Gaudí’s Great Temple | Hacker News Reader

Gaudí’s Great Temple

nybooks.com

31 pointsHooke13 comments

I'm in holiday in Barcelona at the moment and visited the sagrada familia today. It is truly breathtaking. I honestly wasn't prepared for how incredible it is on the inside.

I've long since left the church, but in the building I understood and felt a connection to the kind of spirituality that the building is meant to impart.

It is a magical place.

Gaudíte, gaudíte, christus es natus?

I was there last summer, and felt exactly the same as you. Truly remarkable, the impression left upon me.

I have a couple of wide-angle pictures I took inside this past February. I think they capture the magic of the nave better than the picture in the article:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ojbyrne/16528392319

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ojbyrne/16714574002

thanks for sharing! I was there some twelve years ago and it seems a lot of changes happened. It is marvelous to see this work actually evolve in my lifetime, and I have, since I was a kid, hoped to get to see the finished work...

Two things that amazed me when I visited it years ago:

1. The concept of long term planning (or rather fits and starts) in building these monuments. The construction time scale is in the centuries.

2. The character of the various architects (Gaudi, Subirachs et al) that were involved at each stage of construction reflected in different parts of the church.

It makes us think of the relationship between our insignificant lifetimes compared to the institutions that endure long after we are gone.

I live about 1km away from the Church, and walk by it on a weekly basis. The only issue we locals have with it sometimes is the amount of tourists around it, especially when your on your way home from work :P I was there two weekends ago at the baptism of a friends kid, which was an experience as it was a "express service" with 15 kids baptized in 30 min.

Edit [spelling]

Not that you can easily escape it, but if you are ever visiting Barcelona (wonderful city) be sure to drop by the church - but don't forget to visit his many other little pieces throughout the area. Highly unique, and highly refined.

Beautiful, beautiful city (not to mention the people, the food). One of the high points in my life was spending 3 months there. Every little building has some unique architectural detail.

As a fun point this magnificent building was chosen as cover for Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming:

https://www.info.ucl.ac.be/~pvr/bookcover.html

They did so because it's a pretty good example of multi-paradigm architecture, and the book is all about multi-paradigm programming.

It doesn't surprise me, but I am amazed every time I see something like this and realize all over again just how little of the world I've seen.

I would suppose I've traveled more than the average individual, but I'm still missing out on so many things. This type first-hand cultural learning is what truly excites me.

If you go there, make sure you buy the ticket online, otherwise you'll have to stand in a line for an hour.

If you're a photo enthusiast, go UP and visit the towers - you can grab great pictures from the towers (best in the afternoon so the sun won't spoil the photos with the sea).

I highly recommend to visit later Casa Batllo (also from Gaudi - 30minutes walking / 15 minutes metro) and enjoy the views of the sagrada familia and the city from the rooftop.

If you plan to visit Park Güel do it early in the morning before 1) it's too hot and 2) before you get tired/hungry - I found the park is too far from downtown. Use public transport!

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