Sagrada Família – Antoni Gaudí’s Century-Long Project

Location: The Sagrada Família is located in the Eixample district, north of Barcelona’s old town. The basilica occupies an entire city block. The historic Hospital de Sant Pau is nearby, while Park Güell, another famous work by Antoni Gaudí, lies further to the northwest.

Significance: The Sagrada Família is Antoni Gaudí’s best-known work and one of Spain’s most famous landmarks. In 2025, it became the tallest church in the world, overtaking Ulm Minster. Since 2005, the Nativity Façade and the crypt, both designed by Gaudí, have formed part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Works of Antoni Gaudí”.

The idea: The story of the Sagrada Família began in 1866 with a religious association founded by bookseller Josep Maria Bocabella. It was dedicated to the veneration of Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary and, according to Christian tradition, the earthly father of Jesus. From 1874, the association pursued the goal of building an expiatory church dedicated to the Holy Family. An expiatory church is a church whose construction is understood as a religious act of penance and atonement for human wrongdoing. The project was to be financed entirely through voluntary donations. In 1881, the association purchased a plot of land on what was then the outskirts of Barcelona.

Start of construction: Construction of the Sagrada Família began on 19 March 1882 according to plans by architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. He designed a relatively traditional Gothic Revival church and initially began work on the crypt. Following disagreements with those responsible for the project, Villar left in 1883. Antoni Gaudí took over later that same year.

Antoni Gaudí: Antoni Gaudí was probably born in Reus, Catalonia, in 1852 and moved to Barcelona as a young man, where he studied architecture. After graduating in 1878, he initially took on smaller commissions and gradually developed his unmistakable style. His best-known works include Casa Batlló, Casa Milà and Park Güell. Gaudí became one of the most important representatives of Catalan Modernisme, an artistic movement related to Art Nouveau. He was particularly influenced by forms found in nature, traditional craftsmanship and the search for new structural solutions.

Gaudí’s life’s work: The Sagrada Família became the most important project of Gaudí’s life. After taking over the project, he discarded large parts of the original Gothic Revival design and spent decades developing an entirely new concept. He tested many forms and structural ideas using models, which he repeatedly altered and refined. From 1914 onwards, Gaudí accepted no other major commissions and devoted himself almost entirely to the Sagrada Família. By the time of his death in 1926, he had spent a total of 43 years working on the church.

Gaudí’s death: On 7 June 1926, Gaudí was struck by a tram in Barcelona. Three days later, on 10 June, he died from his injuries. At that time, only one of the four towers of the Nativity Façade had been fully completed, the tower dedicated to the Apostle Barnabas. Large parts of the Sagrada Família therefore existed only as drawings and models when Gaudí died.

Spanish Civil War: In 1936, the Sagrada Família suffered severe damage during the Spanish Civil War. Gaudí’s workshop was vandalised, numerous plans and photographs were lost, and many of his plaster models were smashed. Surviving fragments were later partially reassembled.

Construction after Gaudí: After Gaudí’s death, several generations of architects, sculptors and craftspeople continued work on the Sagrada Família. They based their work on his surviving models, drawings and designs. Since these do not define every detail unambiguously, individual solutions still have to be reinterpreted and further developed today. Modern computer technology and digital models help to calculate Gaudí’s complex forms precisely and translate them into construction. On 7 November 2010, Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the Sagrada Família.

Construction progress: Since February 2026, all six central towers of the Sagrada Família have been externally completed. Work is now focusing, among other things, on the interior of the Jesus Christ Tower and the Glory Façade, which is intended to become the basilica’s main entrance. At the same time, the Chapel of the Assumption and adjoining sections of the cloister are being built. Restoration work is also continuing on the Nativity Façade. There is still no confirmed date for the full completion of the Sagrada Família.

Architecture: The architecture of the Sagrada Família combines Catalan Modernisme with forms inspired by nature and extensive Christian symbolism. Gaudí conceived the entire church as a comprehensive Christian visual programme intended to convey the teachings of the Gospels and the Church through architecture. As a result, the façades, towers, sculptures and depictions of plants and animals often carry symbolic meaning. The floor plan is shaped like a Latin cross. The nave consists of a broad central aisle with two side aisles on each side, making five aisles in total. The transept has three aisles. Behind the altar is the semicircular apse with seven chapels.

Cloister: One distinctive feature of the Sagrada Família is the cloister planned by Gaudí. Unlike in traditional churches and monasteries, it is not confined to one side of the building but runs almost entirely around the basilica. It connects the façades, chapels and sacristies, among other areas, and serves as a route for processions, prayer and quiet contemplation. At the same time, it shields the interior from the noise of the surrounding streets.

Interior: The interior of the Sagrada Família resembles a forest of stone. Tall columns rise like tree trunks and branch beneath the vaults like limbs. These branches also distribute the weight of the vaults and towers across the columns. This creates a spacious, open interior whose forms deliberately evoke the structure of a forest. Large windows and coloured stained glass allow plenty of daylight into the basilica and shape the distinctive atmosphere of the interior.

Columns: The columns follow a geometric principle developed by Gaudí. Their forms twist simultaneously in two directions, changing their cross-section as they rise until it appears almost circular. The greater the load a column has to bear, the more resistant the natural stone used for it. The materials include sandstone, granite, black basalt and particularly durable red granite porphyry. The different materials also give the columns varying colours and textures. Inside, they contain a load-bearing reinforced concrete core.

Stained-glass windows: The stained-glass windows continually transform the interior depending on the time of day. Cool blue and green tones dominate on the side of the Nativity Façade, while warm red, orange and yellow tones prevail on the opposite side. As the sun moves across the sky, the coloured light shifts through the basilica and falls across the columns, walls and vaults.

Crypt and Gaudí’s tomb: Beneath the apse lies the crypt, the oldest completed part of the Sagrada Família. The first services were held there as early as 1885, and the crypt was fully completed in 1889. Antoni Gaudí’s tomb is located in the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, where he was buried in 1926.

Nativity Façade: The Nativity Façade depicts the birth and childhood of Jesus through numerous figures and scenes. It faces east towards the rising sun and is richly decorated with representations of people, plants and animals. To make the figures as lifelike as possible, Gaudí worked with plaster casts and used people and animals from his surroundings as models. Construction workers also posed for him.

Passion Façade: The Passion Façade depicts the suffering of Jesus, from the final hours before his crucifixion through his death and resurrection. It faces west towards the setting sun, and its stark surfaces and angular forms create a deliberate contrast with the richly decorated Nativity Façade. Most of the sculptures were created by Josep Maria Subirachs, who deliberately gave the scenes an austere and restrained appearance. This makes the suffering and death particularly powerful.

Magic square: One of the most striking details of the Passion Façade is the magic square with 16 numbered fields. The numbers in every row, every column and both main diagonals add up to 33. This number represents the traditionally assumed age of Jesus at the time of his death. Subirachs based it on a famous magic square by Albrecht Dürer, whose numbers originally add up to 34 in each direction. Subirachs altered the square so that it instead produces the symbolic sum of 33.

Glory Façade: The Glory Façade will be the largest of the three main façades and is intended to become the main entrance to the Sagrada Família. Its visual programme depicts humanity’s path to God and addresses themes including death, the Last Judgement and eternal life. Gaudí’s concept also included a large staircase intended to span Carrer de Mallorca. However, building it would require the removal of residential buildings opposite the basilica. How this area will ultimately be designed therefore remains unresolved.

The 18 towers: Gaudí’s design includes a total of 18 towers dedicated to important figures in Christianity. Twelve towers represent the Apostles, who were among Jesus’s closest followers and spread his teachings. Four more are dedicated to the Evangelists, to whom the four biblical accounts of the life of Jesus are attributed. They surround the central Jesus Christ Tower. The Tower of the Virgin Mary also rises above the apse.

Jesus Christ Tower: At 172.5 metres, the central Jesus Christ Tower is the highest point of the Sagrada Família. It is crowned by a cross measuring 17 metres high and 13.5 metres wide. In October 2025, the Sagrada Família overtook Ulm Minster to become the tallest church in the world. It reached its final height in February 2026. On 20 February, the upper arm of the cross was installed as the tower’s final exterior component. On 10 June 2026, exactly 100 years after Gaudí’s death, Pope Leo XIV blessed the tower. The cross was illuminated for the first time afterwards.

Gaudí’s school: In 1909, Gaudí built a temporary school on the grounds of the Sagrada Família for the children of construction workers and families from the surrounding neighbourhood. The small brick building is notable for its curved walls and undulating roof. These unusual forms created a stable structure using little material and show how inventively Gaudí approached even simple functional buildings.

Financing: The Sagrada Família is financed entirely through private funds. During the first decades, construction relied mainly on donations. Today, revenue comes almost entirely from visitors. This income finances both the continued construction and the maintenance and operation of the basilica.

Building permit: The Sagrada Família did not receive a regular building permit from the City of Barcelona until 2019, 137 years after construction began. A permit had already been applied for in 1885, but the process was never completed at the time. After more than a century of unresolved legal status, the Sagrada Família and the city reached an agreement to legalise the construction project retrospectively.

Name: “Sagrada Família” is Catalan for “Holy Family”. It refers to Jesus, his mother Mary and Joseph, who according to Christian tradition is regarded as his earthly father. The basilica is dedicated to them.