Gaudi’s Parc Guell – Barcelona’s most famous parc

One of the main reasons for Barcelona’s great sense of pride is Parc Guell, one symbol amongst many others in the city known for an artistic atmosphere that makes it so attractive and fascinating. Its history is mainly linked to two figures: as we all know, that of the architect Gaudì and the other being Count Eusebi Güell. The area in which the park is located was originally part of the Count’s residential project, the name of which has subsequently been given to the park. The site in which it now sits was not anything else other than a rocky spur, with little vegetation and few trees, called Mountain Pelada. This is difficult to believe when taking into account the luxuriance of the gardens today.

The area also contained a house known as Larrard- or Muntaner de Dalt House- and was near to the ‘Salud’ district, where the lower and middle bourgeoisie once lived.The intention was to take advantage of the fresh air (being distant from the polluting factories that were so dominant in the lower part of the city, in districts such as Poble Nou), as well as the the splendid view afforded from the top, in order to create 60 parcels of land for the construction of lodgings, studios, a chapel and a park.

With this intention the commissioner of the project, Count Eusebi Güell, moved into the Larrard House, so as to further increase the prestige of the work that was happening (an interesting fact- up to that moment only 2 houses had been built and of these neither had Gaudì as its draftsman). The prohibitive costs, however, put a stop to the construction, and in actuality only one allotment was purchased and only two houses were completed. It was then that the Count modified his own plans, giving way to the possibility to Gaudì moving there together with his family and his father in 1906, and completing the process of what was then to become a park, and no longer a residential complex.

Later on, in 1922, the Count gave the property over to the city. It was then opened to the public as what it is now: Parc Güell.
Nowadays it is perhaps the most widely appreciated site in the city by visitors, and especially during the summer months, during which it becomes an oasis within the city, a place where you can hunt out the cool of the shade and escape the blistering heat of the seaside town.

Federico

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