the Sagrada Familia. Many say that if you only have time to visit one site in Barcelona,

the Sagrada Familia should be it. When looking at the church, I think you can understand

why. Even though the church is still under construction, it has become a symbol for Barcelona

and the Catalonian region. The initiative to build a new grand church

came from the bookseller and chairman of the Holy Brotherhood, José Maria Bocabella, in

the mid 19th century. The church would be devoted to the child Jesus, the Virgin Mary

and Saint Joseph, which is why the church is named "Sagrada Familia" -- "The Holy Family".

The planning of the church began when the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar offered

to design the whole structure. He planned a more typical gothic church, but was later

forced to resign from his job due to fundamental disagreements with the founder Bocabella.

A few months after del Villars resignation, a young architect by the name of Antonio Gaudi

took over the work in 1883. What Gaudi didn't know at the time was that his new project

would take up almost all his time and effort for the rest of his life. Once the construction

phase started, he soon became obsessed with the project and set up an office on site which

became his permanent residence. His plan was to build facades which would

represent the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ. The church would have a total of

eighteen towers symbolizing the twelve Apostles, the four Evangelists, and the Virgin Mary

and Christ. The one representing Christ would be the tallest and would stand 170 meters

high, crowned by a large cross. The tower would be one meter less than the Montjuïc,

a hill in Barcelona, as Gaudi said he didn't want to suppress the work of God.

Gaudi devoted his last 15 years fully to the Sagrada Familia, until he by accident was

hit a tram which led to his death, a few days later in 1926, 74 years old. What made Gaudi's

architectural style so exciting was his sense for shapes. Instead of designing buildings

with straight lines, Gaudi worked much with loose vivid design. The Casa Mila and the

eastern façade of Sagrada Famila are perfect examples of this, which you will see later.

Arguably, no other architect in history has ever had such an absolute influence on a city

as Antoni Gaudi has had on Barcelona. There are great works of his Modernist style all

over the city but the greatest of all his works is of course what you have in front

of you right now. After Gaudi's death, work continued as planned.

However, with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, work came to a halt and

parts of Gaudi's models and plans were destroyed. The present design is based on reconstructed

versions of the lost plans as well as on modern adaptations. Today, computer technology is

being used to pre-shape the stones off site, rather than shape them on site by hand. This

has significantly affected the pace of the construction and it's now scheduled to be

completed around 2020-2030. Many believe the deadline is set to June 10th 2026, in honor

of the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's tragic death. On the subject of the extremely long

construction period, Gaudi is said to have remarked "My client is not in a hurry."

Now, let's talk some about the church itself. If there is something the church is full of,

except enchanting beauty, its symbolism. Themes throughout the detailed decoration include

words from the Christian liturgy. For example, the towers are decorated with words such as

"Hosanna", "Excelsis" and "Sanctus", but the most detailed parts of the church are the

magnificent facades. When completed, the Church will have three

grand façades: the Passion façade to the West, the Nativity façade to the East and

the Glory façade to the South. The latter is the one still under construction.

The one you are standing in front right now, the Passion façade, also known as the Façade

of the Suffering Way, is most known for its unorthodox sculptures. The façade is actually

designed by Gaudi during the time he suffered from a serious illness. The work was carried

out later in 1989 by the sculptor Josep Subirachs, based on Gaudi's drawings. As you can see,

the sculptor' style is, in contrast with Gaudi's, very much based around sharp edges.

The façade is based around telling the story of the suffering of Christ, showing different

stages of the suffering, with the help of sculptures, in an "S-shaped" pattern. Starting

on the first level, to the very far left of the entrance, you can see statues depicting

the last supper. The next step in the "S-shaped" story telling is to the left of the entrance,

where you can see how Judas the betrayer is kissing Jesus.

Behind them you can see a magic square, filled with different numbers. Before I tell you

the square's secret, I want to give you a chance to find it out yourself. Can you solve

the riddle of the magic square? On the pillar in between the entrances you can find Jesus

tied and tormented. To the right you can see Peter's denial and to the far right Jesus

trial. Above the trial you can see the three Marys

and above the entrance, Golgotha; the place where Jesus was crucified. To the left you

can see a mounted solider, which depicts Longino -- the man who the legend has it pierced Jesus

side with a spear. Above him you can see soldiers gambling for

Jesus clothes, and to the right of them, the crucifixion. The last sculptures to the far

right shows the entombment of Christ. One little detail many people don't notice can

be found far above the entrance, at the archway between the towers. If you look closely to

towards the right side, you can see a golden statue of the risen Christ. If you take a

look at the main doors, you will see that they are filled with words from the Bible

in various languages, including Catalan.

.... You should now be standing in front of the magnificent Nativity Façade.

This façade was built before work was interrupted by the civil war and

bears the most direct Gaudi influence, as I mentioned earlier. It consists of four bell

towers and three large portals. From left to right you have the Portal of Hope, the

Portal of Charity and the Portal of Faith. If you look at the top of the portals, you

can see that they symbolize grottos. In fact, throughout the whole Nativity Façade, there

is a clear theme of nature, as many of the sculptures symbolize vegetation, people and

birds. This is a celebration to the ever changing nature and to the creators of all forms of

life. The leftmost portal, known as the Portal of

Hope, is covered in flora and fauna from the Nile. The portal shows the flight of the Holy

Family into Egypt and to the right you see the Herod murdering innocent children. The

portal also displays some hope, in form of Joseph standing together with his son above

the doorway. In the top of the portal you can also see the marriage between Joseph and

Mary. The rightmost Portal is known as the Portal

of Faith. The sculptures' surrounding the portal depicts the Sacred Heart of Jesus,

the Holy Family in their house at Nazareth and the presentation of the baby Jesus in

the temple. In the very top you can see the Immaculate Conception, a Roman Catholic Dogma

which says that Virgin Mary is without any original sin.

Now finally let's talk some about the large center portal, the Portal of Charity.

In the middle of this portal you'll find two doors, supported by a beautiful pillar. On

the lower part of the pillar, you can see a snake sinking its teeth into an apple, the

symbol of original sin, which is the reason Jesus came to earth. On the left side of the

doors you can see the Three Kings, bringing their gifts to the newborn Jesus, and on the

other side the Three Shepherds. Above the doors you can see sculptures representing

the birth of Christ and at the top you can see how Jesus crowns the Virgin Mary Queen

of Heaven. Above that, closer to the very top, you see the letters "JHS" - an anagram

for Christ's name. The Portal of Charity is crowned with a large

tree of life. On the pinnacle of the tree stands a large red "T"; the last letter of

the Hebrew alphabet which reads "tau", the initial of the name of God. On top of the

T is a smaller X, which represents Christ. At the very top you can also see a white dove,

which represents the Holy Spirit. Thus, the three persons of the Holy Trinity are represented

at the top of the tree, symbolizing the creators of life.

Between the tree portals you can see two massive pillars. If you look at the bottom of the

pillars you will see that they are resting on turtles. Turtles have long been seen as

a divine animal with connections to the heavens and the cosmos, known for their longevity.

Half way up, the columns bear the inscriptions 'Joseph' and 'Mary'. The columns are crowned

with palms to symbolize triumph and the coming of a new light. In the old days, palm symbolized

the martyr and his or her triumph over death. As you now know, the whole church is absolutely

full of symbolism. Giving all the details about all the symbols covering the church

would leave me talking for hours, so with this I'm going to let you do some exploring

and discover the rest of the symbolism yourself. I'm just going to explain one final thing

symbolism. Remember the Magic Square you could see on the Passion façade, behind Judas?

In case you haven't solved the riddle, the answer is that all the numbers added up to

33; the age Jesus was when he died. Today, even though it's unfinished, the church

has become a top tourist attraction, not only in Barcelona, but in whole Spain. The visitors

are an important source of income as the project is not supported by any government or official

church sources. An estimate of more than two million people visits the site each year.