The Monumental zone in Park Güell was planned as the entrance to the villa community, which had planned to create Eusebi Güell. It is located in the lowest part of the slope. Here Gaudi showed his talent as a designer of Park space.
At the entrance to the monumental zone was built for small "gingerbread houses". Their entire surface is decorated with patterns in the style of trencadis. They are very similar to the houses in fairy tales where dwarfs live. The roofs seem to be covered with glaze. One of the houses was intended for the administration of the "villa community", and the other for the gatekeeper. Along with the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, these houses can also be called as the symbols of Barcelona.
A staircase leads up from the houses to the Hall of one Hundred Columns. On this staircase is a sculpture of a Salamander. It is all decorated with patterns of glass in the style of trencadis. All tourists want to take photos next to it. In the hall of one Hundred Columns there are 86 Doric columns. It is very similar to the hypostyle halls of Egyptian temples. Here it was planned to place a market for local residents. The ceiling has a ribbed structure with the form of waves, which makes the hall very good acoustics. Local artists often give concerts here.
There is a terrace above the Hall of one Hundred Columns. It is surrounded by the world`s longest bench in the shape of a sea serpent. Its length reaches 110 meters. Despite the fact that the bench is made of stone, Gaudi designed it taking into account the relief of the human body, so it is very comfortable to sit on it. Gaudi seated the worker in the wet clay, and when it hardened, measured the curve of the body on the cast. After that, he made a bench. It`s simple.
The decoration of the bench is made in the traditional Gaudi style of trencadis. From all over the city, Gaudi collected broken glass and ceramics, and his talented pupil, Josep Jojol, was engaged in making patterns.
To the right of the Hall of one Hundred Columns are cascades of flowerbeds of various colors. Given the warm climate of the Mediterranean, they almost always bloom. Above these flowerbeds rises the pink mansion where Gaudi lived for 20 years.
