Gaudí House Museum facts for kids
View of the Gaudí House Museum from the Park Güell
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| Established | 28 September 1963 |
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| Location | Park Güell, Barcelona, Spain |
| Type | historic home museum |
The Gaudí House Museum (also known as Casa Museu Gaudí) is a special museum located inside Park Güell in Barcelona, Spain. It used to be the home of the famous Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí. He lived there for almost 20 years, from 1906 until the end of 1925. Today, the museum shows off furniture and other cool objects that Gaudí designed himself. It first opened its doors as a museum on September 28, 1963.
How the Museum Started
At the end of the 1800s, a rich businessman from Catalonia named Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi visited England. He was inspired to create a "garden city" in Barcelona. This new neighborhood would have sixty houses with gardens and all the services people needed. He bought land in 1899 and asked Antoni Gaudí to design this big project.
However, the plan for the garden city was never fully finished. By 1914, construction stopped. Only two of the sixty planned houses were actually built. One was for a doctor, and the other is what we now know as the Gaudí House Museum. This house was meant to attract people to buy land in the new development.
The house that became the museum was built between 1903 and 1905. It was designed by architect Francesc Berenguer i Mestres and built by Josep Casanovas i Pardo. Even though it was for sale, no one bought it. So, in 1906, Gaudí decided to buy the house himself. He moved in with his father and his niece. Sadly, his father passed away that same year, and his niece died in 1912. After that, Gaudí lived in the house alone until late 1925. A few months before he passed away in 1926, he moved to the workshop at the Sagrada Família Basilica.
In his will, Gaudí gave the house to the Sagrada Família Foundation. They later sold it to a couple named Chiappo Arietti. In 1960, a group called the "Friends of Gaudí" started a campaign. They wanted to buy the house from the Chiappo Arietti family to turn it into a museum. Three years later, their dream came true, and the Gaudí House Museum opened. Josep Maria Garrut was the chairman of the museum from its opening until he passed away in 2008. In 1992, the house was given back to the Sagrada Família Foundation.
What You'll See Inside
The museum building has four floors. The ground floor and the first floor are open to visitors. This is where you can explore the collection. The basement is not open to the public. The second floor has a special library called the Enric Casanelles Library. You can visit it if you get permission beforehand.
Inside the museum, some rooms, like Gaudí's bedroom and study, still look much like they did when he lived there. You can also see some of his personal belongings. The museum has a wonderful collection of furniture that Gaudí designed for other famous buildings. These include pieces from Casa Batlló, Casa Calvet, Casa Milà, Casa Vicens, and the crypt at Colònia Güell.
You can also see amazing wrought iron pieces that Gaudí designed, which are displayed in the garden. These are some of the most valuable items in the museum. The collection also includes furniture, sculptures, paintings, drawings, and other objects made by people who worked with Gaudí. These are shown in different rooms throughout the museum.
See also
In Spanish: Casa-Museo Gaudí para niños
- List of single-artist museums
- List of Gaudí buildings
External links
- casamuseugaudi.org
pt:Parque Güell#Casa-Museu Gaudí
