GAUDÍ HOUSE MUSEUM

Description

Essentials about the Gaudí House Museum in brief

For fans of the Catalan star architect Antoni Gaudí, a visit to the Gaudí House Museum is a must on a trip to Barcelona. After all, Gaudí lived in the house in Parc Güell for almost 25 years from 1906 to 1925. It was inaugurated as a museum in 1963, where furniture and other objects designed by Gaudí are on display.

The history of the Gaudí House Museum

At the end of the 19th century, the Catalan industrialist Eusebi Güell wanted to build an urban garden for the Catalan bourgeoisie on the site of the Can Muntaner de Dalt estate. Güell commissioned Antoni Gaudí for the project, which included the construction of sixty houses with gardens and all the necessary equipment. In 1914, construction was interrupted and the project was eventually never completed.

Of the planned sixty houses, only two were built, including the current museum. The latter was built as a show house and was intended to serve as an advertisement for potential buyers; however, this was unsuccessful – no buyer was found for it. In 1906, Antoni Gaudí bought it himself and moved in with his father and niece. The father died the same year and the niece in 1912, and Gaudí continued to live there alone until he moved into the Sagrada Família workshop at the end of 1925. Gaudí died a few months later.

The architect left the house to the Sagrada Família board, which resold it to private individuals. In 1960, the Gaudí Friends Association bought back the house to use it as a museum.

The exhibition in the Gaudí House Museum

The building has four floors. On the first floor and the first floor is the collection open to the public. On the second floor is the library, which can be visited by appointment. The basement cannot be visited. The exhibition includes living spaces such as the bedroom, the study or the entrance hall, as well as some of Gaudí’s personal belongings that recall the time when he lived in this house.

The exhibition also includes an important collection of furniture designed by Gaudí for buildings such as Casa Batlló, Casa Calvet, Casa Milà and Casa Vicens. Together with the wrought iron elements designed by the architect, which can be seen in the garden, these are among the most valuable objects in the collection. In addition, other furniture, sculptures, paintings, drawings and other objects designed by collaborators can be found in the rooms of the museum.