The Guell landscape Park is one of the main attractions in Barcelona. It is located on the slope of the Bald mountain above Barcelona. The Park was designed on several levels by the great architect Antonio Gaudi. The famous houses in front of the Park have become symbols of Barcelona as well as the Sagrada Familia Cathedral.
Initially, Guell Park was developed as a constructive project. In 1901, a wealthy industrialist, Eusebi Guell, bought 15 hectares of land on a deserted hill called Bald mountain. He planned to divide this area into 62 plots and build them up with private mansions. Guell thought that many of the rich people of Barcelona wished to move to live near the city center, but at the same time in nature. He invited his friend, architect Antonio Gaudi, to design the entire garden-city project.
One house was built in the Park, as an sample of those mansions that were planned to build up the entire territory. Later, two more appeared. One was occupied by Guell himself, and the other by the lawyer Martin Trias y Domenech. In 1906, Gaudi himself moved to live in the sample house. He lived here until 1926. Since 1963, there was opened the House-Museum of the great Catalan.
Fortunately for the future of Barcelona, Guell`s commercial project was a complete fiasco. There were no one willing to buy these plots. The failure of the commercial project made it possible to preserve this territory as a public Park. Gaudi made it a masterpiece of Park Art. In 1984, Guell Park was included in the UNESCO world heritage list. Now it is visited by millions of tourists every year.
At the entrance to the Monumental zone of the Park, two gingerbread houses were built. It was completely decorated in the style of trencadis. One was for the gatekeeper, and the other was for the Park administration. Now they are symbols of Barcelona.
From the houses, a staircase goes up to the Monumental zone. On this staircase is the famous Salamander, and then the hall of the "Hundred Columns". In fact, it has 86 Doric columns. Thanks to the undulating ceiling, the hall has excellent acoustics.
Above the columns is a large Upper terrace, where the idea of Eusebi Güell were able to walk the residents of his village. This terrace is surrounded by the world`s longest bench in the shape of a sea serpent. Its length reaches 110 meters. This bench is decorated with beautiful patterns in the style of trencadis. Materials for decoration, broken glass, ceramics and rubble, Gaudi collected at all construction sites where he worked.
Around the Monumental Zone is the vast Park area of Guell Park. Access is free. Walking paths are located on several levels. There are galleries made in the form of ruins, beautiful bridges. Everything around is planted with flowers and ornamental trees.
