Park Güell - UNESCO heritage * All PYRENEES

Park Güell (cat. Park Güell) is a large garden with architectural elements located in the upper part of Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain) on the slope of the Carmel hill overlooking the sea, near Tibidabo. It was designed by the architect Antoni Gaudi, the greatest exponent of Catalan modernism, built between 1900 and 1914 and opened as a public park in 1926. Its area is 17.18 hectares (0.1718 km²), making it one of the largest architectural works of southern Europe. In 1984, UNESCO declared Park Guell a World Heritage Site.

The park was commissioned by Eusebi Güell, who wanted to create a stylish park for the aristocracy of Barcelona with 60 villas scattered around the park. The project failed – only two plots were sold.

In the design of the park, the hand and the peculiar style of Gaudí are obvious, they are noticeable in any element, no matter how small. In addition to the “gingerbread houses”, there are wavy shapes, reminiscent of rivers, and paths with columns shaped like trees. Many surfaces are covered with pieces of ceramic or glass and are in the form of a mosaic. The central point of the park is a huge empty square, the edge of which serves as a bench and bends in waves like a snake.

Güell’s residence was eventually transferred to a public school. The economic setbacks of the project forced Güell’s heirs to sell the park to the Barcelona City Hall, which turned it into a city park.

At the main entrance to the park are two buildings in pure Gaudí style, with soft curved ceilings and whimsical geometric motifs. On the right is the Guard’s house, where the exhibition “Guell, Gaudí and Barcelona. Expressing the Urban Ideal ”of the Barcelona History Museum.

The “Hall of the Hundred Columns” (which actually contains 86 Doric columns and has good acoustics) often serves as a venue for musical events.

It is noteworthy that in 1906, Francesc Gaudí y Serra, Gaudí’s father, died in a villa in Park Guell at the age of 93, where he had moved a year earlier with his niece Rosa Egea.