Cripta de la Colònia Güell

In 1889, with the textile industry running at full throttle, Güell commissioned Gaudí to build the church which would overlook the village from a little hill on the edge of the property. The architect took advantage of this project to try out building forms and solutions with a view to applying them on a larger scale to the Sagrada Família church,  where the architect had already been working for nearly 15 years. 

In the preliminary studies for the project, Gaudí had the help as usual of his loyal assistant Francesc Berenguer, who worked with the great architect until his death in 1924. The architects Joan Rubió and Josep Canaleta also worked on this project, as did the engineer Eduardo Goetz, whose calculations of the structure were especially important. 

The contributions of the model maker Joan Beltran and of the carpenter Joan Munné were decisive for the building of the various scale models required for the project. This was especially true in the case of the big polyfunicular scale model, which was a thoroughly innovative architectural projection instrument invented by Antoni Gaudí.

This ingenious model was made of cloth, strings and little weights that allowed the determination of the architectural forms on the basis of the static behaviour of the building which was to be erected. The model was kept in a shed next to the building site, where Gaudí’s studio was located as well. 

The cornerstone of the church was laid on 4 October 1908. The works remained under the management of Gaudí until 3 October 1914, when the Güell family decided to halt the construction of the church for reasons which are unknown to us. 

On suspending the works, the basement, which included the lower chapel known as "the crypt" and the adjoining porch, on top of which the entrance stairway to the church was to be built, had already been completed. The main nave, which was to be crowned by several towers including a domed lantern tower in the centre, was intended to be built on the upper level, but only the posts and lintels of the portico finally came to be erected. 

After Gaudí had left the project, a roof, with a certain air of provisionality, and a bell tower were built in order to be able to open the church for worship. The consecration of the church took place on 3 November 1915 and the works continued until 1917. 

It is interesting to point out the variety and diverse provenance of the many materials used over and over again by Gaudí in this first phase of the church. Basalt and calcareous stones, different kind of bricks, cast iron slag, ceramics, glass and wrought iron combine their textures and colours to provide a brilliant integration of the building in its surroundings.  

Both the interior space and the exterior of the crypt are of extraordinary architectural quality. Gaudí thus offers us a posthumous architectural manifesto expressing in a humble and moving way the sublime and indivisible harmony between architecture and the applied arts. This is a unique space where the atmosphere of peace characteristic of a holy place is masterfully created, forming a structure of unquestionable  authenticity and one of Antoni Gaudí’s finest works.