World Heritage Sites in Barcelona

By: Greg Lee
Submitted: 2008-03-08 12:08:46
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Since 1972, the most noteworthy wilderness and cultural landmarks on earth have been designated World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Early lists of World Heritage sites included the Galapagos Islands and Mount Everest, the Roman Forum and Machu Picchu, along with the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef and the Great Wall of China.

The list has now grown to nearly over 800 sites, and World Heritage provides top-notch field services to reach these and other landmarks safely and in style. There are a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Barcelona the most famous being La Sagrada Família. The others include the Hospital de Sant Pau (which also houses the Catalonia national library), the concert hall Palau de la Música Catalana, the gardens of Park Güell, the Gaudi designed Casa Milà, Casa Batlló, the Palau Güell, Casa Vicens and the crypt in Colonia Güell. These buildings alone warrant a days touring of the city.

The church of the Sagrada Família – inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2005 – is Spain's most visited landmark and the world's only major church currently under construction. La Sagrada Familia is a striking example of Gaudi's unique Art Nouveau architecture and is filled with religious symbolism and meaning. Eight of the intended twelve towers have been built, which rise to over 100 meters. These represent the Twelve Apostles and each one bears the name and statue of its apostle.

The Palau de la Música Catalana is an exuberant steel-framed structure full of light and space, and decorated by many of the leading designers of the day. And the Hospital de Sant Pau is equally bold in its design and decoration, while at the same time perfectly adapted to the needs of the sick.

The next site is the Park Güell which has been a World Heritage Site since UNESCO added it to its list of cultural assets in 1984. The Park Güell project, commissioned by Eusebi Güell, originated within the urban and bourgeois phenomenon represented by the Catalan art nouveau movement, modernisme, through one of the key figures in contemporary architecture, Antoni Gaudí.

Barcelona has fanciful architecture, hip clubs, a vibrant arts scene, and stylish, friendly locals. Obsessed with playful and radical interpretations of everything from painting to theater to urban design and development, Barcelona consistently surprises itself in its constant quest for emotion and self-renewal. Moreover this city is open and very friendly for visitors offering them nice holidays and comfortable stay in Barcelona hotels. You can choose from a great selection of Barcelona hotels (http://www.barcelona-hotels-directory.com) and make your reservation in advance. Whether you are looking for your hotel by price or by star rating, Barcelona has everything you wish.

Another great site The Casa Batlló is the result of the renovation of a building – constructed in 1877. Gaudí's imagination and creativity, together with the ideas of the architect Jujol, made the project into an exceptional example of the refurbishment of a dwelling. It incorporated a new concept of ornamentation and decoration which sought to capture more daylight by making it easier for light to pass through the building.

Also Gaudi designed Casa Milà - Apartment block built between 1906 and 1910 in Barcelona for the Milà family. The façade is an impressive wave-like mass of rough-shipped stone. The windows and doors seem to be dug out of this stone mass and are trimmed in exquisitely crafted wrought iron work with vegetal forms on the balconies and astonishing grilles on the two street-doors.

Güell Palace, in the Raval district of Barcelona, is an architectural jewel of Catalan Art Nouveau and not to be missed on any tour of Gaudí's work in the city. It is representative of Barcelona Provinical Council, which, as an institution with a cultural vocation open to the city, aims to be accessible to the public and close to its environment.

Casa Vicens This single-family residence for Manuel Vicens was the first Gaudí designed. The house is constructed of undressed stone, rough red bricks, and colored ceramic tiles in checkerboard and floral patterns. Manuel Vicens was the owner of a brick and tile factory so the ceramic tiles pay tribute to his employment. The yellow, zinnia-flowered tile, designed by Gaudí, was manufactured by Vicens.

And the last world heritage site which Gaudi began is ambitious project crypt in Colonia Güell near Barcelona in 1898 but only the crypt was finished between 1908 and 1916. Nevertheless, this is one of the architect's most studied and admired works and a precedent for many of the solutions used in the church of the Sagrada Familia.

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