Antoni Gaudi planned and directed the construction of the Park Güell from 1900 to 1914 for Eusebi Guell, a residential park for sixty single-family residences. The project, however, was unsuccessful and the park became city property in 1923. By that time, only two out of sixty planned houses had been built. Today’s Gaudí House Museum is one of those two houses, that the architect bought in 1906. Though never fully completed, it still remains one of Gaudi’s most colorful and playful works. In 1984, Park Güell became a UNESCO World Heritage site for its historical, architectural, and artistic uniqueness.
Gaudí created Park Güell with tree-shaped columns and undulating forms that merge in perfect harmony
Antoni Gaudí created Park Güell, an architectural masterpiece, with tree-shaped columns and undulating forms that merge in perfect harmony. The colors of the broken tile mosaics that cover the surface of the distinct elements is an unprecedented technique of Gaudí that makes the astonishing shapes come to life. It was also built in the middle of the city atop a hill, hence it is blessed with some of the best views in Barcelona.
Nestled among Carmel Hill’s north face, the main terrace of the park offers sweeping panoramic vistas of the city below – including many of Gaudí’s other famous creations peppering the landscape – featuring a scalloped perimeter and a giant bench built to resemble a sea serpent. At the main gate, a giant salamander known as “el drac” or “the dragon” greets visitors upon their approach to the terrace, as they wend their way through a network of Doric columns, some palm-like, that support a pillowy roof inlaid with mosaics. Colonnaded footpaths lead to manicured gardens and trick arboretums, as gracefully curving viaducts and roadways soar overhead.
