Every year, millions of tourists from all over the world travel to Barcelona to admire the La Sagrada Familia.
It’s one of the most visited monuments in Spain and is the second most visited church in Europe after the basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican. You may know that the architect was Antoni Gaudí, but you probably don’t know any of these 7 curious facts about La Sagrada Familia.
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It will take over a century to construct.
Building began in 1882 and its construction is expected to finish in 2026
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The initial idea was not Gaudí’s.
Yes, toou read that correctly the original idea was not Gaudí’s, but architect Francesc de Paula Villar came up with it and laid the first stone. Francesc de Paula Villar abandonded tha building of it following conflicts with the city council.
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Who pays for its construction?
The construction of the church is fully funded by private donations and visitors’ to the church.
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Gaudí is buried in La Sagrada Familia.
Antoni Gaudí died at the age of 74 on June 10, 1926. His body was buried in the chapel of Our Lady of the Carmen in La Sagrada Familia.
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Fire in the Civil War
During the beginning of the Civil War there was a fire in La Sagrada Familia and Gaudí’s workshop was damaged. All the drawings and models of La Sagrada Familia were lost and from then on the construction was continued without the original drawings. It’s a shame, but we will never see La Sagrada Familia as Gaudí originally designed it.
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The central tower will measure 170 metres.
When the construction is finished La Sagrada Familia will have 18 towers. The main tower is dedicated to Jesus and will measure 170 metres. The next highest tower is for the Virgin Mary and the next 4 towers for the evangelists. The 12 smaller towers are dedicated to the apostles.
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La Fachada de la Pasión
In La Fachada de la Pasión there is a picture measuring 4×4 metres with rows and columns of numbers. All the sums of the rows and columns always equals 33, the age at which Jesus died.
