Spain
Barcelona, Park Güell
Back to Europe 2015
Barcelona City
Basilica de La Sagrada Familia
Park Güell began as a real estate project tailored to the very wealthy. Gaudi was hired to create
a designed community in which common areas would play a large role. He succeeded admirably, but the
restrictive homeowner codes and high prices kept investors away. Eventually the city acquired the park.
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| One of the gatehouses at the main entrance. |
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| The tower of the other gatehouse. |
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| Main entrance. The park gets crowded in the afternoons. |
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| The stairs lead past this fanciful 'dragon' to a large columned area above. |
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| On the way further up the stairs. |
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| The
Market Place, consisting of 86 columns, was originally thought of as a
marketplace for the residential area - the original purpose of the Park
Güell. As a unit they support a huge pedestrian terrace surrounded by a serpentine bench totally covered with broken ceramic tiles. |
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| These organic columns support a large pedestrian pathway. |
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| The Terrace. Sagrada Familia construction cranes visible on right side in background. |
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| The bench circumscribes the entire pedestrian terrace. |
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| There are many different motifs on the benches. |
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| The steeple belongs to Gaudi's residence. |
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| The steeple of Gaudi's residence at right. |
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| Looking down at the entrance from The Terrace. |
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| The path in the background leads down to a large garden space next to the main entrance. |
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| Broken tile designs line both inside and outside of the bench. |
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| Gaudi himself lived in this house. |
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| Time to grab a mid-day comida at an outside table near Placa Catalunya after a morning of sight-seeing! |
Back to Europe 2015
Barcelona City
Basilica de La Sagrada Familia