The so-called Pavellons Güell, or Güell Pavilions, is a complex of buildings in the neighborhood of

Pedralbes Pedralbes (, Old Catalan for ''white stones'') is a neighborhood in '' Les Corts'' district of Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in No ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, by the Catalan Modernist architect

Antoni Gaudí Antoni Gaudí i Cornet ( , ; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalans, Catalan architect and designer from Spain, widely known as the greatest exponent of Catalan ''Modernisme''. Gaudí's works have a style, with most located in Barc ...

, built between 1884 and 1887.

History and description

Gaudí received the commission from his great patron, count

Eusebi Güell Eusebi Güell Bacigalupi, 1st Count of Güell (; 15 December 1846 – 8 July 1918), also referred as Eusebio Güell, was a Spanish entrepreneur who profited greatly from the industrial revolution in Catalonia in the late 19th century. Biography ...

. Güell had an estate in the Les Corts district of the small town of

Sarrià Sarria is a municipality in the province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain. Sarria or Sarrià may also refer to: *Sarrià, Barcelona, a neighbourhood in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain **Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, the Barcelona district containing Sarrià **Sarrià ...

(now part of Barcelona), which included two pieces of land known as Can Feliu and Can Cuyàs de la Riera. The architect Joan Martorell i Montells, one of Gaudí's teachers, had built a Caribbean-style mansion, which stood almost where the

Palau Reial de Pedralbes The Royal Palace of Pedralbes (; ) is a building placed in the middle of an ample garden in the district of Les Corts, in Barcelona. From 1919 until 1931 and since 1975 it has been the official residence for the Spanish royal family when they vi ...

now stands. This house was called Torre Satalia, so christened by

Jacinto Verdaguer Jacint Verdaguer i Santaló (; 17 May 1845 – 10 June 1902) was a Catalan writer, regarded as one of the greatest poets of Catalan literature and a prominent literary figure of the Renaixença, a cultural revival movement of the late Roma ...

, a friend of the family. Gaudí was commissioned to remodel the house and build a perimeter wall with gates. Gaudí proposed an Orientalist design, somewhat reminiscent of Mudejar art. He planned an ashlar wall with several gates, of which the main gate would be a wrought-iron grille in the shape of a dragon, with glass eyes; it represented Ladon, offspring of Typhus, the dragon that guarded the Garden of the Hesperides, which was overcome by

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

as one of his twelve labours—an episode that was narrated by

Jacint Verdaguer Jacint Verdaguer i Santaló (; 17 May 1845 – 10 June 1902) was a Catalan writer, regarded as one of the greatest poets of Catalan literature and a prominent literary figure of the Renaixença, a cultural revival movement of the late Rom ...

in his poem ''

L'Atlàntida ''L'Atlàntida'' () is an 1877 poem in Catalan by Jacint Verdaguer. It consists of an introduction, ten books, and a conclusion, dealing with the wanderings of Heracles in the Iberian Peninsula, the sinking of the continent of Atlantis, the cre ...

'', dedicated to

Antonio López y López Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular m ...

, first marquis of Comillas, who was Eusebi Güell's brother in law. Over the dragon there is an antimony orange-tree, another allusion to the Hesperides. The shape of the dragon corresponds with the position of the stars in the

Serpens Serpens () is a constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, it remains one of the 88 modern constellations designated by the International Astronomical Union. It ...

constellation, because Ladon was turned into a snake as a punishment for stealing the oranges. The other three entrances to the estate became obsolete with the construction of

Avinguda Diagonal Avinguda Diagonal (; in Spanish language, Spanish: Avenida Diagonal) is the name of one of Barcelona's broadest and most important avenues. It cuts the city in two, diagonally with respect to the grid pattern of the surrounding streets, hence th ...

: one of them still stands outside the cemetery of Les Corts, although its iron grille has been moved to the Gaudí Museum in the Parc Güell; another was restored in 1982 by the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

and installed at the Institut de Geologia Francesc Almera; while the third was demolished to make way for the Pharmacy faculty, but rebuilt in 1957 adjacent to this building. The Pavilions consist of a stable,

longeing Longeing (US English, classical spelling) or lungeing (UK English, informal US) is a technique for training and exercising horses where the horse travels in a circle around the handler. It is also a critical component of the sport of equestria ...

ring and gatehouses. The stable is rectangular and roofed with a high

Catalan vault The Catalan vault (), also called thin-tile vault, Catalan turn, Catalan arch, boveda ceiling (Spanish ''bóveda'' 'vault'), or timbrel vault, is a type of low brickwork arch forming a vaulted ceiling that often supports a floor above. It is co ...

adopting a catenary curve; the longeing ring has a square ground-plan, but is surmounted by a hyperboloid dome topped by an ornamental lantern; the gatehouses consist of three small buildings, the central one being polygonal in plan and the others cuboidal. All three are surmounted by ventilators in the form of chimneys, faced with ceramics. All the buildings are built of brick in a range of shades from red to yellow, and covered in coloured glass; in certain sections prefabricated cement blocks are also used.Crippa, ''Gaudí'', p. 17. Gaudí was also partially responsible for the design of the estate's gardens, where he built two fountains and a pergola, and planted several Mediterranean species: (

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

, palms,

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

es and

magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

s). The “Fountain of Hercules” still stands near the Palau Reial de Pedralbes, restored in 1983; it consists of a bust of Hercules surmounting a basin with the coat of arms of Catalonia and with a spout in the shape of a Chinese dragon.Bassegoda, ''El gran Gaudí'', p. 275. In 1969 the Pavellons Güell were declared a Monument of National Historic and Artistic Interest.Bassegoda, ''El gran Gaudí'', p. 268. They are now used as the headquarters of the Royal Gaudí Chair, which pertains to the

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya The Polytechnic University of Catalonia (, , ; UPC), currently referred to as BarcelonaTech, is the largest Institute of technology, polytechnic university in Catalonia, Spain. UPC's objectives are based on internationalization, as it ...

, and the site also includes the Botanic Garden of Faculty of Biology.

References

This article is adapted from the Catalan Wikipedia.

Bibliography

*Joan Bassegoda i Nonell: ''El gran Gaudí'', Ed. Ausa, Sabadell, 1989, . *Joan Bassegoda i Nonell: ''Gaudí o espacio, luz y equilibrio'', Criterio,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, 2002, . *Maria Antonietta Crippa: ''Gaudí'',

Taschen Taschen is a luxury art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. As of January 2017, Taschen is co-managed by Benedikt Taschen and his eldest daughter, Marlene Taschen. History The company began as Tasch ...

Köln Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, 2007, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Guell Pavilions Antoni Gaudí buildings Modernisme architecture in Barcelona Les Corts (district) Buildings and structures completed in 1887

History and description

See also

References

Bibliography