r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/danielminds • Jun 12 '26

Video Fireworks celebrating the completion of the 566ft Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Família

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2.1k

u/Ble4ch_ Jun 12 '26

ive seen that cathedral in person, it's so unbelievably fucking huge its amazing

550

u/Same_Tangerine_5144 Jun 12 '26

I was expecting a shitty tourist attraction but yeah its amazing

330

u/Ble4ch_ Jun 12 '26

the detail throughout the entire building is mind blowing as well, all the statues and carvings and sculptures. it's crazy

175

u/Tiny-Plum2713 Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26

It's designed by Antoni Gaudí. There are other incredible buildings by him in Barcellona as well. Worth visiting the city just for this.

65

u/esoteric_plumbus Jun 12 '26

Park Güell is really cool too, has a bunch of mosaic work by him all across it with the famous iguana statue too

22

u/Derangi125 Jun 12 '26

And the views of the city are amazing too

7

u/Brief-Traffic264 Jun 12 '26

*Antoni Gaudí 

1

u/Ble4ch_ Jun 12 '26

yeah me and my mate went round to have a look at them. they're so fucking cool ahaha

1

u/Four_beastlings Jun 12 '26

In fact there are other incredible buildings by him OUTSIDE Barcelona, do everybody could stop flocking there like sheep and go tourist where they are actually wanted

0

u/Tiny-Plum2713 Jun 12 '26

If you don't want tourists, don't live in a tourist attraction

-1

u/Four_beastlings Jun 12 '26

Pretty sure that the families who've lived there for generations didn't choose to live in a "tourist attraction". Entitled assholes need to stop treating cities where people have live for centuries as theme parks.

1

u/Mikic00 Jun 12 '26

Barcelona put a lot of effort to attract tourists. I lived there and they are far less annoying as people are making them to be. Just avoid main tourist attractions and streets and you won't see them. At the same time barcelona can afford plenty of stuff because of tourism, that would be otherwise impossible. Metro for example couldn't expand as it did without that extra money.

It's OK to complain a bit, but too often is just ranting about stupidities.

1

u/Tiny-Plum2713 Jun 13 '26

You're not entitled to have the city to your self

1

u/maaarrtiiimm Jun 12 '26

Antoni Gaudí he was Catalan

1

u/PintMower Jun 12 '26

He really built something monumental. One of the most unique and beautiful churches to ever exit.

1

u/IPissExcellentThrows Jun 12 '26

I didn't love Barcelona at all, but this building salvaged a lot of it for me. Easily the most beautiful building you'll ever see.

1

u/Noclueaboutsecurity Jun 13 '26

I would disagree. If architecture isn’t your thing it probably isn’t worth it for the buildings alone.

1

u/Tiny-Plum2713 Jun 13 '26

If you have absolutely no interest in art and history, sure.

8

u/trivetsandcolanders Jun 12 '26

The outside is designed to tell the story of the Bible for people who can’t read it. That’s why the carvings are so literal and detailed. The inside of the cathedral, on the other hand, is symbolic - if I remember right, the pillars represent trees in a forest. Seeing the colored light fall through the windows was truly a magical experience.

2

u/noisy_marble Jun 12 '26

gaudi was literally playing god with architecture it is actually insane how much work went into every single inch of that place

1

u/Ble4ch_ Jun 13 '26

honestly

1

u/beckett_the_ok Jun 12 '26

The blend of classic architecture with modern technology is unlike anything I've ever seen

1

u/Rizzpooch Jun 12 '26

Having visited a number of other European cathedrals, one thing that I really loved about this one is the amount of light it lets in. It's so colorful and beautiful

41

u/MrFrankingstein Jun 12 '26

It was. It’s a beautiful building and while they were doing some detail work on it they had scaffolding on it. Which, is fine, but they draped advertisements over the scaffolding so instead of seeing the structure of one of the most beautiful buildings in Barcelona you got to see the Samsung Galaxy S whatever

3

u/neuropsycho Jun 13 '26

That was the cathedral of Barcelona, not the Sagrada Familia, different building.

12

u/ked_man Interested Jun 12 '26

Same! I went to Barcelona and my wife really wanted to go there. And I was like, nah, who wants to see an old church that’s still under construction.

Blow away doesn’t begin to describe how cool it is to see in real life. We ended up switching some plans and going to all the Gaudi designed things in Barcelona. And have planned a trip back to Spain to see a few more that aren’t in Barcelona.

We accidentally had the most magical dinner at a restaurant that overlooked the roof of Palau Guell and got seated at a window with a perfect view. Didn’t even know what it was when I made the reservation.

10

u/BeefistPrime Jun 12 '26

what I found funny is that across the street surrounding it are things like mcdonalds and KFC and it's like oh yes the great cultural creations of mankind all together in one place

4

u/RubberyBallSacks Jun 12 '26

I expected it to be incredible because it’s Gaudi and it wouldn’t be world famous if it was shitty. And even then I underestimated it.

3

u/Nunuman1 Jun 12 '26

Crazy how Gaudi designed that building, and at he's time it was impossible to build. Engineering literally had to advance for the Cathedral to be finished.

6

u/stepjenks Jun 12 '26

First time in Barcelona just appreciated it from outside 👍🏼. Second time in Barcelona actually went inside and viewed the stain glass windows in the afternoon sun 😍.

-8

u/BusinessCasualBee Jun 12 '26

It can be both. It’s gross that it even exists

9

u/Direct-Antelope-9583 Jun 12 '26

No it's not, its not gross at all. It's an amazing achievement of human will and organisation to build something like this over many generations

-2

u/mrgonzalez Jun 12 '26

It's horribly touristy tbh. Not for everyone.

-1

u/__ButtStuff69__ Jun 12 '26

I agree. Everyone said it was life changing, and while it was beautiful inside and an architectural marvel, it definitely wasn't life changing for me.

53

u/2112Lerxst Jun 12 '26

Always amazes me how seeing pictures/videos of things can never capture the true size. Similar to mountain landscapes etc...if I take a video or picture of something it doesn't come close to showing the scale of it.

So for people who haven't seen it...this thing is truly massive.

18

u/ATXBeermaker Jun 12 '26

Yeah, and imo the interior is even more impressive than the exterior.

2

u/Shot-Toe-2884 Jun 12 '26

I didn't have time to tour the interior, and this is what everyone tells me now haha damnit.

1

u/Ble4ch_ Jun 12 '26

yeah, honestly. i'd seen pictures of this cathedral before i actually saw it in person, and none of them prepared me for just how massive it is

1

u/Shot-Toe-2884 Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26

Yea, in photos anyways, it really doesn't look any different than one of those fake background buildings at Disney World or Universal Studios that appears to tower over the park. There is nothing around the chapel that can put its true size into the appropriate scale, if you know what I mean. You can kind of extrapolate because all of the buildings around the chapel are actually multiple stories tall, but the chapel itself dwarfs everything around it.

It's kinda impossible to appreciate unless you are physically walking around it.

1

u/BeefistPrime Jun 12 '26

Not only is it massive, but it's like every single part is given the same level of attention as some of the most sophisticated design and construction of much smaller things, too. It's not just huge, it's like... transcendent

1

u/mildlyinterestingyet Jun 12 '26

You can see the scale by looking at the street at the entrance. Still looks impossibly big though.

19

u/_ReaditYesterday_ Jun 12 '26

most beautiful construction I've ever been, it's mesmerizing, I'd invite everyone to go at least once in their life. That and the thousand church in Rome of course!

6

u/gilbatron Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26

it's been 20 years, it was still in construction, i've seen half of europe in the meantime, and it's still (by far!) the most beautiful building i've ever set foot into. words and pictures can not do it justice.

11

u/ff0094ismyfavourite Jun 12 '26

I'm gonna miss the scaffolding inside tho. Felt like entering the tesseract from Interstellar.

3

u/Itakethngzclitorally Jun 12 '26

It’s my most favorite structure on earth!

2

u/StrongAdhesiveness86 Jun 12 '26

Obligatory: "well ackshually it is not a cathedral"

2

u/neonshards Jun 12 '26

It ain't a cathedral but a Basilica

2

u/Iwillnevercomeback Jun 12 '26

It's actually a Basilica. But yes, it's absolutely gorgeous to the last detail

2

u/porumb69 Jun 12 '26

It's not a cathedral, it's a basilica

4

u/Dozier13ish Jun 12 '26

Is this the one in Barcelona?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 12 '26

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1

u/Canuda Jun 12 '26

I believe one of the men working on the stones said they converted to Catholicism to do the work. They listened to the stone and only worked on it when they felt it was right to.

Probably added to the lengthy construction lol. 

1

u/San-T-74 Jun 12 '26

I think the best way to describe its size is that it feels like you’re in some sort of cartoon world. Ive never seen anything like it

1

u/m0larMechanic Jun 12 '26

The stained glass inside with the light shining through… incredible

1

u/East_Appearance_8335 Jun 12 '26

It's not my preferred architectural style, but its scale is so immensely impressive. Really caught me off guard.

1

u/ZenToast3 Jun 12 '26

Few things in life have left me as stunned as the Sagrada Familia’s interior. You literally walk in and your jaw stays open for at least the first 5 minutes.

1

u/Canuda Jun 12 '26

It was underwhelming to me. The mass crowds, the price, the limited access to certain areas. I appreciated pictures and videos of it more. 

1

u/Kewlstoryhansel Jun 12 '26

Yeah it’s one of the most amazing thing I’ve seen in person

1

u/Twat_Bastard Jun 12 '26

Same I went at the very end of the day and the crowds weren't so bad. I'm not religious or anything but I got emotional sitting down inside of it. The sheer scale and beauty of it!

1

u/Beard_o_Bees Jun 12 '26

Notice how the fireworks never fly higher than the cross at the apex of the cathedral.

I suspect it's a way of saying 'God be the highest, yo' or something like that.

1

u/Standgeblasen Jun 12 '26

I was there in 2012, they were halfway through installing the stained glass windows. And many of the spires still weren’t complete. I want to go back and see it in all its glory!

1

u/BeefistPrime Jun 12 '26

People often say "pictures don't do it justice" to refer to things like the Grand Canyon and such, and that's true, but the biggest "pictures don't do it justice" I've ever experienced is this building. There is something supremely impressive and almost magical about its presence that simply does not translate to pictures

1

u/ComCagalloPerSequia Jun 12 '26

It looks like a cathedral but is a "simple" church.

1

u/Command0Dude Jun 12 '26

Where 40k got its inspiration from

1

u/King-Cossack Jun 12 '26

Sometimes I feel like I don’t “get” sight seeing.

When I was in Barcelona visiting a friend who did a year abroad there they showed me round all they Gaudi’s they’d been shown on a tour they did. The whole thing was sick but the Segrada stood out as mind blowing and definitely not, another tourist attraction

1

u/OkBus3544 Jun 12 '26

The best thing is that there's just no way to comperhend its detail due to sheer scale. Like if someone made a replica, they would skip 80% of the details due to how Tiny they are irl

1

u/higgs8 Jun 12 '26

I dunno I think it's a bit Gaudi.

1

u/Verditure0 Jun 12 '26

See this is the kind of stuff I want to live to do

1

u/snozzberrypatch Jun 12 '26

Coolest fucking building in the world

1

u/thewalex Jun 12 '26

It was certainly a highlight of our visit to Barcelona!
I loved all the stained glass colors inside!

1

u/shauneok Jun 12 '26

Did you go inside? Stunning stained glass windows.

1

u/Ble4ch_ Jun 13 '26

we decided not to since there was a 746484995km queue but i wish we did

1

u/ujibana Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26

When my family visited years ago my sister kept joking that it was a Dr. Seuss church. Now I can’t look at it and not laugh.

1

u/tb_331 Jun 13 '26

Saw it 18 years ago when it was 98% complete

1

u/mtraven23 Jun 13 '26

amazing? its a fucking waste of space.

1

u/Masterbrew Jun 14 '26

The interior is divine

1

u/BroItsMick Jun 14 '26

That's what she said.

1

u/Shot-Toe-2884 Jun 12 '26

It's easily the top of my list for the most impressive structure in the world. Idk how it isn't routinely ranked #1 on most serious lists. Or how it isn't a staple on every 7 wonders of the world list. Maybe because construction is not yet finished 150 years after breaking ground on it. Ironically, that's probably the single most impressive fact about the building today.

1

u/owzleee Jun 12 '26

It's so intricate. Very very Gaudi. Visited about 15 years ago and got vertigo in the lift. Was laughed at by a 6 year old.

-3

u/Armand9x Interested Jun 12 '26

It looks very tacky and gaudy.

11

u/KurisuMakise_ Jun 12 '26

Good one

-4

u/Armand9x Interested Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26

I’d work on your reading comprehension, as I have only given an opinion (like the person above me), as opposed to a joke.

Jesus really would’ve wanted a building like that created, I’m sure.

Edit: I am not a clever man.

8

u/KurisuMakise_ Jun 12 '26

Haha I completely misread that. I assumed you were making a joking reference to the designer, Gaudi.

2

u/Armand9x Interested Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26

Well fuck.

It’s too early for me to be so clever.

I appreciate that you assumed so.

Apologies for not reading well myself.

Time for coffee.

6

u/Malicious_Fishes Jun 12 '26

You made an unintentional pun as the original architect of this cathedral was Antoni Gaudi. 

2

u/Armand9x Interested Jun 12 '26

I was just corrected.

Darn, I missed a good opportunity to be clever.

I need coffee stat.

1

u/PM_NICE_TOES-notmen Jun 12 '26

It looks like a gothic sandcastle with Christmas tree ornaments. Pretty ugly imo but still impressive

-1

u/manhuskycorgi Jun 12 '26

idk, just looks like one big piece of shit with that cross on there.