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The Sagrada Familia or Sagrada Familia is Antoni Gaudí's most grandiose project, because due to the complexity of the construction and the abundance of artistic elements, it is still unfinished to this day. The majestic structure is among the most popular attractions in Barcelona, although it remains a construction site and is enclosed by scaffolding. The Sagrada Familia is located in the fashionable Eixample district. The gigantic edifice with its peaked towers pointing up to the sky seems light and airy, as if carved from weightless sand which flows in graceful streams to form the figures of Christian apostles and saints. This effect was intended by the architect from the beginning. Gaudi strove for natural forms all his life and particularly succeeded in creating his final masterpiece. The construction of the temple began in 1882, when a rather large sum of donations was accumulated. The first project was designed by the famous Barcelona architect Francisco del Villar, who decided to create a basilica with three naves in neo-Gothic style. Soon after construction began, a serious conflict arose between the eminent architect and his clients, as a result of which Villar withdrew from the project, and further work on the temple was entrusted to a young promising architect Gaudi. The new architect made extensive changes to the project, preserving the original layout of the structure in the form of a Latin cross. According to Gaudi's plans, the temple was to become the stone embodiment of the New Testament and to blend in seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. The architectural complex with three facades - the Nativity, the Passion and the Glory - was supplemented with many decorative elements, including towers, sculptural groups and windows with stained-glass windows, which gave the structure an unusual lightness and airiness. The erection of the structure was not quick. When money ran out, the chief architect sought funding, while investing a significant portion of its own funds received for other projects. Gaudi was aware from the start that the Sagrada Familia would be his life's work, but that he would never see the results of his labours. During the construction process the architect was constantly coming up with new ideas, the implementation of which significantly slowed down the pace of work. Gaudi repeatedly remade the finished fragments of the structure and individual elements, if he found faults in them. At the request of the chief architect, statues of biblical characters were created from life, for which Gaudi himself found people with a suitable appearance. Towards the end of his life Gaudi lived in a modest house near the building site so as not to waste a second on unnecessary work. The main part of the temple with its three portals, crypt, aspid, chapel, four bell towers and the Nativity facade was finished, and work began on the facade of the Passion of Christ. The lonely old architect was no longer engaged in projects of secular structures, which could bring him a fantastic income. He devoted himself entirely to the temple, but he did not have time. In June 1926 Gaudi was hit by a streetcar and was taken in an unconscious state to hospital for the poor, where he died. Later work on the temple continued under the direction of Gaudi's friend and pupil Domènech Sugránez, who devoted many years to the realization of the projects of the genius master. Until his death in 1938, Sugranes worked on the facade of the Passion and completed the three towers of the Nativity facade. With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the construction of the temple was interrupted, resumed only in the 50s and continues today. Gaudi's architectural masterpiece barely survived the war, and the architect's priceless blueprints were lost in the fires. The government of Barcelona plans to finish the work by 2026, the centenary of the architect's death, but there is a belief among the citizens that the end of construction will be the beginning of the end of the world.

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