Güell Palace, 40 years as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO

The Palau Güell was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO ---the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization--- on November 2, 1984, along with Park Güell and Casa Milà, popularly known as La Pedrera. World Heritage is made up of properties or sites that possess outstanding universal value, meaning they have extraordinary cultural or natural importance, transcending borders and valued for having a special significance within the history of humanity.

To celebrate this anniversary, the Palau Güell will host on Wednesday, November 13, the presentation of the book El patrimoni UNESCO a Catalunya, by journalist Aure Farran.

This magnificent urban palace, built in just four years, demonstrates how Gaudí was able to find ingenious solutions to the challenges posed by the commission he received from Eusebi Güell, and how he was able to provide an effective, genuine, and extraordinarily beautiful response.

The building stands at the origin of Art Nouveau architecture worldwide and, at the same time, contains the essence of all of Gaudí's later work. Since 1945, it has belonged to the Barcelona Provincial Council, which took charge of its restoration and subsequent opening to the public.

The Palau was the family residence of the wealthy industrialist, politician, and patron Eusebi Güell, and also of his wife, Isabel López i Bru, daughter of the Marquis of Comillas, and their ten children, from 1888 until they moved to Casa Larrard, in Park Güell, between 1906 and 1910. During those years, it served several functions: home in the most domestic sense of the word; space for musical concerts, literary gatherings, cultural and social meetings with the aristocratic class, the high bourgeoisie, intellectuals, artists, and, sporadically, the royal family; and, finally, headquarters for Eusebi Güell's businesses.

Its construction became a reality thanks to the trust Güell placed in a young Gaudí and the close collaboration of the architect with his team of artists and master craftsmen of the time: blacksmiths, cabinetmakers, ceramists, and glaziers, among others.

With the sense of responsibility that comes with owning the Palau Güell, a great masterpiece by Gaudí, the Barcelona Provincial Council, ever since it acquired it from Mercè Güell i López ---youngest daughter of Eusebi Güell and Isabel López---, has invested efforts and resources to preserve the building and be able to open it to the public.

In recent decades, this commitment has been evidenced in the programming and execution of rigorous restoration works, to make possible the recovery of the original beauty and spatial richness of the building. As a result of this institutional commitment, today the Palau Güell is accessible to everyone, so that local citizens ---and those who visit us--- can enjoy this capital work of Catalan and world architecture.

Activities at Palau Güell

Palau Güell offers various visit options and activities, at accessible prices and also with discounts ---the five-euro entrance fee with the Municipal Library Network card is a good example---.

Among the activities, guided tours on weekends ---Saturdays and Sundays, except open days--- stand out, in different languages and without additional cost, to learn about the history and explore the rooms of the Palace accompanied by an expert voice.

Also offered are the dynamic family visits Gaudí's Secret Documents, every fourth Sunday of the month ---except August---, so that the little ones of the house can discover Palau Güell and Gaudí's architecture in a fun and entertaining way, following a treasure hunt.

The Secret Palau Güell, every second Saturday of the month at dusk ---except August---, shows interesting spaces not open to the public during the conventional visit and explains more details of its history.

For its part, The Güells on La Rambla. Four Connected Palaces, proposes every third Sunday of the month ---except July, August, and September--- an itinerary that covers four palaces related to the Güell lineage, located on La Rambla or adjacent streets, and ends with a guided visit to Palau Güell.

Details of activities, schedules, and ticket prices can be consulted at www.palauguell.cat.