07.06.2026. 08:54h
The genius architect created miracles, changed the face of the Catalan metropolis of Barcelona. His works, which combine nature, symbolism and deep faith, fascinate millions.
Barcelona, June 7, 1926. The streets of the Catalan capital are flooded with sunshine. Among the passers-by is an elderly man in a worn suit. As he pensively crosses the tracks on the street, a tram line 30 runs into him. No one recognizes the old man who is lying on the ground unconscious. Because of his run-down appearance, at first no one approaches him, taxi drivers refuse to take him to the hospital.
Three days later, on June 10, the old man dies in the hospital for the poor “Santa Creu”. Only then does the news echo through the city: Barcelona has lost its greatest genius – Antoni Gaudí. He was buried a few days before his 74th birthday, in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia, in the very heart of his life’s work. He was accompanied by the whole of Barcelona, whose face he permanently shaped.
His works, which combine nature, symbolism and deep faith, still fascinate millions today.
A visionary and an eccentric freak
Antoni Gaudí, born on June 25, 1852 in Reus in the south of Catalonia, Spain, early developed an architectural expression that left historical models far behind.
His creative energy was enormous: he simultaneously worked on residential buildings, religious buildings and urban projects. He created spaces where statics, ornamentation and symbolism form a unity. His style is classified as Catalan modernism, a variant of Art Nouveau that merges craftsmanship, art and symbolic design into a comprehensive work of art.
Facades that twist like waves, columns that branch like forest trees and roofs that resemble a dragon’s back – Gaudí looked for the laws of nature in everything, believing that they provide the best solutions for statics and aesthetics.
As a young architect, Gaudí was known as a real dandy in Barcelona. He enjoyed luxury, wore expensive tailored suits, groomed his beard with special care, ate in the best restaurants and moved in high circles.
Guelj – friend and patron
At that time, in 1878, he accidentally met Eusebius Guelj, an industrialist with a refined sense of art. It was one of the most fruitful friendships and patronages in history. From this relationship between client and architect developed a deep mutual admiration, and allowed Gaudí to develop his full artistic potential.
Radical transformation and turning to deep faith, modesty and isolation occurred only later, primarily prompted by tragedies – the death of his mother, brother and sister, and friend Guelj – but also by complete fascination with the work on the Sagrada Familia.
The public was still sharply divided during his lifetime. For some he was a visionary innovator, for others an eccentric eccentric. His hermit life, ignoring social norms and radical new visual language brought him criticism and ridicule.
Contemporary caricatures sometimes depicted his houses as grotesque buildings or scenes from fairy tales.
Despite everything, this eternal bachelor remained steadfast, finding support in his faith. Today, as many as seven of his buildings are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Sagrada Familia: “The Bible in Stone”
No building embodies Gaudí’s vision like the famous Sagrada Familia Basilica, his last and most significant work.
Gaudí imagined the church as a “Bible in stone”. Its towers, portals and sculptures speak of Christ’s birth, suffering and resurrection. Of the 18 planned towers, only half were completed until recently, and since 2016 the silhouette of Barcelona has begun to change rapidly with the construction of large towers dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the evangelists and Jesus Christ.
This very year, 2026, history is writing new pages. The main tower of Jesus Christ (Torre de Jesucristo) will be inaugurated precisely on the centenary of the architect’s death, on June 10. With a total height of 172.5 meters – including the 17 meter high cross at the top that can be entered – this tower is now the tallest church tower in the world, dethroning the cathedral in Ulm, Germany (162 meters).
On June 10, Pope Leo XIV will solemnly bless the tower, and it is planned that the cross weighing about 100 tons, made in Germany, will light up over Catalonia for the first time in the evening. It is interesting that this tower, according to the express wish of Gaudi himself, deliberately does not tower over the nearby Montjuic hill (173 meters). The architect believed that human work should never “surpass the natural works created by God”.
The imposing building today stands in a unique mixture of New Catalan Neo-Gothic, Art Nouveau and modern, and parts of it have been on the UNESCO list since 2005. Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the building in 2010. And the full completion of the entire temple is planned for the 30s of this century, probably when 200 years have passed since the beginning of construction.
Today, the annual budget of around 25 million euros is fully covered by the entrance fees of around four million visitors who come every year to witness this miracle.
Kaza Batljo: Anatomy of Myth and Organic Aesthetics
That Gaudi’s style escapes any usual classification is best demonstrated by Casa Batllo in the heart of Barcelona. An undulating facade, shimmering ceramic mosaics and a dragon-like roof characterize this architectural gem.
Inside the building, the organic line continues without a single flat wall. Ceilings, windows and stairs melt into each other, creating the impression that you are moving through the living body of a fish or a dragon. In the attic, this principle becomes particularly obvious: parabolic arches support the roof, and are often compared to a spine or a herringbone.
However, Casa Batllo is not just an aesthetic fantasy; it is also a triumph of engineering. The ventilation system was unusually modern for that time – air circulation and temperature regulation were precisely planned so that the rooms were functionally optimal.
A look into the future and the World Congress
This year in Barcelona has been declared “Gaudi’s year”. In addition to the centenary of his death and the opening of the monumental tower, the city becomes the epicenter of world architecture at the end of the month. From June 28 to July 2, the World Congress of Architects (UIA) will be held, which will gather over 10,000 experts, urban planners and more than 250 international lecturers.
Through hundreds of panels and workshops, they will discuss sustainable construction, climate change and solving the housing crisis – topics that would surely have deeply interested Gaudí himself, who saw nature as a sustainable solution to all problems.
A century after he quietly left, Antoni Gaudí – for whom the process of beatification has been going on since 2000 – is more alive than ever. His faith, cast in stone, still stands as an eternal bridge between nature, human imagination and God’s crooked line.
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