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Barcelona.The
Colònia Güell
was very much of its time – more than seventy
similar colonies were established along Catalan rivers in the late nineteenth
century, using water power to drive the textile mills The concept was a familiar
one in Britain, where enlightened Victorian entrepreneurs had long created
idealistic towns (Saltaire, Bournville) to house their workers.
The Colònia Güell at Santa Coloma de Cervelló was begun in 1890 and,
by 1920, incorporated over one hundred houses, a school, theatre and
cultural association, plus the chapel and crypt for which Gaudí was respon-
sible. The buildings were predominantly of brick and iron, sporting typical
modernista
Gothic and Moorish-style flourishes. The Güell company was
taken over in 1945 and the whole complex closed as a going concern in
1973, though the buildings have since been restored – and, indeed, many are
still lived in today.
There’s an exhibition (with English notes) at the visitor centre, but by far
the best way of appreciating the site is simply to stroll the streets, past the
rows of terraced houses, whose front gardens are tended lovingly by the
current inhabitants. Brick towers, ceramic panels and stained glass elevate
many of the houses above the ordinary – like the private Ca l’Espinal (1900)
by Gaudí’s contemporary, Joan Rubió i Bellver. It is, though, Gaudí’s
church
(May–Oct Mon–Sat 10am–2pm & 3–7pm, Sun 10am–3pm; Nov–April daily
10am–3pm), built into the pine-clad hillside above the colony, which alone
deserves to be called a masterpiece. The crypt was designed to carry the
weight of the chapel above, its palm-tree-like columns supporting a brick
vault, and the whole lot resembling a labyrinth of caves fashioned from a
variety of different stone and brick. The more extraordinary features of
Gaudí’s flights of fancy presage his later work on the Sagrada Família – like
the original scalloped pews, the conch shells used as water stoups, the vivid
stained glass, and the window that opens up like the wings of a butterfly.
Despite appearances, the church was never actually finished – Gaudí stopped
work on it in 1914 – and continuing restoration work aims to complete the
outer walls, though Gaudí’s planned forty-metre-high central dome is
unlikely ever to be realized.
Practicalities
Take the
FGC train
S8 (direction Martorell; roughly every 15min) from
Plaça d’Espanya to the small Colònia Güell station; the ride takes twenty
minutes. From here, follow the painted blue footprints across the highway
and into the
colònia
to the visitor centre (10min), the
Centre d’Acollida de
Visitants
(May–Oct Mon–Fri 10am–2pm & 3–7pm, Sat, Sun & holidays
10am–3pm; Nov–April daily 10am–3pm;
T
936 305 807,
W
www.elbaixllo
bregat.net/coloniaguell).You can walk around the
colònia
and see the church
from the outside for free, though to visit the church interior you’ll have to
buy a ticket (€4) at the visitor centre – the church is open during the hours
detailed above, but closed for visits during Mass on Sundays (11am & 1pm).
There are
guided tours
available daily throughout the year, of either the
church and estate (€8; 2hr) or the church on its own (€5; 1hr), but you’ll
need to call the visitor centre in advance about the possibility since the
service is only for groups.
It’s a working village, so you’ll find a bank and pharmacy, as well as two or
three cafés and restaurants.
OUT OF THE CITY
|
Colònia Güell