140 years to make and still incomplete!

Imagine a monument which isn’t even complete but is already a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That has to be pretty cool, right? Its full name is Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, just Sagrada Familia, for short. The architect Antoni Gaudi designed it in the early 1880s. Construction began in 1882. And after 140 years, it is still not complete. The Catalan Moderisme is an art movement that began in the 1880s, and the Sagrada Familia is its most well-known example.

It draws 3 million visitors every single year, despite being still in construction. It is commonly called just the Sagrada Familia and this HUGE structure is expected to be completed by 2026-ish. The complete church will have 18 huge spires, and of these currently, 8 are complete. When it is complete 12 of the 18 towers will represent the apostles, four of them will represent the evangelists, one will be designated for the Virgin Mary, and of course, the last one, the highest one in the middle, will represent Jesus Christ. The structure is so large, and its design so complex that you could argue that the primary reason for it being under construction for 150 years.

Though incomplete, it already is one monument you must not miss when you visit Spain, and in a few years, it will be complete! And when it is complete, it will dethrone the Basilica of St Peter from the title of the world’s largest church. Have you been to this intriguing site? If not, it definitely should be on your bucket list.