Barcelona, The city of architecture

Posted: Dec 21, 2010 |

In Barcelona, you'll find many impressive buildings with styles going from the Gothic to the Modernism. Many archaeological sites in Barcelona are worth a visit. Everyone that pays a visit to Barcelona is amazed by the impessive quality of the work of Antoni Gaudí. Whenever you take a walk in Gothic area or in Eixample, you'll find fascinating buildings everywere. From Roman times to the Gothic period to the Catalan Art Nouveau, "Modernism", Barcelona´s architecture naturally transmits the city's rich history. The most important styles are the medieval style, also known as Catalan Gothic, and Modernism. Besides architectual styles dating from the Middle Ages and later you can find sections of forth century Roman walls at the History Museum.

The Medieval period

Starting in the 12th century, during the Middle Ages, Barcelona experienced an era in which it flourished in all aspects of city life. The marriage between the count of Barcelona and the King of Aragón's daughter united the two territories on both an economic an political level. Barcelona maintained its status as capital of the new government and begon a period of expansion. The city of Barcelona had a dominating role in the confederation of Catalonia-Aragon and became a maritime power in the Mediterranean. The best way to see the remains of the Middle Ages is pay a visit to the Gothic area. I'll give you some tips for places to visit in this area. At the square of La Seu you'll find The Cathedral. This building was constructed from 1317 to 1441. Inside the Cathedral there's an elevator to get to the roof of the building The church of Santa Maria del Mar (1329-1367), also known as the Cathedral of the sailors and fishermen. It's the city's favourite for weddings and has an excellent acoustic. Drassanes (1378) is the largest and most complete medieval secular structure in the world.

Renaissance

The walls of the Barcelona could not hold the city anymore because of the speed the city was growing. Therefore in 1860, Idelfons Cerda, organizes a city urban development plan: two parallel streets and perpendicular to the sea and cut in blocks. This new area is called L'Eixample. Have a look at the Website of Ok Costa Brava apartments for accommodation close to Barcelona.

The Catalan Modernism

The society of Barcelona wanted to see changes in every field. Three buildings of the early 1880's seem to mark the beginnings of Modernism: The publishing house of Montaner y Simon, Josep Vilaseca's factory for F. Vidal and Gaudi's Casa Vicens. Modernism started earlier in Barcelona than in the rest of Europe. Most of the Modernist architects expressed themselves in different ways. Some of them wanted to revive Romanesque architecture, others were ispired by the French neo-Gothicism and others were searching for a modern style in Germany or Austria. Very charactaristic was the use of nature forms, like flowers, plants and animals, and the mixed use of materials. Let me mention some worth visits of buildings constructed by Modernist architects. Casa Batlló (1904-1906) is a colourful apartment building located at the Passeo de Grácia. It was totally remodelled by Gaudí on a commission from the textile industrialist Josep Battló y Casanovas. Casa Mila (1906-1911), also known as Pedrera, was Gaudí's last secular work before dedicating the rest of his life to the Sagrada Familia. Parc Güell, an urban park on the mountain of Pelada build from 1900 till 1905. The Sagrada Familia (1884-present) is a monumental church and it's Gaudí's most famous work.

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