Discover Palau Güell, Antoni Gaudí's Early Modernist Mansion

Palau Güell, located at Carrer de la Nou de la Rambla 3-5 in the Raval, seemed quite mysterious to me on my first several trips to Barcelona: I could see its eye-catching, multicolored mosaic chimneys from my rented room a few streets over, but its impressively ornate metal doors were always shut, as it was perpetually closed for renovations.

These renovations were finally completed in May of 2011; it was one of several intensive restorations of the building’s façade and interior, including both structural and decorative elements, that has been carried out since the Diputació de Barcelona acquired the property decades ago. This latest renovation took seven years to complete.

Each restoration was a major undertaking, as the same methods and materials—ceramics, enamels, wood and stone varieties—as Gaudí and his team used during the original construction were used when repairing the Palau. However, as Gaudí had been fairly secretive about his methods, the modern renovation teams had to rely mostly on educated guesses about construction methods of the moderniste era, as well as knowledge of Gaudí’s other works, in order to come up with the methods and materials they would use.

Design and Early History

This building was one of Antoni Gaudí’s early large-scale works; it was started in 1886 and took only four years to complete. (It was officially inaugurated in 1888 for the Barcelona Universal Exhibition, but construction continued after the Exhibition ended.) Gaudí was only 34 years old when he received the commission in 1885, and the building is considered to be one of the first Art Nouveau or moderniste constructions in Europe.

As implied by its name, the Palau Güell was designed as a palace for the industrialist and politician Eusebi Güell and his family, who was a well-known patron of the arts and Gaudí’s most significant supporter since the late 1870s, Güell broke with the upper- and middle-class trend to build his mansion near his family’s properties on or near La Rambla, instead of building in the Eixample, which had been recently created by Ildefons Cerdà’s urban development plan and attracted a lot of new construction. At that time, the street now called Nou de la Rambla was named Carrer del Conde de Asalto; it was the first paved street in Barcelona to be built for two-way traffic, and included a drainage system.

The iron gates that can be seen from the street are the most ornate thing about the building’s exterior; their decorations feature plant and animal figures, including a phoenix, and the Catalan flag la Senyera. The gates were specifically designed so that the people inside could observe what was going on in the street without being seen by passers-by. Their massive dimensions are due to the fact that they were designed to be the entrance for horse-drawn carriages; the underground level held the stables and carriage hall. The horses were led down two spiral ramps into the basement by the household staff, while guests were led up the stairs to the foyer.

However, this relatively plain exterior contrasts with the colorful, extravagant interior.

The first flight of carpeted stairs led to the ground floor, where Eusebi Güell’s office and library were located, as was an impressive foyer or entrance hall. The crown jewel and focal point of the grandiose house was the main hall, where the family often entertained foreign and local elites, and which was also a source of light for the adjoining rooms, including the dining room, billiard room and salon.

The walls of the hall include gorgeous stained-glass windows framed by the parabolic arches for which Gaudí would become famous, and which draw the eye upward. The ceilings and upper walls of the foyer or receiving room also contain small windows disguised by the intricate gilt and wood patterns in the decoration, from which the family could clandestinely spy on their guest before greeting them. Yet another unique feature of this part of the home was a system of external rooftop lanterns that were lit at night, and whose light shone down through small holes in the tall ceiling, giving the imposing hall the appearance of being crowned by a starry sky.

By opening a set of doors to the room that housed an altar and the spectacular pipe organ, originally installed by the Basque organist Aquilino Amezua, the main hall could be instantly converted into a chapel for the Güell family and for particularly important guests.

The family’s private living quarters and an expansive drawing room were located on the second floor; the attic contained the servants’ quarters, the kitchen, washrooms and storage pantry. The rooftop terrace houses the iconic collection of chimneys and a spire that covers the top of the dome-shaped ceiling of the great hall.

Eusebi Güell lived there until 1906, when he moved to Casa Larrad, one of only two of the homes that was successfully built in Parc Güell. When Güell died in 1918, the Palau Güell passed into the hands of his widow, Isabel, and subsequently to his two daughters, Mercè and Maria Luïsa.

Post-Civil War Period

The Palau Güell was seized in 1936 and used as a jail and police barracks until the end of the Civil War, when the home reverted back to the family; it remained under their control until 1945, when Güell’s youngest daughter Mercè gifted the building to the Diputació de Barcelona under the conditions that the building and its ornamentation be preserved, and that the structure be used for some cultural purpose. She also received an annual pension as a part of the deal.

After its first round of renovations in 1954, the Palau opened as the Museum of the Performing Arts, directed by Guillem Díaz-Plaja and the Institut del Teatre. It was during that same period that the building also housed the Amics de Gaudí association, which was dedicated to promoting Gaudí’s work and modernisme in general.

In 1974 the museum expanded its scope beyond theater, and became the Museum of Cinema and the Performing Arts; two years later, the name was changed to the Center of Studies and Documentation of the Performing Arts and Communication. During this time, the Palau went through a second round of renovations. In 1996, the Center moved to another location, and guided tours were offered of the building until it was closed for yet another series of renovations in 2004.

It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1984, along with several other notable works of Antoni Gaudí. Palau Güell is considered to be one of his most important constructions when viewed from a historical perspective, as key elements that would later be considered to be hallmarks of his architectural and aesthetic style are prominently included in both its layout and ornamentation; among other elements, the twenty brightly-colored rooftop chimneys. While their function is simple ventilation, their appearance is anything but simple. No two are alike: some are rough stone, some a rainbow of colors, and many include quirky details such as a small orange ceramic lizard that appears to be climbing or resting on a mosaic background.

Visit the Palau

The Palau offers permanent and temporary exhibitions. One of the permanent exhibitions is Palau Güell: A Look at the Furniture, which is located on the same floor as the Güell family’s former sleeping chambers and is included in guided tours of the grounds. The exhibit is divided into two sections: one showcases the original furniture that decorated the house when the Güells lived there, much of which was also designed by Gaudí. The second part of the exhibit is composed of a collection of additional pieces by master furniture makers and artisans from the same era, all owned by the Diputació.

On Saturdays and Sundays, guided tours are available in various languages (Spanish, Catalan, English, French and others), and are included in the price of a general admission ticket. The Palau also offers a tour that takes you to see three additional palaces located on or near the Rambla, including Palau Moja (the home of Antonio López i López, the Marquis de Comillas and Eusebi Güell’s father-in-law), Palau Fonollar (also a former home of the Güell family), and the historic house of Güell’s father, Joan Güell i Ferrer.

To visit Palau Güell, you’ll want to get off at metro stop Liceu (line 3), or it’s a short ten-minute walk from Plaça de Catalunya. Visits are free on certain holidays, such as Sant Jordi on April 23rd, or La Mercè on September 24th. Or, if you prefer to view this impressive example of moderniste architecture without changing out of your pajamas, 360-degree virtual visits are available on the Palau’s official website.