Antoni Gaudí’s Park Güell as a Prototype for the Theme Park

Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí is best known for the Sagrada Familia, his as-of-yet unfinished church located in the heart of Barcelona, and several Barcelona residences, including Casa Batlló, Casa Milà, and Casa Vicens. Gaudí also worked as a landscape architect. He designed and oversaw the construction of Park Güell, which is now a municipal park in Barcelona.

Work on Park Güell began in 1900, but it stuttered to a halt in 1914. In Gaudí’s view, the project was hardly finished. He and his sponsor, Eusebi Güell, had envisioned an elaborate residential development on the outskirts of Barcelona when they began planning the project in 1899, but the residential aspect of this project never caught on with potential buyers. In the end, only two of the envisioned 60 homes were built, one of which served as Gaudí’s residence from 1906 until 1925. After Gaudí and Güell decided to abandon the larger vision for the project, the fate of Park Güell remained uncertain for several years. Fortunately, in 1922, the city of Barcelona acquired the property and converted it into a municipal park, and it has functioned as a public park for the past century.

Gaudí regarded the project as a failure because it did not fulfill his original vision of a private residential development. Even though he did not intend to create a municipal park, the project ultimately met with great success when others realized that this failed private venture could serve a new public purpose. As a result of this redefinition of purpose, Park Güell has come to be recognized as one of Gaudí’s greatest architectural accomplishments.

In creating Park Güell, Gaudí paved the way for the later development of theme parks in which park attractions and features are clustered around themes. Although Walt Disney is often credited with creating the world’s first theme park when he opened Disneyland in 1955, Gaudí was already thinking along similar lines four decades before the American park. The Catalan architect intended the visitors to experience theme-oriented spaces, and for this reason, Park Güell can be seen as a prototype for the modern-day theme park.

Gaudí organized Park Güell around four broad themes: fairy tales, Greek mythology, nature, and spirituality. He designed the space so that visitors would experience these themes in a progressive pattern.

1. Fairy Tales

The first theme that visitors experience is the world of fairy tales. The two pavilions near the front entrance look like they belong in an illustrated edition of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. In fact, Gaudí had recently seen an operatic version of Hansel and Gretel at the time that he was designing these buildings, and the influence is readily apparent.

As several Gaudí scholars have observed, these pavilions give the impression of being made of candy, gingerbread, and dollops of ice cream. An early admirer of the park, Salvador Dalí, described these buildings as “edible architecture.” In this regard, they are like the witch’s house in the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale.

2. Greek Mythology

After leaving the world of fairy tales, visitors ascend into the realm of Greek mythology via a grand stairway. Drawing on the myths associated with the Temple of Delphi, Gaudí designed a temple complete with nearly 100 Doric columns. At the base of the temple is a colorful sculpture of a dragon-like creature, although it is sometimes referred to as a giant salamander. Like the dragon Python from Greek mythology, this dragon stands guard over a fountain.

Atop the temple is a plaza that Gaudí called a “Greek theater.” Surrounding the edge of this open theater is an undulating bench decorated with bits of broken tile forming a continuous mosaic in a style known as trencadís. This bench provides a space for spectators to watch the activity in the plaza area. Nowadays, this activity generally consists of children playing while their parents look on, but the space has been used for actual theatrical productions, including a performance of Oedipus Rex.

3. Nature

The Greek theater is situated at the base of a gently sloping hillside, and Gaudí transformed this hillside into a playful tribute to the beauty of nature. He designed whimsical pathways with porticos and viaducts that appear to grow out of the earth. In this part of Park Güell, Gaudí harmoniously combines architectural features and the natural aspects of the landscape to form inviting play spaces.

In some ways, this nature side of the park is reminiscent of the English landscape gardens of the 18th and 19th centuries. Like English gardens, Park Güell features paths, outdoor sculptures, and a wide range of trees and flowering plants. However, unlike the English landscape architects, Gaudí had no interest in subduing nature or imposing a rigid structure on the natural landscape. His goal was to facilitate a celebration of nature.

4. Spirituality

As visitors make their way up the hillside, they encounter fewer and fewer playful architectural features. The landscape becomes more rugged, the incline is steeper, and visitors gradually realize that they are experiencing the park’s fourth theme—that of spiritual ascendance. A devout Catholic, Gaudí incorporated religious imagery and themes in many of his architectural projects, such as his famous Sagrada Familia.

In Park Güell, the architect designed a rustic stone mound situated at the highest point in the park. Atop this structure are three stone crosses: a traditional Christian cross, a triangular cross, and a pyramidal point cross. Gaudí called this unadorned structure the Calvary, and he designed the approach to this culminating destination in such a way that it feels as if one is on a religious pilgrimage.

As the years have gone by, Park Güell has steadily gained in stature. The city of Barcelona embraced the park as an artistic monument in 1962, and seven years later, the government of Spain designated the park a national monument. International recognition came in 1984 when UNESCO included Park Güell on its list of World Art Heritage sites. As Park Güell enters its second century as a municipal park, it is widely recognized as one of the most innovative and creative works of landscape architecture in the Western world, but it should also be recognized as an early example of what is now known as theme parks.

Author’s bio

Mark I. West is a professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He has held many administrative positions at UNC Charlotte, including the Interim Chair of the Department of Art and Art History.