Everything you need to know before visiting the Sagrada Familia

The design of the Sagrada Familia makes it an exceptional temple, but its history is equally impressive. To understand the beginnings of this fabulous monument, we must go back to 1882 when the diocesan architect Francisco de Paula del Villar led the project. The original design followed the dominant guidelines of the time, incorporating neo-Gothic elements such as windows and exterior buttresses.

However, the project took a different direction when the prodigious architect Antoni Gaudí took over in 1883. For three decades, Gaudí balanced other architectural works in the Eixample area with the Sagrada Familia until 1914, when he dedicated himself exclusively to the temple until his death. During these thirty years, the church’s construction progressed, leading to the inauguration of the Chapel of Saint Joseph in the crypt, where the first masses of the Sagrada Familia were held.

In 1925, the bell tower of Saint Barnabas on the Nativity façade was completed. This bell tower, dedicated to the apostle Barnabas, was the only one Gaudí finished during his lifetime. Tragically, just a year after its completion, Gaudí died on June 10, 1926, after being struck by a tram. Following his death, Gaudí’s disciple Domènec Sugranyes took over the direction of the temple’s works.

After Gaudí’s death, the Sagrada Familia went through the most chaotic period in its history. During the Civil War, plans and photographs, along with plaster models, were burned in acts of vandalism in the city. The work direction changed again, with Francesc de Paula Quintana reconstructing the plans using material salvaged from Gaudí’s workshop and some photographs.

Since 1952, the history of the Sagrada Familia has been marked by construction progress, including milestones like its first illumination, the opening of the museum to the public, and the erection of new façades dedicated to various biblical figures.