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Parc Güell Gaudís utopia

Pandekagehus. To eventyragtige huse flankerer hovedindgangen på Carrer d'Olot. De fantastisk formede hustage og fantasifulde tårne falder godt ind i intentionerne med parken, der skulle være en oase til fornøjelse, fred og ro. "Da de kom helt hen til huset, så de, at det var lavet af brød og taget af pandekager. Ruderne var af hvidt sukker", står der i brødrene Grimms eventyr "Hans og Grete" (1812-1815). Beskrivelsen passer på portnerboligen med de to medailloner "Parc" og "Güell", der er en visualisering af kagehuset i eventyret.
Adventure House. Two unreal buildings flanking the main entrance. The porter's lodge, containing two medallions with the texts "Park" and "Güell", it is called the "Hansel and Gretel" house. Both have undulating roofs and central towers.

"Dragefontænen" ved hovedindgangen til Park Güell.
"The Dragon Fountain" at the main intrance to Park Güell.

Parc Güell (1900-1914) af Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) i Barcelonas Gràcia-kvarter er et parkkompleks med arkitektoniske elementer.
Mæcenen og industrimagnaten Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi (1846-1918) gav Gaudí til opgave at udforme komplekset. Güells oprindelige ide var at skabe et beboelsesområde for velhavere inspireret af den engelske "Garden City Movement", der i 1898 blev grundlagt af byplanlæggeren Sir Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928), som i 1902 udgav bogen "Garden Cities of To-Morrow". Havebyerne skulle ifølge Howard være små byområder omgivet af grønne områder, og der skulle være balance mellem beboelsesområder, industri og landbrug, gode indkøbsmuligheder og kulturelle institutioner. De nye byområder skulle give den livskvalitet, som overfyldte og beskidte industribyer ikke kunne byde på. Güell ønskede en haveby efter Howards koncept, dog kun for overklassen. Barcelonas os, syndighed og klassekamp skulle ikke være nærværende, men byen skulle kunne iagttages på afstand.
Arealet for den planlagte haveby var et klippefyldt bjerg med sparsom vegetation kaldet Montaña Pelada (det nøgne bjerg). Der lå allerede et landsted ved navn Casa Larrard, som Güell flyttede ind i for at være forbillede og magnet for mulige købere. Der var planlagt 60 trekantede jordlodder, hvor der skulle opføres luksushuse. Der blev opført et prøvehus, som blev påbegyndt i 1900 under Gaudís overopsyn. Selve byggeprojektet blev udført af Francesc Berenguer i Mestres (1866-1914), Gaudís assistent på La Sagrada Familia og Colónia Güell. Huset stod færdigt i 1904 og blev sat til salg, men der var ingen købere. Gaudí købte i 1906, på opfordring af Güell, huset for sine sparepenge og flyttede ind med sin far og anden nær familie. Güells fortolkning af Howards havebyplan vandt ikke gehør hos tidens elite. Der blev kun bygget to huse, og de var ikke tegnet af Gaudí. Grunden til at det storstilede projekt ikke kunne realiseres kunne være, at Gaudís arkitektur var for aparte, mere sandsynligt er nok at i tiden var Barcelona rystet af voldsomme klassekampe og anarkistisk terror, og at eliten af den grund ikke ønskede at være samlet i et bestemt område, men ønskede at minimere deres synlighed og forblev i deres lejligheder i Eixample kvarteret. I 1923 gav Güell-familien området til byen Barcelona.
Gaudís hus og museum, Casa-Museu Gaudí, er lyserødt og kaldes "la Torre Rosa" (det lyserøde tårn). Huset er bevaret, som da Gaudí boede i det. Museet er en samling af hans arbejder og memorabilia så som møbler, projekter og tegninger af Gaudí selv og af hans assistenter. I den omgivende have kan blandt andet ses skulpturer, gitterværk og en pergola i parabolisk form tegnet af Gaudí.
Kardinalpunktet i parken er den store terrasse, der er beliggende over hypostylhallen (søjlehallen). Terrassen er karakteriseret ved en mosaikbænk, der snor sig som en kæmpeslange/drage. Bænkens kurver skaber små enklaver eller små intime rum. Gaudí inkorporerede motiver fra den catalanske nationalisme og elementer fra religiøs mysticisme og antik digterkunst i bænkens mosaikker, der er udført i samarbejde med hans assistent Josep Jujol.
Et trappeløb, der deler sig i to, fører op til hypostylhallen, der oprindeligt var planlagt som marked. Hallen består af 86 hule søjler, der fungerer som nedløbsrør for regnvand, der har udløb i blandt andet de to trappefontæner, Slangehovedfontænen og Dragefontænen (drageagtigt firben).
Den besøgende blev oprindeligt hilst velkommen af to mekaniske gazeller i legemsstørrelse, et vigtigt eufemistisk symbol på "de unge elskende" i den hebraiske middelalders kærlighedspoesi. Gazellerne gik tabt under Borgerkrigen.
Parken og dens arkitektur kan sammenfattes som værende surrealistisk eventyrlig, poetisk fantasi, dekorativ farverig, fortolkning af antikkens bygningselementer, frodig skyggefuld parklandskab, tilflugtssted for travle bymennesker og panoramaudsigt over byen Barcelona.

Parc Güell (1900-1914) designed by Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) and situated in the Gràcia district of Barcelona is a park complex with architectural elements.
The patron and wealthy industrialist Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi (1846-1918) gave Gaudi the commission for the complex. The original idea was to create a residential area for well-to-do people influenced by the English "Garden City Movement" founded in 1898 by the town planner Sir Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928), the author of "Garden Cities of To-Morrow" (1902). According to Howard, the Garden Cities were to be small suburban towns with shopping facilities and home to cultural institutions, surrounded by green spaces showing a balance between residential areas, industry and agriculture. The new urban areas were to offer a much better quality of life than the existing overcrowded dirty industrial megacities could afford. Güell wanted his property to become an elite area, based on Howard's Garden City concept and liberated from Barcelona's air pollution, grime, human sinfulness and class struggle.
The area planned for the garden city was a rocky hill with sparse vegetation named Montaña Pelada (bare mountain). The country house Casa Larrard was already built when Güell bought the territory overlooking Barcelona. He moved into the house to be role model and magnet for potential buyers. 60 triangular lots were planned for luxury homes. A show house was built under Gaudí's supervision, the project was designed by Gaudí's perennial assistant Francesc Berenguer i Mestres (1866-1914). The house was completed in 1904 and put up for sale, but there were no buyers. At Güell's request Gaudí bought the house in 1906 and move in together with his father and other close family members. Güells interpretation of Howard's Garden City Plan was not attractive to the upper classes. Only two houses were built, and they were not designed by Gaudí. The reason why the large-scale project could not be realized was maybe that Gaudí's architecture was too bizarre, more likely is that Barcelona at the time was shocked by intense class struggles and anarchistic terrorism, and the elite prefered to minimalize their visibility by staying in their Eixample Quarter apartments. In 1923 the Güell family donated the area to the city of Barcelona.
Gaudís House and Museum, Casa-Museu Gaudí, is pink and got the name "la Torre Rosa" (the pink tower). The museum consists of a collection of his works and memorabilia such as furnitures, projects and drawings by Gaudí himself and his assistents. In the surrounding garden are sculptures, wrought-iron gates and a parabolic arch pergola designed by Gaudí.
The park's crucial point is the main terrace situated above the hypostyle hall. The terrace is characterized by a mosaic bench twisted like a giant snake or dragon. The bench's curves create small intimate spaces. Gaudí incorporated mosaic motifs from Catalan nationalism and elements from religious mysticism and antique poetry. The benches are made in co-operation with his assistent Josep Jujol.
A flight of stairs lead to the hypostyle hall, which originally was planned to be a market. The hall consists of 86 columns. They are hollow inside and serve as pipes for rainwater and supply the two fountains with water - "The Snake Head Fountain" and "The Dragon Fountain" (lizard-like dragon).
The main intrance in Carrer d'Olot is flanked by two fairytale houses. The fabulous shaped roofs and imaginative towers corresponding to the intentions of the park complex being an oasis of pleasure, peace and quiet. In the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel" by the Brothers Grimm we read: "When they approached the little house they saw that it was built of bread and covered with cakes, but that the windows were of clear sugar". The appearance of the porter's lodge fit this description.
The park and its architecture can be summarized as being surrealistic fantasy and poetic fantasy, decoratively colourful, an interpretation of classical construction elements, a vigorous shady park landscape, a refuge for busy people and a panoramic view over the city of Barcelona.

Casa-Museu Gaudí, "la Torre Rosa"
(det lyserøde tårn), tegnet af Francesc Berenguer i Mestres. Eks- og interiør fra Gaudís hus og museum
Gaudí House-Museum, "la Torre Rosa"
(the pink tower), designed by Francesc Berenguer i Mestres

Selvspillende klaver, Pianola, Sala Batlló/Player Piano, Sala batlló

Foto af Gaudí.
Photo of Gaudí.

Portræt af Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi, 1913.
Portrait of Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi, 1913.

Hovedindgangen til Park Güell
med de to fontæner "Slangefontænen" og "Dragefontænen" (firbenagtig drage) omgivet af trappeløb
The main intrance to Park Güell
with the double staircase containing two fountains, "The Snake Head Fountain" and "The Dragon Fountain" (lizard-like dragon)

Eventyrhusene
To eventyragtige bygninger flankerer hovedindgangen til parken. Portnerboligen med de to medailloner "Park" og
"Güell" betegnes "Hans og Grete"-huset. Begge bygninger har bølgende tage og et tårn centralt placeret
Adventure Houses
Two unreal buildings flanking the main entrance. The porter's lodge, containing to medallions with the texts
"Park" and "Güell", it is called the "Hansel and Gretel" house. Both have undulating roofs and central towers

Den store terrasse
beliggende centralt i parken er omgivet af en mosaikbænk, der snor sig som en slange/drage,
der beskytter parken. Terrassen understøttes af hypostylhallens doriske søjler
The main terrace
is surrounded by a long bench formed like a serpent/dragon, the protector
of the park. The terrace is supported by the hypostyle hall's Doric columns



Søjler og viadukter/Columns and viaducts