Modernisme in Barcelona through Gaudí: Parc Güell
I’ve said it before in my main post about Barcelona: this wonderful city has its own unique style, and it is in part because of modernisme, the Catalan art neouveau. This artistic movement was born in the end of the 19th century around the time of the First Barcelona World Fair, and it was used as a representative of Catalan identity. Although it is best known for its architectural expression, with Antoni Gaudí in the forefront, this movement was also present in other arts, like literature, sculpture, theater and painting. This movement happened all around Catalonia but its center was clearly Barcelona, and you can still see the bohemian elegance of this style all over the city.
As I mentioned, Antoni Gaudí was the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism, so I will go through his main works in the city. However, there are many examples of modernism from other artists around the city that are worth a mention and are less overflown by tourists. You can check them out in my route through modernisme:
Route through Modernisme in Barcelona
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Parc Güell
Parc Güell is also one of the most iconic works of the architect. This park is special because of its origins. It was originally designed as a housing site using a rocky hill called Muntanya Pelada (“bare mountain”). The idea was to take advantage of the fresh air and privileged views of the city.
The hints of naturalism (inspiration in natural elements and the study of geometry) are apparent in the architectural features of the park, sort of a prelude to his masterpiece Sagrada Familia.
Most emblematic sites
- The beautiful main entrance flanked by two porter’s lodge pavilions. The iron gates are shaped like palm leaves. Pay special attention to the roofs of the pavilions, built with traditional Catalan clay tiles covered in Gaudí’s iconic trencadís (mosaic made of broken tiles).
- The Dragon stairway connects the main entrance with the Hypostyle room and it is made of three sections with capricious shapes, the emblem of Catalonia and the iconic dragon or salamander, covered again in trencadís.
- The Hypostyle room is a wide open but covered room with Doric columns that was thought as a marketplace for the estate. The column distribution tries to mimic the naves of a church.
- On top of the Hypostyle room you can find the Nature Square, or Greek Theater. This esplanade is the ain terrace of the park and it was thought for staging theater shows for that could be watched from the surrounding terraces. The square is surrounded by serpentine benches made of trencadís.
- The system of elevated roads and viaducts called ponts (bridges) were designed by Gaudí to allow carriages to overcome the hilly character of the mountain and be able to reach the higher parts of the park. The columns are shape like pine trees but the shape of the viaduct resembles a big wave.
The entrance fee (very recent, since it used to be open to public) is 8,5€. You can purchase the tickets and skip the lines through this link.
Travel tip: don’t forget to have a stroll on the rest of the park (which has no entrance fee and better views of the city!).
Bonus: Passeig de Gràcia
Most tourists focus on Gaudí’s most known works (the ones I mentioned above). What they don’t know is that they are walking over one! The pavement in arguably the most iconic street in the city was designed by Antoni Gaudí in 1904, originally for the flooring of Casa Batlló and eventually Casa Milà. The theme of the tiles is the seabed, which again shows his naturalist tendencies.
Tiles of Passeig de Gràcia designed by Antoni Gaudí. Photo credit: TumbleCow under license CC BY-SA 3.0.
Closing statement
Keep reading about more of Gaudí’s masterpieces:
Or read more about this wonderful city in our general post about Barcelona:
Top 10 things to do in Barcelona
Barcelona is a fantastic city and one of its most special features is the presence of modernisme and, in particular, the work of the great architect Antoni Gaudí. Make sure you don’t miss this experiences by buying the tickets for these attractions in Tiqets.com and skipping the lines here:
In particular I recommend purchasing the Barcelona Card if you are interested in visiting some of the city’s museums and attractions. With this card you get free entrance to many museums and attractions as well as unlimited use to the public transport for an amount of time as well as transport from and to the airport. It also includes a discount coupon booklet that you can use for other attractions, tours and entertainment of the city.
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