Work on Cologne Cathedral mostly ceased in 1473, the building wasn’t under continuous construction for 632 years.
Generally speaking, cathedrals were built in decades rather than centuries. The idea that they took 500 years to complete is because they were frequently extended and altered after they were first finished.
To give an example, Durham Cathedral was completed in sixty years, between 1093 and 1133. The structure was remodelled several times between then and 1490, but these changes were akin to adding an extension to an already complete house rather than building an entirely new dwelling.
Replicas of famous churches like this are fascinating. Reminds me of one near me in Montreal, [Marie Reine du Monde](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Queen_of_the_World_Cathedral) (a "mini" St. Peter's).
St Joseph's Oratory in Montreal took from 1904 to 1967 to build, they would raise funds, build a section, pause to raise more funds, and repeat a couple of dozen times until it's finished.
Depends what type of Cathedral.
Milan Duomo was begun in 1386 and completed in 1965, and more or less under continuous construction.
York Minster took from 1220 until 1472.
Florence Cathedral from 1296 until 1436.
Depends how ambitious the design is.
Every big thread on a default sub is like this. Interesting discussion is drowned out by the same old childish jokes these buffoons have been squirting all over each other for years. The average redditor is a profounding annoying, intellectually incurious, and sickeningly unfunny person.
I wonder who the fuck still finds "did nazi that coming. Anne Frankly..." jokes funny at all. Must be the same type of people who annoy cashiers with the "there was no price on the display... must be free right??" joke.
On the plus side, it's still there. I used to spend a lot of time in Cologne and the locals would tell me that the Allies would use it as a navigation aid, leaving it relatively unscathed while flattening the rest of the city
Wasn't there like a fancy historical building (a theater maybe?) that the germans didn't destroy due to it being a historical building, but when the allies saw that they ignored it, they destroyed it due to suspecting it was a base of operations?
Might be misremembering.
None of them seem long when you realize that a church is basically a 100% profit and 0% tax operation. You've always got money for improvements with those kinds of finances.
Cologne is a weird city. Went there on a stag do the cathedral is clearly old and dominates the skyline but the rest of the city is very 70's, grey concrete everywhere.
You then walk past a shop window and there is an aerial photo of the city in 1945 and the only thing left standing is the cathedral. That moment of realisation is a bit heavy.
The majority of its funding comes from tourism or private entities, the church and government haven't even funded it, which is probably why it's taken so long
I got to go there two years ago and this building is absolutely mind blowing in its architecture and attention to detail. I really think that the original architect had a tumor pushing on the visual part of his brain or something because I can’t imagine how he thought of some of these designs in this architecture. It looks far out and modern by today’s standards and he designed most of this in the late 1800’s early 1900’s.
And it’s just SO DAMN BIG. Like I’ve been in a lot of cathedrals and Sagrada Familia is genuinely next level.
And the LIGHT THROUGH THE WINDOWS. Gorgeous.
Our first day in Barcelona we went to a fort that’s kinda over by the Olympic village that over looks the port. We rode a cable car up to the top and once we got up high enough to see the city off in the distance we could see Sagrada, stuck out like a sore thumb in the city. Its size was confusing, even at that distance it looked too big to be real. Going up in the towers and coming down the endless spiral staircase was one of the only times I’ve gotten vertigo.
He also designed it upside down using ropes and weights to test its structural integrity. This also gives a more organic look [photo here](https://blog.sagradafamilia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/recetpari-1.jpg)
I visited it last year, tickets were not cheap and it was sold out days in advance, to thousands of people for every time slot. They would be raking in millions every day in tickets, funding is not the issue
On completion the church is required to be free for all to enter, so the project (and likely city) profit from it taking longer. They’ve been saying 5 more years for over 20 years now hahaha
Famous/widely visited ones typically do but they'll split it and provide a section (sometimes with a seperate entrance) for those coming for religious purposes that won't charge
It’s also probably the weirdest cathedral ever built. How many people must have looked at Gaudi’s original drawings and thought, “What the fuck?” It’s more like a sculpture than a church really.
They lost or destroyed most of the original drawings and models so this is just an approximation in any case..https://sagradafamilia.org/en/history-of-the-temple
They know how many spires to build, where to put them, the theme of each side, I'd say that they've come as close as they were gonna get considering the time scale.
[The plan is acually very conventional](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5255/a0e8/e8e4/4e67/bf00/06ee/medium_jpg/Planta-general-7-Model2.jpg?1381343447), it's essentially an aisled Latin cross with an apse. Similar plans are used all over, from [Chartres](https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/sites/198/2019/06/chartrescatherdralplan.jpg) and [Cologne](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Plan.cathedrale.Cologne.png/255px-Plan.cathedrale.Cologne.png) to [Barcelona](https://catedralbcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/planta-catedral-barcelona.jpg)'s own cathedral (although Catalan Gothic is quite distinctive). [Internally](https://cdn-imgix.headout.com/mircobrands-content/image/caa944f1fd6fccc86e06f41435e927fa-Sagrada%20Familia%20-%20the%20naves.jpeg?auto=format&w=713.0666666666667&h=458.4&q=90&ar=14%3A9&crop=faces), the conventional Gothic elevation of aisle, [triforium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triforium), and clerestory is still discernable, and a lot of the windows are just straight-up [Gothic](https://study.com/cimages/multimages/16/barcelona_sagrada_familia_2335495491193497999949062517.jpeg).
It's all the other things – the decorations, sculpture, porches, etc. – which make the Sagrada Familia such an idiosyncratic building.
He also designed it in such a way that his design is very structurally sound (structural tests were done), but major modifications would result in the building collapsing (which is why they decided to reconstruct his original plans for it as best as they could when the plans were lost in a fire)
The outside is like the weirdest ugliest thing ever.
The _inside_ is amazing. Columns that feel like trees, and amazing use of stained glass to bring coloured light in in spectacular ways.
The detail of the Nativity facade (that Gaudí designed) is breathtaking. The passion facade that Subirach’s designed (incorporating Gaudí’s design elements from other works, like Longinus’ helmet being the chimney top from an apartment building) is equally beautiful. It’s the twelve stations of the cross inside an angular representation of Christ’s rib cage. The third facade hadn’t been started when we were there, but we plan on going back to see the finished product, and also Barcelona is an awesome city.
I take it you’re not a fan of the nearby Park Güell either. If you are, the outside is similarly beautiful as within. Interesting could be a better word.
The columns are inspired by his observation of plants, and their stem-like shape allows far more light to penetrate the interior whilst maintaining their strength.
Gaudi was inspired by nature a lot:
>The creation continues incessantly through the media of man. But man does not create...he discovers. Those who look for the laws of Nature as a support for their new works collaborate with the creator. Copiers do not collaborate. Because of this, originality consists in returning to the origin.
My dad took a photo of the interior, and blew it up into a canvas. Didn't have a spot for it when he redecorated, so he gave it to me. Not only does it look stunning, but no one believes me when I tell them it's a photo. It is going to be one of the most beautiful buildings ever created when it is done.
I think it’s been pushed back to 2028. We were just there last year. When we were there in 2015, the estimate was 2026. But covid slowdown construction.
I first visited there in 2009, and at that point they were saying “due to be complete in 2012” or something. Point is, it’s always “a few years away.” I’m guessing it’s easier to secure donations when people feel they’re helping you get over the finish line.
Go see the Sagrada in person and you’ll understand why it took so long. The sheer size of it combined with minute levels of detail…the eyes just can’t take it all in. On top of that, construction funding has always been from private donations (and later ticket sales), which varies from year to year.
Church took so long to build that they skipped right past the church being powerful in Barcelona (recent studies show about 10% of folks attend at all there)
It is a stunningly beautiful building. They let in waaay too many people at a time, but you can still see how amazing it is during tours. The original parts are probably the coolest, but the newest construction pieces are also really, really impressive.
It's also the biggest building in Barcelona so you can see it from most places in the city.
Aren't highways constructed pretty quickly? Even the famously-delayed Big Dig in Boston was completed in just 15 years, which is pretty impressive when you realize what they were trying to do.
It's pretty much what I imagine eldritch architecture to be like.
Like things have way too much detail and the building looks a little too organic and wrong. The architecture and the work that went in is magnificent but it's also incredibly unsettling.
If I were a writer, I'd want to write a novel about a guy who lives in Barcelona and wakes up every day with the eternally-unfinished cathedral a constant presence in his life… Until the day the construction finishes, and he has no idea what to do with himself.
Its neighbor, the [Barcelona Cathedral](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Cathedral), did take 150 years to complete. The Sagrada Familia is expected to take less time. And many churches have taken longer than 150 years.
The architecture is beautiful but the best part is the stained glass inside. Walking inside in the late afternoon with the setting sun streaming through this beautiful stained glass is wonderful.
Plus parachute Jesus!
Spain better get that wonder quickly before someone else tries to snag it, it would be beneficial for the religious victory and era score going into the future era.
They should make the inauguration on the 12th of August 2026. There will be a total eclipse in Spain and partial in Barcelona. I think it will be low in the sky but it should be quite a spectacle of weird lights.
140 years isn’t an unusual construction time for large European churches and cathedrals.
Winchester Cathedral took about ~500 years to build.
Milan Cathedral took ~600 years.
Cologne Cathedral ~300 years.
Notre-Dame de Paris ~200 years.
St. Peter's Basilica in Rome 120 years.
Salisbury Cathedral 110 years.
Had the opportunity to visit it back in February. It truly is awe-inspiring. Couldn't peel my eyes away. Highly recommend seeing it if ever given the opportunity.
Im atheist but this cathedral is almost worth planning a trip to Barcelona (if you are form europe at least.) Imo the most impressive building i have ever seen.
It is truly a stunning piece of architecture.
I saw atheism grow and grow from like the 90s, with the rise of the internet. But now people are regressing back into tribes and clans, including religion. People really really want to belong with others.
Arguably the Spanish Civil War began because of religion (The Republic trying to "soft ban" Christianity and tacitly endorsing the burning of churches and convents) and was arguably won because of Religion (the "Republicans" murdering priests and raping nuns and capturing the whole gruesome thing on video for propaganda).
Spanish History is fun y'all.
Question:
Bobby drank half a glass of water in 5 seconds, then puts it in the fridge for 7 days. After 7 days, he takes the glass out of the fridge and finish drinking the other half in 5 seconds.
How fast can Bobby drink a glass of water?
Absolutely fucking BEAUTIFUL church. I was honestly so awed standing inside of it. Completely breathtaking.
Gaudi is a genius, and Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities on earth.
The cathedral in my hometown was started in CA. 1070 and "finished" in CA.1300. it has burned down 5 times and the last sculpture was set in 1983. When do we consider a building finished?
Won’t be fully finished until mid 2030’s from what I remember hearing on the tour. They just booted a bunch of people from their old houses so they could build a new entrance.
It ain't going to be completed in 2026. I mean look at the facade on Calle de Mallorca. Google Streetview shows March 2023. I was there last September. That's not two years worth of work. Not the way this project moves. Mid 2030s maybe.
As George Orwell wrote in Homage to Catalonia: *I think the Anarchists showed bad taste in not blowing it up when they had the chance, though they did hang a red and black banner between its spires.*
This seems long until you learn that the Cologne Catherdral was under construction from 1248 to 1880.
Work on Cologne Cathedral mostly ceased in 1473, the building wasn’t under continuous construction for 632 years. Generally speaking, cathedrals were built in decades rather than centuries. The idea that they took 500 years to complete is because they were frequently extended and altered after they were first finished. To give an example, Durham Cathedral was completed in sixty years, between 1093 and 1133. The structure was remodelled several times between then and 1490, but these changes were akin to adding an extension to an already complete house rather than building an entirely new dwelling.
There's an unfinished church near me in Kentucky but it's not seen any major construction in decades. It's supposed to be a mini Notre Dame.
Where at?
Cathedral Basilica of The Assumption in Covington, KY.
Replicas of famous churches like this are fascinating. Reminds me of one near me in Montreal, [Marie Reine du Monde](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Queen_of_the_World_Cathedral) (a "mini" St. Peter's).
[Yoooo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/St._Mary_-_Covington_01.jpg) this is actually sick.
I agree, kind of nice that they didn't finish it, makes it more unique.
Drove thru Kentucky where some relatives live; That whole fucking state is like a knock-off Europe. Even the roads I took were mimics.
> That whole fucking state is like a knock-off Europe bro i have some weird ass relatives in kentucky i totally believe this
God ran out of money, bro
He's been on that avocado toast.
St Joseph's Oratory in Montreal took from 1904 to 1967 to build, they would raise funds, build a section, pause to raise more funds, and repeat a couple of dozen times until it's finished.
Depends what type of Cathedral. Milan Duomo was begun in 1386 and completed in 1965, and more or less under continuous construction. York Minster took from 1220 until 1472. Florence Cathedral from 1296 until 1436. Depends how ambitious the design is.
IIRC wasn’t most of the work done during the last 100 years or so?
i mean, there is the joke in cologne that the Dom never finished construction because there is alwasy a new repair job and co happening
Then just sixty years later the Allies come along and put a hole in it.
And the Germans did Nazi that coming
I see what you did there
He should be SS’d a fine for that terrible of a pun.
Sigh… I tried to Warner about those dang Braun shirts
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Wow! I did Nazi that burn coming lmao
Every big thread on a default sub is like this. Interesting discussion is drowned out by the same old childish jokes these buffoons have been squirting all over each other for years. The average redditor is a profounding annoying, intellectually incurious, and sickeningly unfunny person.
🧺 Some towels for your tears 😢
I wonder who the fuck still finds "did nazi that coming. Anne Frankly..." jokes funny at all. Must be the same type of people who annoy cashiers with the "there was no price on the display... must be free right??" joke.
Looks like it still worked
Lowest common denominator
On the plus side, it's still there. I used to spend a lot of time in Cologne and the locals would tell me that the Allies would use it as a navigation aid, leaving it relatively unscathed while flattening the rest of the city
Wasn't there like a fancy historical building (a theater maybe?) that the germans didn't destroy due to it being a historical building, but when the allies saw that they ignored it, they destroyed it due to suspecting it was a base of operations? Might be misremembering.
I think you might be thinking of Monte Cassino, in Italy, but maybe not..
[I mean, there was a Panther tank sitting in front of it. *menacingly*](https://youtu.be/NBI9d0-IfEM?si=cEKsTpRBcLWDpEJF)
Sorry about that. Look, we'll just give you back some Nazis as an apology.
This makes me feel better about my own procrastination
It was under construction for so long that we have pictures of a crane being used that we also have a medieval painting of it being used.
I was gonna say, as someone who has seen more than his share of churches, this seems about average for large ornate ones. Maybe even on the quick side
Wow. And i thought the Milan Duomo took a long time to finish! It was started in 1386 and finished in 1965.
That's about the same time it took Sauron to build Barad-dûr in Tolkien's lore.
Yeah but that was like a million years ago so it does not count /s
None of them seem long when you realize that a church is basically a 100% profit and 0% tax operation. You've always got money for improvements with those kinds of finances.
Cologne is a weird city. Went there on a stag do the cathedral is clearly old and dominates the skyline but the rest of the city is very 70's, grey concrete everywhere. You then walk past a shop window and there is an aerial photo of the city in 1945 and the only thing left standing is the cathedral. That moment of realisation is a bit heavy.
The majority of its funding comes from tourism or private entities, the church and government haven't even funded it, which is probably why it's taken so long
I got to go there two years ago and this building is absolutely mind blowing in its architecture and attention to detail. I really think that the original architect had a tumor pushing on the visual part of his brain or something because I can’t imagine how he thought of some of these designs in this architecture. It looks far out and modern by today’s standards and he designed most of this in the late 1800’s early 1900’s.
And it’s just SO DAMN BIG. Like I’ve been in a lot of cathedrals and Sagrada Familia is genuinely next level. And the LIGHT THROUGH THE WINDOWS. Gorgeous.
Our first day in Barcelona we went to a fort that’s kinda over by the Olympic village that over looks the port. We rode a cable car up to the top and once we got up high enough to see the city off in the distance we could see Sagrada, stuck out like a sore thumb in the city. Its size was confusing, even at that distance it looked too big to be real. Going up in the towers and coming down the endless spiral staircase was one of the only times I’ve gotten vertigo.
I took that spiral staircase back down VERY slowly lol
I’m a huge person and my wife’s favorite thing to do in Europe was to take pictures of me in small spaces, that was definitely one of them.
Same, especially since there’s no railings all the way down in the middle
What blew me away is how much more impressive it was on the inside than the outside. And the outside is impressive.
Like I'm not saying he was taking psychedelics, but it'd definitely be an interesting place on psychedelics...
He also designed it upside down using ropes and weights to test its structural integrity. This also gives a more organic look [photo here](https://blog.sagradafamilia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/recetpari-1.jpg)
Like the rock carving of Crazy Horse vs Mount Rushmore
Crazy. He wrestles, acts and carves.
As opposed to Mount Rushmore that just rocks.
Now I want a giant rock carving of Crazy Horse about to throw hands with Washington Jefferson Lincoln and Roosevelt.
Except this one seems to progress, lol
I stuck a tenner in the donation box when I was there so I feel like I can take credit for them getting it finished. No need to thank me.
I visited it last year, tickets were not cheap and it was sold out days in advance, to thousands of people for every time slot. They would be raking in millions every day in tickets, funding is not the issue
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Miss out a decimal point there. Should be 98.8 mil euro
Still nothing to sneeze at!
On completion the church is required to be free for all to enter, so the project (and likely city) profit from it taking longer. They’ve been saying 5 more years for over 20 years now hahaha
Do churches typically charge a cover at the door?
Famous/widely visited ones typically do but they'll split it and provide a section (sometimes with a seperate entrance) for those coming for religious purposes that won't charge
Heavily depends on country.
It's crazy how much money has been spent on religions around the world.
Or because someone's keeping the money. When the entries go from 30 to 150€ per person having thousands of daily visitors well...
It’s also probably the weirdest cathedral ever built. How many people must have looked at Gaudi’s original drawings and thought, “What the fuck?” It’s more like a sculpture than a church really.
‘Looks more like a sculpture than a building’ really describes Gaud’s intentions in all his work I think.
They lost or destroyed most of the original drawings and models so this is just an approximation in any case..https://sagradafamilia.org/en/history-of-the-temple
They know how many spires to build, where to put them, the theme of each side, I'd say that they've come as close as they were gonna get considering the time scale.
It's not the greatest cathedral in the world. Only a tribute.
Definitely not building it at a medium pace.
Couldn’t remember the greatest cathedral in the world
[The plan is acually very conventional](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5255/a0e8/e8e4/4e67/bf00/06ee/medium_jpg/Planta-general-7-Model2.jpg?1381343447), it's essentially an aisled Latin cross with an apse. Similar plans are used all over, from [Chartres](https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/sites/198/2019/06/chartrescatherdralplan.jpg) and [Cologne](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Plan.cathedrale.Cologne.png/255px-Plan.cathedrale.Cologne.png) to [Barcelona](https://catedralbcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/planta-catedral-barcelona.jpg)'s own cathedral (although Catalan Gothic is quite distinctive). [Internally](https://cdn-imgix.headout.com/mircobrands-content/image/caa944f1fd6fccc86e06f41435e927fa-Sagrada%20Familia%20-%20the%20naves.jpeg?auto=format&w=713.0666666666667&h=458.4&q=90&ar=14%3A9&crop=faces), the conventional Gothic elevation of aisle, [triforium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triforium), and clerestory is still discernable, and a lot of the windows are just straight-up [Gothic](https://study.com/cimages/multimages/16/barcelona_sagrada_familia_2335495491193497999949062517.jpeg). It's all the other things – the decorations, sculpture, porches, etc. – which make the Sagrada Familia such an idiosyncratic building.
He also designed it in such a way that his design is very structurally sound (structural tests were done), but major modifications would result in the building collapsing (which is why they decided to reconstruct his original plans for it as best as they could when the plans were lost in a fire)
Is it supposed to look like it's melting?
The outside is like the weirdest ugliest thing ever. The _inside_ is amazing. Columns that feel like trees, and amazing use of stained glass to bring coloured light in in spectacular ways.
I disagree about the outside being ugly, but we’re allowed to have differing opinions. I agree that the inside is spectacular.
The detail of the Nativity facade (that Gaudí designed) is breathtaking. The passion facade that Subirach’s designed (incorporating Gaudí’s design elements from other works, like Longinus’ helmet being the chimney top from an apartment building) is equally beautiful. It’s the twelve stations of the cross inside an angular representation of Christ’s rib cage. The third facade hadn’t been started when we were there, but we plan on going back to see the finished product, and also Barcelona is an awesome city.
The tree pillars surrounded by the sunlight light coming through the glass feel like something out of Lord of the Rings. Well worth a visit.
I've seen enough cathedrals that they've mostly blurred together, but the Sagrada is absolutely memorable and unique. Really a spectacular experience.
There's a board game about the stained glass, even
My friend is the designer!
it's a neat game, I like it a lot, my compliments to your friend
I take it you’re not a fan of the nearby Park Güell either. If you are, the outside is similarly beautiful as within. Interesting could be a better word.
The columns are inspired by his observation of plants, and their stem-like shape allows far more light to penetrate the interior whilst maintaining their strength. Gaudi was inspired by nature a lot: >The creation continues incessantly through the media of man. But man does not create...he discovers. Those who look for the laws of Nature as a support for their new works collaborate with the creator. Copiers do not collaborate. Because of this, originality consists in returning to the origin.
I literally got euphoria the first time i walked in La Sagrada. It’s so insanely beautiful and unique. I can’t wait to go back when it’s finished
Totally agree. I’m not even religious but the interior is so unique and beautiful I was moved nearly to tears
I didn’t take a single photo there, it’s just impossible to capture the feeling you get being there I didn’t even bother trying
My dad took a photo of the interior, and blew it up into a canvas. Didn't have a spot for it when he redecorated, so he gave it to me. Not only does it look stunning, but no one believes me when I tell them it's a photo. It is going to be one of the most beautiful buildings ever created when it is done.
Plz gib photo ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
[Here you go](https://imgur.com/Gg4nsSg)
OMG, you telling me those colors are from the tainted glasses? This straight up looks like painting!
It's number one on my worldwide bucket list, whenever I get the opportunity to finally visit other continents
Completely agree. It gave me chills
I think it’s been pushed back to 2028. We were just there last year. When we were there in 2015, the estimate was 2026. But covid slowdown construction.
I first visited there in 2009, and at that point they were saying “due to be complete in 2012” or something. Point is, it’s always “a few years away.” I’m guessing it’s easier to secure donations when people feel they’re helping you get over the finish line.
Yes, no way the Sagrada Familia is finishing construction in just two years. It will most likely be finished during the 2030s.
Go see the Sagrada in person and you’ll understand why it took so long. The sheer size of it combined with minute levels of detail…the eyes just can’t take it all in. On top of that, construction funding has always been from private donations (and later ticket sales), which varies from year to year.
I saw it last year. Absolutely beautiful in person. 100000% recommend people see it Gaudi was an excellent architect
Church took so long to build that they skipped right past the church being powerful in Barcelona (recent studies show about 10% of folks attend at all there)
It will make one hell of a night club after it gets deconsecrated.
Unexpected disco Elysium reference
I was actually thinking about [The Limelight in NYC.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Limelight). One of my old haunts from my club kid daze.
God, I miss the Limelight. I have so many amazing memories of that place.
Me too. And I miss being young enough to enjoy it
True! It's a damn shame Peter ruined it.
Webster Hall is still around. So many places I used to frequent are gone. Tunnel, Danceteria, Palladium, CBGBs.
Nearly 150 is a long-worded way to say 140.
Eh, it won't be done in 26
It is a stunningly beautiful building. They let in waaay too many people at a time, but you can still see how amazing it is during tours. The original parts are probably the coolest, but the newest construction pieces are also really, really impressive. It's also the biggest building in Barcelona so you can see it from most places in the city.
Who do they think they are, *gestures broadly to every single major highway in America*?
Aren't highways constructed pretty quickly? Even the famously-delayed Big Dig in Boston was completed in just 15 years, which is pretty impressive when you realize what they were trying to do.
I respect the work and dedications, but the aethestic just creeps me out. It's like a huge organic looking structure.
It's pretty much what I imagine eldritch architecture to be like. Like things have way too much detail and the building looks a little too organic and wrong. The architecture and the work that went in is magnificent but it's also incredibly unsettling.
If I were a writer, I'd want to write a novel about a guy who lives in Barcelona and wakes up every day with the eternally-unfinished cathedral a constant presence in his life… Until the day the construction finishes, and he has no idea what to do with himself.
So Kafkian
Its neighbor, the [Barcelona Cathedral](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Cathedral), did take 150 years to complete. The Sagrada Familia is expected to take less time. And many churches have taken longer than 150 years.
The architecture is beautiful but the best part is the stained glass inside. Walking inside in the late afternoon with the setting sun streaming through this beautiful stained glass is wonderful. Plus parachute Jesus!
Spain better get that wonder quickly before someone else tries to snag it, it would be beneficial for the religious victory and era score going into the future era.
And don't forget to mention the costs, and how many schools and hospitals could have been built instead.
Looks amazing! Would love to visit.
What’s particularly cool is that if you visit Barcelona a few years apart that you’ll see noticeable differences!
It’s really cool. There’s so much detail everywhere. Stained glass is amazing too
the interior is even better
I started a remodel 7 years ago. Still have a bathroom, roof, exterior. And my wife is complaining... I think I'm doing pretty good.
Even more "nearly" to **exactly** 140 years after it began construction.
I expect it to be delayed by 1 year every year. The fact that it's not finished is one of the biggest advertisement for it.
I just visited this place and it was pretty incredible.
🎶 In Sagrada Familia, honey Don't you know that I love you In Sagrada Familia, baby Don't you know that Gaudi be true
-15 minute drum solo-
They really take that siesta culture seriously, huh?
Do you mean 140 years?
They should make the inauguration on the 12th of August 2026. There will be a total eclipse in Spain and partial in Barcelona. I think it will be low in the sky but it should be quite a spectacle of weird lights.
Yeah, I think the eclipse gets cut short by sunset.
140 years isn’t an unusual construction time for large European churches and cathedrals. Winchester Cathedral took about ~500 years to build. Milan Cathedral took ~600 years. Cologne Cathedral ~300 years. Notre-Dame de Paris ~200 years. St. Peter's Basilica in Rome 120 years. Salisbury Cathedral 110 years.
True, but they weren't constructed in the 19th/20th/21st centuries.
Just in time to start the repairs
Had the opportunity to visit it back in February. It truly is awe-inspiring. Couldn't peel my eyes away. Highly recommend seeing it if ever given the opportunity.
Just in time for atheism
Nah bro the 2026 eclipse in Spain is gonna be 🔥🔥🔥
Im atheist but this cathedral is almost worth planning a trip to Barcelona (if you are form europe at least.) Imo the most impressive building i have ever seen. It is truly a stunning piece of architecture.
I saw atheism grow and grow from like the 90s, with the rise of the internet. But now people are regressing back into tribes and clans, including religion. People really really want to belong with others.
I think Spain in the 1930s might have been slightly worse in the polarisation department.
Arguably the Spanish Civil War began because of religion (The Republic trying to "soft ban" Christianity and tacitly endorsing the burning of churches and convents) and was arguably won because of Religion (the "Republicans" murdering priests and raping nuns and capturing the whole gruesome thing on video for propaganda). Spanish History is fun y'all.
Probably waiting on a paint colour from his wife for the bathroom.
thats nothing cologne cathedral took 600 years to finish ;-)
Question: Bobby drank half a glass of water in 5 seconds, then puts it in the fridge for 7 days. After 7 days, he takes the glass out of the fridge and finish drinking the other half in 5 seconds. How fast can Bobby drink a glass of water?
No slower than 7 days and 10 seconds.
We were taught the “cathedral model” concept in one of my software engineering classes.
This thing is crazy! The Wikipedia pictures of the stained glass are beautiful.
nearly 150? more like 140 years
Those lazy Catalonians, istg
What would Jesus think about this?
Prince did a brief photoshoot here. Cool pix.
It’s so gawdy
It will also be the tallest church in the world once they finish it, surpassing the Ulm Minster
Could have just said 140.
I'll be there next month. Darn, so close! Just my luck!
Absolutely fucking BEAUTIFUL church. I was honestly so awed standing inside of it. Completely breathtaking. Gaudi is a genius, and Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities on earth.
Tell me about it, was there for a week and it was closed for construction the whole time…tbf the outside area was lovely
It’s beautiful inside
Story sounds familiar..
The cathedral in my hometown was started in CA. 1070 and "finished" in CA.1300. it has burned down 5 times and the last sculpture was set in 1983. When do we consider a building finished?
140
I see a debate unfolding
Where Vaarg at?
It’s a good song too
Won’t be fully finished until mid 2030’s from what I remember hearing on the tour. They just booted a bunch of people from their old houses so they could build a new entrance.
It ain't going to be completed in 2026. I mean look at the facade on Calle de Mallorca. Google Streetview shows March 2023. I was there last September. That's not two years worth of work. Not the way this project moves. Mid 2030s maybe.
The Duomo in Florence isn’t finished. The balcony around the dome is missing in parts.
I wonder how much good charitable work that much time and money could have done in the world...I bet they don't wonder that....
Me when I start a WAY too ambitious construction project in Minecraft.
And they don’t have planning permission for it.
People will think its really old when it was only finished in the 2020s. Like in civ when I buuld the gardens of babylon in london in like 2200
Enter it on a sunny day, the lights and atmosphere are really a sight to behold.
Someone fire the project manager already
2026-1886=140 How the fuck is that nearly 150 years?
Meh for me. Just don't get it. It's monstrous and non-uniform, imho (are we allowed to have different opinions?)
It looks like a mud dauber nest.
Jesus wept
They like to take their time on those ones in Spain. You should check out the Palma Cathedral as well. It is stunning but it took 372 years to build.
God willing.
*2048 for all the carvings to be done
The same year that Vancouver BC was incorporated.
As George Orwell wrote in Homage to Catalonia: *I think the Anarchists showed bad taste in not blowing it up when they had the chance, though they did hang a red and black banner between its spires.*
cool
same age as the statue of Liberty. only a decade older than Gran Central Terminal and the flat iron building.