Park Guëll

After Sagrada Familia (see another post), probably the best known place in Barcelona is Park Guëll. This site was actually begun as a housing development intended to be a gated community of 56 houses. Count Eusebi Guëll engaged Antoni Gaudí to design the site and houses. Work began in 1900 with most site design elements completed. However, the housing development failed. Only 1 house was sold. It was probably too far out from the city as it existed then.
It became the public Park Guëll in 1926 when Count Guëll's son gave it to the city with the stipulation the his home (in the 1st picture) become a public school. It still is.
The rest of the pictures are of Gaudi's genius. The site has a road through it to provide access to the 56 sites intended for houses. A small section of the road is in the 2nd picture. Because the site is an eroded hillside, Gaudí built bridges over the gullies to make the road easy to use. The 3rd picture is a look at what is under those bridges. Gaudí provided protected spaces for people to gather out of the sun or in inclement weather.
The 4th picture is the "theater." It is a multipurpose space for outdoor performances, family gathering, picnicking, etc. The edges have serpentine seating to make it easier for people to sit in groups and converse. What isn't obvious (and most surprising) is that the sand here is what engineers call a slow sand filter. Rain water percolated through multiple layers of sand to be purified. It then flows down through the columns in the next picture to a large cistern below. This is the central water supply and irrigation system for the site and is still in use today.
The 5th picture is under the theater. These are the hollow columns of the water supply system. The space was intended to be the local market. The domes direct the water above to the hollow columns, and the mosaics are all made with discarded and broken materials--a very early example of recycling. Gaudí was ahead of his time in so many ways.
The 6th picture looks out to the city from the theater. The building with the tower was the model house.
From the market below the theater, a monumental stairway proceeds down to the main gate and model house. Halfway down those stairs is the sculpture in the 7th picture. This depicts alchemy and a dragon which is a fountain.
The 8th picture looks up the monumental stairway from the bottom. Like everything else Gaudí, there is a lot of symbolism here, even Masonic. But with all the people, it's hard to see. Your browser will guide you to better views and interpretations.
The last picture is the former Porter's horse at the main gate near the model house.
This is rightly a famous place.Read more