Sagrada Família is a church in Barcelona. It is the world’s most famous unfinished church. It is still being built, and the completion is estimated to be near 2026. The Spiritual Association of the Devotees of St Joseph first promoted the construction of a church dedicated to the holy family in 1874. After receiving generous donations, the Spiritual Association of the Devotees of St Joseph decided to buy a plot of land (surface area of 12,800 m²) for their church project in 1881. The project first went to architect Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano. He and his promoters disagreed on many things and he finally resigned. The project was then passed down to Antoni Gaudí. The construction stayed with the original plans, a neo-Gothic style architecture. Things went by steadily due to constant donations, and when Gaudí received a very big anonymous donation, he decided to change the plans a little. First, he changed the size. The newer plans were now huge, and with more themes and statues and towers. Construction continued until Gaudí’s death on the 10 June 1926 (run over by a tram). The church was then passed down from architect to architect, each one continuing Gaudí’s ideas. During the Spanish Civil War, some of the church and the workshop, which had all the plans and papers, were destroyed. After the civil war was over, construction restarted and the church rose again slowly. Ever since then the church has continued to expand and progress. It is known as an expiatory church, meaning it was founded solely on donations. Once certain parts of the church opened for public viewing, and a Gaudí museum was set up inside, entry fees were installed to continue the regular income for the construction of the church. It has become Barcelona’s landmark and finished miniatures of it are sold everywhere in Barcelona. The church is meant to represent the human life of Jesus and the sayings of the gospels. The facades tell each part of Jesus’ life and the ‘soon-to-be’ 18 towers represent Jesus, the Virgin, the 4 Evangelists, and the 12 apostles.

Reference: http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/sf-eng/index.php, http://www.roughguides.com/website/shop/products/Barcelona-DIRECTIONS.aspx

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