Day 7 - Barcelona - La Sagrada Familia

Later that afternoon we decided to go visit one of the most famous (infamous?) churches in the world, Antoni Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia.  This church is a must see and one of the things I was most excited to see while we were in Europe.  La Sagrada Familia was begun in 1882 and is still not yet finished. Its current projected date of completion is 2026! The easiest way to explain Gaudi is in European architecture he is similar to the Frank Lloyd Wright of the United States but much more eccentric.

Eventually the church will have 18 towers representing Jesus, Mary, the 12 Apostles and 4 Saints and three distinct facades.

 

With as amazing and unique as the outside in, the inside as just as insane looking.  Instead of being built on columns, the ceiling is being held up by what appears to be trees.  The columns split multiple times as they get closer to the ceiling and ultimately create a canopy feeling.

The choir balcony stretches around the church and will hold over one thousand choir members.

But the most amazing thing about this church is the stained glass.  It is the most bright stained glass I've ever seen!

 

 

Reflection of the stained glass on the shiny floor.

But this is about the time disaster struck.  I dropped my camera and busted it.  It worked but you'll see the pictures are a tad blurry and all had to be trimmed of the black bar that took up the left quarter of the picturess.

So bare with my bad pictures for a few posts. After touring the sanctuary, we ascended one of the towers via a tiny tiny elevator that held about six people.  From the top you could see out to the Mediterranean Sea.

From the top you can tell that the towers are not actually just stone but are painted bright colors.

This is what the finished church is supposed to look like sometime in or after 2026.