90 years ago, the famous Spanish architect Antonio Gaudí passed away

Barcelona/Prague - 90 years ago, on June 10, 1926, the Spanish architect and urban planner Antonio Gaudí y Cornet passed away. Perhaps the most famous representative of Spanish Art Nouveau, he was the author of a number of residential buildings as well as sacred structures, characterized by an original and easily recognizable style. Among the most famous buildings are the magnificent Barcelona cathedral Sagrada Familia and the Casa Batlló located in the same city.

For Gaudí, whose ornate buildings combine elements from several historical architectural styles, a fateful encounter was with the Spanish industrialist Eusebi Güell. Güell entrusted Gaudí with the project to build his palace in the center of Barcelona, and later commissioned him to design a garden city. The construction of this utopian project began in 1900, but was never completed due to World War I, leaving only a fragment in the form of the so-called Güell Park.

The pinnacle of Gaudí's work was to be a five-nave basilica with three cross naves, a tower 170 meters high, and twelve bell towers. However, even Gaudí had no illusions about the completion of the cathedral dedicated to the Holy Family, of which barely one-fifth stands today. During the construction of the church, the architect stopped caring about his appearance to such an extent that when he was struck by a tram in early June 1926, he was mistaken for a beggar. It was only after several days that they recognized the famous architect, and his death became a national tragedy.