We've been waiting for this for over 140 years!
The Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona (Spain) should finally be completed in 2026, the managers of the site announced this Wednesday March 20 in a press release, on the occasion of the publication of their annual report.
Esteve Camps, deputy president of the Sagrada Familia Construction Council, explained on this occasion that the funds necessary for the smooth running of the work were now available and this financing stage marked "the beginning of the final phase of the work with the completion of the evangelists' towers (in November 2023) and the construction of the chapel of the Assumption and the tower of Jesus", we can read in the press release.
Enough to become the tallest church in the world
“The Chapel of the Assumption should be completed in 2025 and the Tower of Jesus Christ in 2026,” he still predicts.
The latter, 172.5 m high, should allow the Sagrada Familia to become the tallest monument in the Catalan city, ahead of the Arts hotel and the Mapfre tower, which each rise to 154 m.
This would also make it the tallest church in the world, ahead of the church in Ulm (Germany) and its 161.5 m high.
Read alsoIn Barcelona, the endless Stations of the Cross of the Sagrada Familia
This deadline set in 2026 has the particularity of coinciding with the centenary of the death of Antoni Gaudí, famous architect of the building, who launched the construction of the basilica in 1882.
The Staircase of Discord pushed back to… 2034
But this does not mean that all the work will be completed, that would be far too simple.
Indeed, work on the sculptures and decorative details, and especially the controversial staircase leading to what will be the main entrance, should continue until 2034, specifies The Guardian.
The completion of this staircase, however, remains a major point of contention, because it involves the expropriation of around a thousand residents and traders: when Antoni Gaudí designed the premises, a large part of the land on which he imagined the staircase was a vacant lot with no buildings.
Over the years, the places have been invested to become homes and businesses.
Esteve Camps vigorously defended the total completion of the staircase during the publication of the annual report: “We are following Gaudí's plan to the letter.
We are his heirs and we cannot give up on his project.
The plan presented to the local authorities in 1915, signed by Gaudí, includes the staircase,” he insisted.
Discussions are underway with the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, because the municipality is responsible for deciding the matter.
“I don’t have a crystal ball to tell me when they will make a decision,” concluded Esteve Camps.