gaudi's unfinished sagrada familia gets building permit after 137 years

after 137 years of illegal construction, the city of barcelona has granted the basilica of the sagrada família legal permissions. the permit, granted on friday, allows construction to continue with a projected completion date of 2026.

images courtesy of sagradafamilia.org

an application for a permit was originally submitted in 1885, three years after work on the basilica began. the request was accompanied by a blueprint of the ground plans signed by antoni gaudí but the council did not respond, according to the official architecture blog of la sagrada familia.  authorities discovered in 2016 that the building never had planning permission.

the sagrada familia foundation’s youtube channel hosts a one-minute video showing how the basilica will look when completed
video by basílica de la sagrada família

according to a twitter post by janet sanz, barcelona’s city council awarded the license to the committee in charge of completing the construction of the church for 4.6 million euros ($5.2 million). la sagrada familia is a major tourist attraction in the city, with more than 4 million people visiting every year and millions more to the surrounding area just to look at it. 

as part of the historic deal, sanz said la sagrada familia foundation will now be co-responsible for the expenses it generates for the city. la sagrada familia has also agreed not to increase the number of visitors it receives and that it would support the construction of a metro directly to the church to help prevent overcrowding of public space.

ongoing construction work is based on the architect’s plaster models, and photos and publications of his original drawings, which were destroyed in a 1930s fire, according to sagrada familia foundation. if the construction is successfully completed in 2026 as planned, it will mark 100 years since gaudí’s death.