The impressive architecture of Barcelona

Barcelona is a city with impressive contructions. You'll find buildings with styles going from Gothic to Modernism. Many archaeological sites in Barcelona are worth a visit. When you first encounter Antoni Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia or his rooftop sculptures at La Pedrera you'll be floored by the originality and hallucinogenic quality of his works. Stroll around the city, through the Gothic Quarter and Eixample, and you'll find an endless amount of fascinating buildings. You can see the rich history of Barcelona in variaty of architecture. Style vary from the Gothic period to Art Nouveau The two most important styles of Barcelona architecture are Catalan Gothic, a medieval style, and Modernism, a turn of the 20th century movement protagonized by Antoni Gaudí. Besides architectual styles dating from the Middle Ages and later you can find sections of forth century Roman walls at the History Museum. Middle Ages The Kingdom of Aragón and Barcelona merged after the marriage of the count of Barcelona and the daughter of the King of Aragón on political level. Barcelona still remaind the capital of the goverment en a time of expansion begun. The city of Barcelona had a dominating role in the confederation of Catalonia-Aragon and became a maritime power in the Mediterranean. The best way to see the remains of the Middle Ages is pay a visit to the Gothic area. I'll give you some tips for places to visit in this area. At the square of La Seu you'll find The Cathedral. This building was constructed from 1317 to 1441. The roof of the Cathedral can be reached by an elevator. Also interesting is the church of Santa Maria del Mar, build from 1329 to 1367. Drassanes (1378) is the largest and most complete medieval secular structure in the world. Nowadays it's home to the Maritime Museum. Renaissance The walls of the Barcelona could not hold the city anymore because of the speed the city was growing. Because of the fast growing The Eixample district was created in 1860. This district is recognized on the map by it's perpendicular streets. The Catalan Modernism The society of Barcelona wanted to see changes in every field. The Modernism in Barcelona started with the construction of 3 buildings: Montaner y Simon, Josep Vilaseca's factory for F. Vidal and Casa Vicens. In Barcelona Modernism begun earlier and ended later than in most countries in Europe. Some of the Modernist architects wanted to revive the ancient Roman architecture, others were inspired by the neo-Gothicism and others searched for a modern style in Germany. Typical for the Modernism in Barcelona was the use of elements from nature, like plants and animals. Let me mention some worth visits of buildings constructed by Modernist architects. Casa Batlló (1904-1906) is a colourful apartment building located at the Passeo de Grácia. It was totally remodelled by Gaudí on a commission from the textile industrialist Josep Battló y Casanovas. Casa Mila (1906-1911), also known as Pedrera, was Gaudí's last secular work before dedicating the rest of his life to the Sagrada Familia. Parc Güell (1900-1905) was an urban park standing on the mountain of Pelada. The Sagrada Familia (1884-present) is a monumental church and it's Gaudí's most famous work.