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Guell Palace. Picture By Simon Burchell.

Top 10 Facts about Guell Palace

Built between 1886 and 1888, Guell Palace is a mansion designed by Architect Antoni Gaudi. The World cultural heritage mansion is situated in Nou de la Rambla of Barcelona, Spain.

Guell Palace, Gaudi’s first actual commission, has one of Barcelona’s most spectacular interiors. It is part of why it earned a place on the World Heritage List in 1999. This palace is not as well known as the other creations by Gaudí, but it’s certainly worth a visit.  

The interior of Palau Guell is just as special as the Palazzo’s exterior. Gaudi’s natural shapes and playful décors are one of a kind. Even the roof terrace of this palace has been adorned with mosaics.

The famous Palace has several facts that will be discussed in this article. Let’s have a look at some of them:

1. The Güell Palace is of great interest for its suggestive conception of space and light

Inside Guell Palace, Picture By Simon Burchell.

This is the way the interior spaces are organized around the central hall, which is three stories high and covered by a parabolic dome of celestial memories.

Gaud distributed the rooms of the building in a completely functional manner around this hall, creating plays of perspective that give the Güell Palace the illusion of great size despite the fact that it stands on a relatively small plot.

One of the most amazing sensory experiences of the palace is entering the central hall. This space was designed as a concert hall, with the organ taking center stage and the dome serving as a great-sounding box.  

2. The palace is considered one of the pioneering buildings of the Art Nouveau movement

The Palace is the only newly constructed building that Gaud was able to complete completely, and it has the distinction of being the best preserved because it has never undergone any significant modifications.

Two doors in the main entrance have a catenary arch profile, which must have been particularly striking when they were built due to their unusual size.

Gaud envisioned the carriage space as an extension of the street, allowing vehicles to easily drive in and out, a very innovative system at the time.

3.  The Palace was inherited by the widow and children of Count Güell

After being inherited by Count Güell’s widow and children, the Güell Palace faced a number of challenges.

During the Spanish Civil War, it served as a police station, and in 1944, it was on the verge of being purchased by an American millionaire who planned to ship it home stone by stone.

Finally, Eusebi Güell’s youngest daughter, Mercè Güell, gave the building to the Barcelona Provincial Council in exchange for an annuity and on the condition that it be preserved and used for cultural purposes.

4. Guell was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO 

A UNESCO World Heritage Guell Palace. Picture By Simon Burchell.

The Association of Friends of Gaud moved in in 1952, and the Theatre Institute called it home from the late 1950s until 1996.

It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 for its exceptional universal value in the “Works of Gaud” section. Various restoration projects have been undertaken over the last two decades.

These works included an integral restoration that provided an in-depth understanding of the building, the restoration of structural and ornamental elements, and the museumization of the building in 2011. In the same year, the Güell Palace reopened to the public.

5. The basement of the building was used as the Horse stable

The basement of the Palau Güell was used as stables, with access provided by two different ramps. A helical ramp with a gentle slope was used by the horses. A steeper spiral ramp was used by the palace’s servants.

The thick brick pillars with mushroom-shaped capitals that support much of the building’s weight are the most noticeable feature of this space.

There is also a small inner Courtyard on this underground floor. It provides ventilation and light to the Stable and was used to collect rainwater.

6. Facade of Guell Palace

Despite being located on a narrow street with limited views, Gaud created a simple yet brilliant facade that stands out in the neighborhood. The Eden Concert Music Hall opposite opened two years before the completion of Guell Palace is dedicated to concerts and variety shows.

Gaud’s work, particularly the façade he designed, emerged as a means of counteracting the extravagance of the music hall and the district as a whole.

Despite the simplicity of the facade, Gaud did not overlook the volumetric range of the stone and iron. He combined it with the use of ceramics. It has the symmetry, volume, and padded appearance of Renaissance Florentine palaces.

7. Industrialist Eusebi Guell commissioned the building of the palace

Barcelona was in the midst of a frenzy of activity in preparation for the Universal Exhibition of 1888.

The event capped the city’s expansion following the demolition of its walls. In this context, industrialist Eusebi Güell, who had been impressed by Gaud’s work on his summer residence, commissioned the architect, then 34, the design an urban palace on a street adjacent to the Rambla, where the Güell family lived.

At a time when most upper-class families were migrating to the brand-new Eixample in search of space, light, and modernity that Barcelona’s many old, narrow streets couldn’t provide, Güell chose to build his home in the run-down district of Raval because the site he had acquired allowed him to connect the new palace to the family mansion on the Rambla.

8. Antoni Gaudi pioneered Constructing the palace

Portrait of Antoni Gaudí. By Pablo Audouard Deglaire.

Gaud used a set of highly diverse solutions based on very personal approaches in this building. He used his imagination to create some exceptionally expressive forms. He was working with high-quality traditional materials (stone, wood, wrought iron, ceramics, glass, etc.).

The construction of the Guell Palace represents the pinnacle of Gaud’s youth. He expanded on the solutions tested in previous projects while introducing many of the features that would become the foundation of his subsequent repertoire.

Gaud used the best materials to build it, such as stone from Güell’s quarries in the El Garraf region. He enlisted the help of the most brilliant professionals of the time, such as architect Francesc Berenguer, who would become one of his most loyal assistants.

9.  First Iconic Roof Terrace

The roof terrace exemplifies Gaud’s distinct language at the Güell Palace. Its 481 square meters are divided into four levels. The largest of which is over the central body of the building and contains fourteen chimneys.

It has four dormers shaped like shells or parabolic arches, skylights, and the lantern of the central dome. A few steps up bring you to the second level, which is above the annexed body of the building and has six more facing brick chimneys.

The service stairway hut is located on the third level, and the conical spire is located on the fourth level. Gaud transformed the cowls of traditional chimneys into sculptural elements clad in trend mosaic for the first time here.

10. Some elements typical of Gaudi can also be found in later buildings

Chimney openings in Guell Palace. By Simon Burchell.

Antoni Gaud’s Palace Guell is an early work. Some Gaud elements, such as the ironwork at the entrance and on the back of the building, can also be found in later buildings, such as the chimneys or ventilation openings on the roof.

In comparison to the later buildings, the Guell Palace appears almost gloomy. Inside, you’ll find exciting architectural details that reflect the zeitgeist of the time.

The stables in the basement with the groom’s sleeping quarters, the sumptuous quarters of the master of the house, and the staff quarters on the top floor are all perfect examples of this.

The Palace Guell is an excellent example of the brilliant architect Gaud’s development. It is rightfully on the UNESCO World Heritage list and is one of Barcelona’s top attractions.

OPENING HOURS

Open from Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays

Summer timetable (1 April to 31 October), 10:00-20:00 h

Winter timetable (1 November to 31 March), 10:00-17:30 h

Closed Monday (except on public holidays). 1 and 6 January, the third week of January for annual maintenance, and 25 and 26 December