La Sagrada Familia
From my unTours Guide book:
Unlike any church you've ever seen - seriously - La Sagrada Familia (the Holy Family) is probably Barcelona's most popular landmarks and Antoni Gaudi's most well-known creation. The church has been under construction for over 125 years ad still has a long way to go. When questioned on this subject, Gaudi is known to have responded "My client (God) is not in a hurry."
Each facade of the church is to represent a biblical scene, specifically: the birth of Christ (Nativity Facade) which Gaudi lived to complete; the crucifixion of Christ (Passion Facade) designed by Joseph Subirach (which has received a lot of criticism due to its break from Gaudi's style) and the future Glory facade to represent Christ's resurrection. Gaudi died in 1925 and many his original plans were destroyed a decade later during the civil war (though the church was not damaged). Only eight of the planned eighteen towers are finished to date and it is estimated that construction will be completed in 2026.
Nativity Facade
Passion Facade.
Here's what's on top of those spires.
We booked a tour for our visit. Everything is very closely controlled by the church including airport like screening devices.
Here's our guide giving us instructions before we entered.
To me it didn't have the reverence of a church. There were just too many people and not being particularly quiet.
To read more about the construction go here.
Gaudi's intent they say was to recreate nature with columns representing trees and all the various light coming in.
The stained glass was magnificent.
We were told that the only people allowed to worship here have to live in the neighborhood. The church is closed during worship time.