10 Facts about Park Guell

The Park Güell is one of the most popular attractions in Barcelona. Antoni Gaudí, one of the most famous architects of Spain, designed it. It offers some fantastic views of the city and is known to be perched on the hills which surround Barcelona.

Below are 10 interesting facts about it you may not have known earlier…

1. The Park is named after Gaudí’s patron

Gaudí was too modest to ever put his name to one of his creations, and so the park was named after his longtime friend and patron, Eusebi Güell.

2. Intended as a modern housing estate

This may perhaps prove as a shocking fact about the attraction. Originally, the Park wasn’t planned to be a park at all. Instead, the architect’s plan was of the creation of a modern housing estate which would be far from the chaos and smog of the city residing below.

3. Abandonment of the housing estate plans

The park’s plot of land was built in 1900. Work soon started on the construction of two buildings in that area, however, this plan failed to be successful and the project was ultimately abandoned.

4. Until death

The project, unfortunately, had to be abandoned when no one decided to invest in Güell and Gaudí's houses, and so Gaudí bought the model house which was built on the plot in 1906. Until his death in 1926, he lived with his family there.

5. Gaudi lived in a house he didn’t design

In recent times, the house in which Gaudí lived is open to the public as the Gaudí House Museum (a somewhat confusing name). This house wasn’t designed by Gaudi, but some other Catalan architect named Francesc Berenguer.

6. There’s more to the Park than you think

Many people visit the Park Güell only to explore the main area, which is also known as the ‘monumental area’. This is the place where much of famous work is seen. But there is more to it than just this. The park also extends to the back of the monumental area and has some nice walking paths in the midst of native trees and plants.

7. The design is inspired by nature

Many of the columns you’ll find here are the inspiration of the shape and structure of the trees from which they are surrounded. Even the Sagrada Família, Gaudí’s magnum opus, is designed in a way that it imitates the natural world.

8. There are no straight lines at the park

Gaudí’s belief was that there are no straight lines in nature, and so only organic curves or slanted lines can mimic the way rocks, shells, trees, and plants are formed.

9. Gaudí pioneered the technique known as ‘trencadís’

Gaudí was famous for the style of mosaic-work called trencadís, which means ‘chopped’ in Catalan. This technique is involving small pieces of chopped ceramics which are cemented together in construction.

10.  Originally spelled in the English form ‘park'

The reason why Gaudi used the English word ‘park’, as opposed to the Catalan parc, was that he was inspired by the garden city movement of Britain of the 19th century. In this process, housing communities were designed with both industrial and commercial areas and outdoor areas alongside them.

Now after reading this article you must be excited to go to Barcelona, but book your Park Guell Tickets before visiting Barcelona to avoid any inconvenience. 

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