila house, Carmen Burgos-Bosc, I arranged a meeting by phone. She is 87 years old and has speech aphasia: she speaks in short, abrupt words, skimping on articles, conjunctions and sometimes verbs. On the phone, she simply gave the date and time - Tuesday, 10 am.

Wedding of Carmen and Luis

Carmen moved into La Pedrera in 1960, shortly after her marriage to the son of Luis Roca-Sastre, a well-known notary in Barcelona. “I was always very happy when my husband and I lived here,” says Carmen. - We had a daughter. And we all had enough space. We've got guests! They came to have lunch and dinner with us. We had a concierge. We knew all our neighbors, everyone who lives here. Everyone lived in silence, in peace. When we left the house, a car was waiting for us at the entrance. Check-in was from Provence Street, and we drove straight to Paseo de Gracia! There were also two Swiss rooms in La Pedrera. It was a family home. I knew everyone!

The official nickname of the building - La Pedrera - as already mentioned, means "quarry". This giant house really looks like a rock pitted with caves. The author of the canonical Australian Robert Hughes compares the interiors of apartments with grottoes. Curving, unpredictable, with phantasmagoric stucco, they are designed to remind residents of the roots of Catalan life, of primitive caves and earth-breathing Romanesque churches of the 10th century, which can still be found somewhere on the local land.

View from the kitchen; Carmen Burgos-Bosc collects needlework from the table

1 of 6

Cast iron stove, installed in the house during the lifetime of the great architect

2 of 6

Living room overlooking Paseo de Gracia

3 of 6

Arrow-pierced heart - another hello from Gaudí

4 of 6

Former maid's room. On the floor - Gaudi workshop tiles with marine motifs in patterns

5 out of 6

View from the balcony on Paseo de Gracia

6 out of 6

In such a corridor, curving like a trace of an underground snake, Carmen meets me with a photographer - an almost incorporeal old woman in a peignoir. Her aphasia makes her staccato speech sound very angry. Similarity to underground cave enhances the lack of light: all the windows in her apartment - there are about two dozen of them - are wooden shutters. All the walls of the corridor are thickly hung with paintings - a study for Picasso, a study for Matisse, charcoal drawings in the style of Ramon Casas. On all the paintings in the corner there is a signature - "L.Roca", Carmen's husband.

She first walks us around the apartment, explaining the function of each room and giving us barking instructions: “Raise the blinds! 50 centimeters! Get everything off the table! The rooms seem endless and seem to appear by themselves in these naturalistic turns of the corridor-tunnel. The total area of housing - 300 square meters; many rooms have no purpose - someone just used to live there. The servants lived here, the cook lived there, children once lived here.

In the last room, light suddenly bursts in through a window overlooking the patio - in the middle of the space in the center is a piano. Beneath our feet, Gaudí's famous turquoise tiles, symbolizing the seabed, are discovered. Between the curves of ceramic squids and starfish clogged already, apparently, not washed off dirt. The house is over a hundred years old. The interior patio overlooks a glass roof, sort of like a café with sun loungers and tables. "What is this restaurant?" I ask Carmen. She replies that there is no restaurant here.

Room with nautical patterns and courtyard view

The interiors make a strange impression - there is both luxury and decadence here. Decadence, rarely seen in Barcelona in 2017, when the whole city is teeming with vegan cafes and craft pubs. “Before, my salon was completely in the style of Catalan Art Nouveau,” says the hostess. “Then I was still living with my husband, and then I sold a lot.” She does not hear my questions and talks on the radio about how she lived when her husband was alive. There were neighbors - Dr. Puig-Verde, the Iglesias family with five daughters. Burgos-Bosk is often interrupted in the middle of a sentence, takes a deep breath, clenching her fist - as if she is irritated by the disease, she does not want to succumb to it.

After showing the apartment, Carmen leaves to clean up. He returns in a silk cape with hair and scarlet lipstick. It is impossible to destroy the habits of the grand lady of the 20th century - you need to talk with journalists during the parade. She sits us down at the table and now still answers questions. The rent is terribly expensive: she now pays 2,000 euros a month. That is why I had to sell the whole modern. Although she did have some left - for example, the original work of the famous furniture designer of the Catalan Renaissance, Gaspar Omar. That is why the house is dark: direct sunlight will destroy antiques.

Patio view with tables and chairs

Suddenly, Carmen apologizes: “Sorry for screaming like that, I'm deaf. I'm lame. I have speech problems." We are silent. She smiles and leads us back to the salon, where she tells us to raise the shutters - it's not easy. Carmen is indignant: “God, this is easy! If I weren’t 87 years old, I would have raised it myself!” Finally, the sun floods the room - the rays fall on the bust of the beginning of the century, the table, armchairs, photographs, stucco molding. Carmen calls to the balcony - Barcelona is seething below, Mount Tibidabo is visible, you can hear the hubbub of tourists. She complains about the restoration of the balcony: three lurid rods are stuck into the architectural monument. “They don't hold anything,” she explains, and shows the real points of support. “Gaudi thought it all out, it was staged stupidly.”

I ask her what she likes most about the house. She shows the salon ceiling with a spiral pattern - a whirlpool leading from the apartment above. "Gaudi!" - the old woman exclaims and points to the corner. There you can see a hodgepodge of letters a, g, u, d, i - the signature of the author. In the next corner is a small bas-relief with a heart - a symbol of love. Behind it are the four recognizable stripes of the Catalan flag. Then the carved letter f, which is read in the Catalan alphabet as "fe", which means "faith". It turns out love, Catalonia, faith - the Holy Trinity of the great architect.

Antonio Gaudi was born on June 25, 1852 in the small town of Reus, near Tarragona in Catalonia (Spain). Gaudí's childhood passed by the sea. He carried the impressions of the first architectural experiments throughout his life, so some of his houses resemble sand castles. Due to rheumatism, the boy could not play with children and often remained alone, spending a lot of time in contact with nature. Limited mobility due to illness sharpened the future architect's powers of observation, opened the world of nature to him, which became the main source of inspiration in solving both artistic and design problems, as well as constructive ones. Antonio liked to watch mountains, clouds, flowers, snails for a long time. Gaudi's mother instilled in the boy a love of religion. She inspired him that since the Lord left him life, Antonio must definitely find out why.

In the 1970s, Gaudí moved to Barcelona, where, after five years of preparatory courses, he was admitted to the Higher School of Architecture, graduating in 1878. It was an educational institution of a new type, in which teachers did everything so that learning did not turn into a routine. At the School, students were encouraged by having the opportunity to participate in real projects, and practical experience is always very valuable for an architect. Antonio studied with pleasure and enthusiasm, sat up in the evenings in the library, learned German and French in order to be able to read literature according to his profile. Antonio was one of the best students, but he was never loved.

In the years 1870-1882, Antonio Gaudi worked under the supervision of the architects Emilio Sala and Francisco Villar as a draftsman, unsuccessfully participating in competitions; studied crafts, doing many small jobs (fences, lanterns, etc.), also designed furniture for his own home.

In Europe at that time there was an extraordinary flowering neogothic style , and the young Gaudi enthusiastically followed the ideas of Neo-Gothic enthusiasts - the French architect and writer Violet Le Duc (the largest restorer of Gothic cathedrals in the 19th century, who restored Notre Dame Cathedral) and the English critic and art critic John Ruskin. The declaration proclaimed by them “Decorativeness is the beginning of architecture” fully corresponded to Gaudi’s own thoughts and ideas, whose creative style becomes completely unique over the years, architecture is as far from the generally accepted one as Lobachevsky’s geometry is from classical Euclidean.

In the period of early creativity, marked by the influences of the architecture of Barcelona, as well as the Spanish architect Martorel, his first richly decorated, early modern projects are built: "stylistic twins" - elegant House of Vicens (Barcelona) and quirky El Capricho (Comillas, Cantabria):

In accordance with the desire of the owner to see the “kingdom of ceramics” in his country residence, Gaudí covered the walls of the house with multi-colored iridescent majolica tiles, decorated the ceilings with hanging stucco “stalactites”, filled the courtyard with bizarre gazebos and lanterns. Garden buildings and a residential building made up a magnificent ensemble, in the forms of which the architect first tried his favorite techniques:

● an abundance of ceramic finishes;

● plasticity, fluidity of forms;

● bold combinations of different styles;

● contrasting combinations of light and dark, horizontals and verticals.

El Capricho (Comillas, Cantabria):

The outside of the building is lined with rows of bricks and ceramic tiles. The first floor is lined with wide rows of multi-colored bricks alternating with narrow strips of majolica tiles with relief casts of sunflower inflorescences.

The compromise pseudo-baroque House Calvet(Barcelona) - the only building recognized and loved by the citizens during his lifetime:

Also in these years, the following projects appear:

● School at the monastery of Santa Teresa (Barcelona) in a restrained Gothic, even "serf" style:

● Neo-Gothic episcopal palace in Astorga (Castilla, Leon):

● House of Botines in Neo-Gothic style (Leon):

However, the meeting with Eusebi Güell . Gaudí later became a friend of Güell. This textile magnate, the richest man in Catalonia, not alien to aesthetic insights, could afford to order any dream, and Gaudi got what every creator dreams of: freedom of expression without regard to estimates. Antonio designs the pavilions of the estate in Pedralbes near Barcelona for the Guell family; wine cellars in Garrafa, chapels and crypts of Colonia Güell (Santa Coloma de Cervello); fantastic Park Güell (Barcelona). In these works, Gaudí transcends the dominant historical styles within the eclecticism of the 19th century, declaring war on the straight line and moving forever into the world of curved surfaces to form his own, unmistakably recognizable style.

Once Guell conceived the reconstruction of his summer country residence. For this purpose, he expands his holdings by acquiring several more plots. He gives the order for the restructuring of the country house to Antonio Gaudi, instructing him to remake the park, reform the country house, build a fence with gates, build new pavilions at the entrance to the estate, and the architect was also instructed to build a stable with a covered arena. Now this complex is called Park Güell .

Like all Gaudi's subsequent works, these buildings are deeply symbolic, there are no random details here. The idea of the architect was based on the myth of the magical garden of the Hesperides. This myth was reflected in the poem "Atlantis" by the Catalan author Jacinta Verdaguer, who often visited the Guella estate. The poem describes one of the exploits of Hercules, who was ordered by the king of Mycenae, wanting to test the strength of Hercules, to get golden apples from the garden, which was carefully guarded. The most interesting preserved part of the estate is the gate in the form of a dragon. According to legend, the bloodthirsty dragon Ladon guarded the entrance to the garden, where a tree with golden apples grew, giving eternal youth and immortality.

Another Gaudi building for his patron and friend is the manufacturer's house in Barcelona, the so-called Palace Güell :

With the completion of the palace, Antonio Gaudi ceased to be a nameless builder, quickly becoming the most fashionable architect in Barcelona, soon turned into a "practically unaffordable luxury."

At that time, Antonio Gaudi was still working as a draftsman in the architectural office of his former teacher at the Higher School of Architecture - Villar. This also played an interesting role in Gaudí's later life. The point is that construction Sagrada Familia (Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Famnlia) It's been going on in Barcelona for a few years now. And when the question arose of replacing the architect, Villar proposed the candidacy of Gaudi. Oddly enough, the Church Council accepted it. Antonio founded his own architectural office, recruited a staff of assistants and plunged headlong into work ( )

The customers, who were ready to spend half their fortunes on the construction, initially believed in the genius of the architect, who without any effort paved a new path in architecture. For the bourgeois of Barcelona, he built houses one more unusual than the other. One of these houses was Casa Mila - space that is born and develops, expanding and moving like living matter. The house is better known as La Pedrera, which translates as a quarry. The project was commissioned by entrepreneur Pedro Mila y Camps. He needed a house whose apartments he could rent. Gaudí planned the undulating façade. Iron structures were lined with hewn stone, which was cut down nearby in the province of Barcelona:

Designing began in 1906, and the architect, with his usual scrupulousness, verified all the lines. He designed the space in such a way that the neighbors felt as isolated from each other as possible, in addition, if the owner of the house planned to turn it into a hotel, then there should not have been any problems either. Nevertheless, Pedro Mila expressed impatience and urged in every possible way. But obstacles arose at every step. Thus, the regulatory authorities were dissatisfied with the column, which protruded half a meter onto the sidewalk. They demanded that she be removed. Gaudi fought for every detail of his project. He threatened that if he still had to remove the column, then at the place where it was supposed to be, he would write who exactly was guilty of her absence.

Then there were sizing issues. The height of the structure was four meters higher than allowed. There was a demand to cut the attic. In case of non-compliance with the requirement, a fine was imposed on the owner, which corresponded to a fifth of the entire project. A commission was created, which recognized the building as of great value, and thus all this disagreement with the law was settled.

Mila's house was under construction for three years. While the work was going on, the rich Pere Mila became poor, as he had already paid 100,000 pesetas for the architect's violation of all building codes. Therefore, closer to the end, he could not stand it and said: "I will not pay." Gaudi replied: "Well, then finish building it yourself." After which they dispersed, patting their empty pockets, slandering each other and taking the case to court. But future generations can now be inspired and enjoy a wonderful architectural monument.

Similar in spirit project of Gaudí - Casa Batllou - a living trembling creature, the fruit of a bizarre fantasy of an unusual origin: it developed a plot - St. George kills a dragon. The first two floors resemble the bones and skeleton of a dragon, the texture of the wall is its skin, and the roof of a complex pattern is its backbone. Above the roof rises a tower in the form of a spear piercing the dragon's body. The Casa Batlló is also known as the "House of Bones":

With Cathedral of the Holy Family - Sagrada Familia - became the most famous work of Antonio Gaudi, although he did not start building it and he did not finish it. But for the architect himself, this work was the culmination of his life and work. Attaching special importance to this building as a monumental symbol of the national and social revival of Catalonia, Antogio Gaudi from 1910 concentrated entirely on it, placing his workshop here.

As conceived by Gaudi, the Sagrada Familia was to become a symbolic building, a grandiose allegory of the Nativity of Christ, represented by three facades. Eastern is dedicated to Christmas; the western - to the Passion of Christ, the southern, the most impressive, should become the facade of the Resurrection. Portals and towers of the Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia) are equipped with abundant sculpture, reproducing, as it were, the whole living world, the dizzying complexity of profiles and detailing exceeds anything that was ever known to Gothic. This is a kind of Gothic Art Nouveau, which, however, is based on the plan of a purely medieval cathedral.

Despite the fact that Gaudi built the Sagrada Familia temple for thirty-five years, he managed to build and decorate only the Nativity facade, which is structurally the eastern part of the transept, and four towers above it. Western part of the apse most this majestic building, has not yet been completed. More than seventy years after Gaudí's death, construction of the Sagrada Familia continues today. Spiers are gradually being erected (during the life of the architect, only one was completed), facades with figures of the apostles and evangelists, scenes of ascetic life and the atoning death of the Savior are being drawn up. The construction of the Sagrada Familia is expected to be completed by 2030.

The layout of the future Sagrada Familia (Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Famnlia) in Barcelona, made up of suspended sandbags, could only be "read" by modern computers! By connecting the dots-bags, the researchers obtained a spatial model of the cathedral. In addition, in order not to “cut” the room into pieces, Gaudi came up with his own unsupported ceiling system, and only 100 years later a computer program appeared that could perform such operations. It was a NASA program that calculated the trajectories of space flights.

The architect spent the last years as an ascetic hermit, devoting all his strength and energy to the creation of the immortal Sagrada Familia Cathedral - Sagrada Familia, which became the highest embodiment of not only his unique talent, but also his devout faith. He finished the tops of the towers of the temple so carefully that it was pleasant for the angels to look at them.

At the end of lifeAntonio Gaudi is very ill. I caught brucellosis or Maltese fever, which is difficult to diagnose even today. Doctors believe that “brucellosis is distinguished by sudden mood swings leading to suicidal depression. Interspersed with temper tantrums and periods of absent-mindedness, this depressed mood is accompanied by physical exhaustion, excruciating headaches and painful arthritis.” There was no cure for this disease. Perhaps this can explain why Gaudí has changed so much for the worse. He walked around in sagging jackets, and his trousers dangled around his legs, which he wrapped with bandages from the cold ... And no underwear! However, he did not change his outer clothing until it turned into tatters. The great architect ate what he put into his hand on the go - a piece of bread, for example. If they didn't eat anything, they didn't eat anything. When he did not eat anything for a very long time, he lay down and began to die. But one of the students came, changed his clothes, fed him ...

On June 7, 1926, 73-year-old Gaudí was hit by a tram and lost consciousness. The cab drivers refused to take an untidy, unknown old man without money and documents to the hospital, fearing non-payment for the trip. Gaudí died soon after from his injuries.

Watch a video presentation of the most famous works of Gaudí: