Welcome to the magnificent the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, often simply called
the Sagrada Familia.
Many say that if you only have time to visit one site in Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia
should be it.
When looking at the church, I think you can understand why.
Even though the church is still under construction, it has become a symbol for Barcelona and the
Catalonian region.
The initiative to build a new grand church came from the bookseller and chairman of the
Holy Brotherhood, José Maria Bocabella, in the mid 19th century.
The church would be devoted to the child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, which is
why the church is named "Sagrada Familia" -- "The Holy Family".
The planning of the church began when the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar offered
to design the whole structure.
He planned a more typical gothic church, but was later forced to resign from his job due
to fundamental disagreements with the founder Bocabella.
A few months after del Villars resignation, a young architect by the name of Antonio Gaudi
took over the work in 1883.
What Gaudi didn't know at the time was that his new project would take up almost all his
time and effort for the rest of his life.
Once the construction phase started, he soon became obsessed with the project and set up
an office on site which became his permanent residence.
His plan was to build facades which would represent the birth, death, and resurrection
of Christ.
The church would have a total of eighteen towers symbolizing the twelve Apostles, the
four Evangelists, and the Virgin Mary and Christ.
The one representing Christ would be the tallest and would stand 170 meters high, crowned by
a large cross.
The tower would be one meter less than the Montjuïc, a hill in Barcelona, as Gaudi said
he didn't want to suppress the work of God.
Gaudi devoted his last 15 years fully to the Sagrada Familia, until he by accident was
hit a tram which led to his death, a few days later in 1926, 74 years old.
What made Gaudi's architectural style so exciting was his sense for shapes.
Instead of designing buildings with straight lines, Gaudi worked much with loose vivid
design.
The Casa Mila and the eastern façade of Sagrada Famila are perfect examples of this, which
you will see later.
Arguably, no other architect in history has ever had such an absolute influence on a city
as Antoni Gaudi has had on Barcelona.
There are great works of his Modernist style all over the city but the greatest of all
his works is of course what you have in front of you right now.
After Gaudi's death, work continued as planned.
However, with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, work came to a halt and
parts of Gaudi's models and plans were destroyed.
The present design is based on reconstructed versions of the lost plans as well as on modern
adaptations.
Today, computer technology is being used to pre-shape the stones off site, rather than
shape them on site by hand.
This has significantly affected the pace of the construction and it's now scheduled to
be completed around 2020-2030.
Many believe the deadline is set to June 10th 2026, in honor of the 100th anniversary of
Gaudi's tragic death.
On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudi is said to have remarked "My
client is not in a hurry."
Now, let's talk some about the church itself.
If there is something the church is full of, except enchanting beauty, its symbolism.
Themes throughout the detailed decoration include words from the Christian liturgy.
For example, the towers are decorated with words such as "Hosanna", "Excelsis" and "Sanctus",
but the most detailed parts of the church are the magnificent facades.
When completed, the Church will have three grand façades: the Passion façade to the
West, the Nativity façade to the East and the Glory façade to the South.
The latter is the one still under construction.
The one you are standing in front right now, the Passion façade, also known as the Façade
of the Suffering Way, is most known for its unorthodox sculptures.
The façade is actually designed by Gaudi during the time he suffered from a serious
illness.
The work was carried out later in 1989 by the sculptor Josep Subirachs, based on Gaudi's
drawings.
As you can see, the sculptor' style is, in contrast with Gaudi's, very much based around
sharp edges.
The façade is based around telling the story of the suffering of Christ, showing different
stages of the suffering, with the help of sculptures, in an "S-shaped" pattern.
Starting on the first level, to the very far left of the entrance, you can see statues
depicting the last supper.
The next step in the "S-shaped" story telling is to the left of the entrance, where you
can see how Judas the betrayer is kissing Jesus.
Behind them you can see a magic square, filled with different numbers.
Before I tell you the square's secret, I want to give you a chance to find it out yourself.
Can you solve the riddle of the magic square?
On the pillar in between the entrances you can find Jesus tied and tormented.
To the right you can see Peter's denial and to the far right Jesus trial.
Above the trial you can see the three Marys and above the entrance, Golgotha; the place
where Jesus was crucified.
To the left you can see a mounted solider, which depicts Longino -- the man who the legend
has it pierced Jesus side with a spear.
Above him you can see soldiers gambling for Jesus clothes, and to the right of them, the
crucifixion.
The last sculptures to the far right shows the entombment of Christ.
One little detail many people don't notice can be found far above the entrance, at the
archway between the towers.
If you look closely to towards the right side, you can see a golden statue of the risen Christ.
If you take a look at the main doors, you will see that they are filled with words from
the Bible in various languages, including Catalan.
Now I'm going to tell you about all details found on the façade on the opposite side
of the church, the eastern one known as the Nativity Façade.
Due to this, I highly advise you to pause the guide and start it again when you are
standing in front of the eastern façade.
It will otherwise be hard to remember it all, as the eastern façade is just as stacked
with symbolism as the Passion façade!
.... You should now be standing of the magnificent
Nativity Façade.
This façade was built before work was interrupted by the civil war and bears the most direct
Gaudi influence, as I mentioned earlier.
It consists of four bell towers and three large portals.
From left to right you have the Portal of Hope, the Portal of Charity and the Portal
of Faith.
If you look at the top of the portals, you can see that they symbolize grottos.
In fact, throughout the whole Nativity Façade, there is a clear theme of nature, as many
of the sculptures symbolize vegetation, people and birds.
This is a celebration to the ever changing nature and to the creators of all forms of
life.
The leftmost portal, known as the Portal of Hope, is covered in flora and fauna from the
Nile.
The portal shows the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt and to the right you see the Herod
murdering innocent children.
The portal also displays some hope, in form of Joseph standing together with his son above
the doorway.
In the top of the portal you can also see the marriage between Joseph and Mary.
The rightmost Portal is known as the Portal of Faith.
The sculptures' surrounding the portal depicts the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Holy Family
in their house at Nazareth and the presentation of the baby Jesus in the temple.
In the very top you can see the Immaculate Conception, a Roman Catholic Dogma which says
that Virgin Mary is without any original sin.
Now finally let's talk some about the large center portal, the Portal of Charity.
In the middle of this portal you'll find two doors, supported by a beautiful pillar.
On the lower part of the pillar, you can see a snake sinking its teeth into an apple, the
symbol of original sin, which is the reason Jesus came to earth.
On the left side of the doors you can see the Three Kings, bringing their gifts to the
newborn Jesus, and on the other side the Three Shepherds.
Above the doors you can see sculptures representing the birth of Christ and at the top you can
see how Jesus crowns the Virgin Mary Queen of Heaven.
Above that, closer to the very top, you see the letters "JHS" - an anagram for Christ's
name.
The Portal of Charity is crowned with a large tree of life.
On the pinnacle of the tree stands a large red "T"; the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet
which reads "tau", the initial of the name of God.
On top of the T is a smaller X, which represents Christ.
At the very top you can also see a white dove, which represents the Holy Spirit.
Thus, the three persons of the Holy Trinity are represented at the top of the tree, symbolizing
the creators of life.
Between the tree portals you can see two massive pillars.
If you look at the bottom of the pillars you will see that they are resting on turtles.
Turtles have long been seen as a divine animal with connections to the heavens and the cosmos,
known for their longevity.
Half way up, the columns bear the inscriptions 'Joseph' and 'Mary'.
The columns are crowned with palms to symbolize triumph and the coming of a new light.
In the old days, palm symbolized the martyr and his or her triumph over death.
As you now know, the whole church is absolutely full of symbolism.
Giving all the details about all the symbols covering the church would leave me talking
for hours, so with this I'm going to let you do some exploring and discover the rest of
the symbolism yourself.
I'm just going to explain one final thing symbolism.
Remember the Magic Square you could see on the Passion façade, behind Judas?
In case you haven't solved the riddle, the answer is that all the numbers added up to
33; the age Jesus was when he died.
Today, even though it's unfinished, the church has become a top tourist attraction, not only
in Barcelona, but in whole Spain.
The visitors are an important source of income as the project is not supported by any government
or official church sources.
An estimate of more than two million people visits the site each year.