Park Güell

Park Güell (Catalan: Parc Güell [ˈpaɾɡ ˈɡweʎ]; Spanish: Parque Güell) is a privatized complex of parks, gardens and architectural elements in the Gràcia district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The site is located in the La Salut neighborhood on the southern side of a hill known as the Turó del Carmel, part of the Collserola mountain range. The separate Parc del Carmel is located on the northern side of the hill.
In the midst of Barcelona's late 19th- and early 20th-century urban expansion, Eusebi Güell, a Catalan industrialist and art patron, sought to commission a new park. Güell commissioned the design of the park to the renowned architect, Antoni Gaudí, widely regarded as a central figure of the aesthetic movement of Catalan modernism.
Park Güell was built between 1900 and 1914 and was officially opened to the public in 1926. In 1984, UNESCO declared the park a World Heritage Site, recognizing it as part of the "Works of Antoni Gaudí" architectural series.
In addition to reflecting the distinct aesthetic sensibilities, artistic influences, and visual language present throughout Gaudí's career, Park Güell captures a particular moment in his artistic evolution. The park is associated with his naturalist phase, which occurred in the first decade of the 20th century. During this period, Gaudí's study of nature and organic shapes began to influence him creatively. Reflecting this shift, Gaudí introduced a series of new structural solutions rooted in geometric analysis.
Gaudí expanded upon these geometric forms to create his characteristically imaginative, ornamental style. Rooted in the Baroque, his works are characterized by a structural richness of forms and volumes, free of the rational rigidity of classical conventions. In designing Park Güell, Gaudí put these structural innovations into practice, such as the inclusion of park benches that curve and undulate. Gaudi further elaborated on this characteristic style in the creation of the enormous Sagrada Família (Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family).
Güell and Gaudí originally conceived the space not as a public park, but as a private community of luxurious homes equipped with all the latest modern amenities to fulfill the needs of its residents both artistically and physically. They envisioned a community strongly influenced by symbolism and Park Güell's common spaces (stairways, plazas, terraces, gardens) are designed to express physically the political and religious ideals of both patron and architect. For example, there are noticeable concepts originating from political Catalanism, most notably in the entrance stairway where the Catalan countries are represented, and Catholicism, as Monumento al Calvario, originally designed to be a chapel. In addition to Gaudí's reinterpretation of classical architectural elements such as columns, colonnades, and porticos, Park Güell also contains numerous references to Greek mythology. Some have suggested that Güell and Gaudí's conception of the park was inspired by the Temple of Apollo of Delphi.
The meaning of these symbols continues to be the subject of speculation. To some, Park Güell represents a spatial nexus of complex iconography that Gaudí intentionally applied to the project. Interpretations range from expressions of political vindication to religious exaltation, laden with mythologic, historical, and philosophical references. Others claim that Park Güell displays masonic influences in spite of the fact that both Güell and Gaudí embraced traditional Catholicism.
The park was originally part of a commercially unsuccessful housing development by Count Eusebi Güell. It was inspired by the English garden city movement, hence the use of the English word Park (Catalan: Parc Güell, Spanish: Parque Güell) in the original name. The site chosen was a rocky hill with little vegetation and few trees, called Muntanya Pelada (English: Bare Mountain). Already present on the property was a large country house called Larrard House or Muntaner de Dalt House. The site was adjacent to an upper-class neighborhood called La Salut (The Health). Güell intended to take advantage of the site's fresh air (away from smoky factories) and vistas. The original development planned to divide the site into sixty triangular lots for luxury houses. To provide publicity for the new development, Güell would move into Larrard House in 1906. Ultimately, only two houses were built, neither of which were designed by Gaudí.
One of these houses was built as a display home, but upon completion was put up for sale in 1904. However, because no buyers came forward, Güell suggested that Gaudí purchase the home with his own savings. Gaudí agreed and moved in with his family and his father in 1906. This house, in which Gaudí lived from 1906 until his death in 1926, was built in 1904 by Francesc Berenguer, himself a modernist architect and associate of Gaudí's. It contains original works by Gaudí and several of his collaborators. Since 1963, it has been open to the public as the Gaudí House Museum (Catalan: Casa Museu Gaudí). In 1969, it was declared to be a historical artistic monument of national interest.
Parc Güell has since been converted into a municipal garden. It is accessible by metro, although the closet metro stations (Vallcarca and Lesseps) are located some distance from the site at the base of Turó de Carmel. It can also be reached by city buses or commercial tourist buses. In October 2013 an entrance fee was introduced for the Monumental Zone (main entrance, terrace, viaducts, and areas featuring mosaics), though citizens of Barcelona may enter free of charge. Limited tickets are available, though these often sell out in advance. La Torre Rosa, Gaudí's home converted into a museum featuring furniture that he designed, can be visited for another entrance fee. However, there is a reduced rate for those wishing to see both Gaudí's house and the Sagrada Família Church.
The entrance is flanked by two gatehouses, both of which were designed by Gaudí. These two buildings make up the Porter's Lodge pavilion. One of these buildings contains a small room with a telephone booth. The other, while once being the porter's house, is now a permanent exhibition of the Barcelona City History Museum (Catalan: Museu d'Història de Barcelona).
The focal point of the park is the main terrace, enclosed by a long bench in the form of a sea serpent. The curves of the serpent bench from a number of enclaves, designed to foster social interaction. The design of the benches was the work not of Gaudí, but of his often overlooked collaborator Josep Maria Jujol.
Another prominent feature found throughout the park are the series of elevated pathways, originally intended to service the houses, designed by Gaudí to jut out from the steep hillside or rest on Viaducts. These structures often serve as the roofs for lower footpaths in arcades formed underneath. To further minimize the intrusion of these roads, Gaudí had them constructed using a local stone, rendering them as an extension of landscape. Echoing natural forms, the columns and branching vaults supporting the roadways were carved to resemble tree trunks. Similar to his previous work on the Church of Colònia Güell, Gaudí used curved vaulting and the alignment of sloping columns to form inverted catenary arch shapes, which function as ideal compression structures.
At the park's high point, there is a stone hill composed of steps leading up to a platform on which stands three large crosses. This is a calvary, officially named "El Turó de les Tres Creus". Two of the crosses point north–south and east–west, while the third and tallest cross points skyward. From this vantage, it is possible to view the main city in panorama, including the Sagrada Família, Agbar Tower, and Montjuïc area in the distance.
Park Güell supports a wide variety of wildlife, notably several of Barcelona's non-native parrots in addition to sightings of the short-toed eagle. The park also supports a population of hummingbird hawk moths.