Eusebi Güell

Eusebi Güell (1846-1918)

Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi , Count von Güell (* 1846 in Barcelona ; † August 8, 1918 ibid) was a Catalan entrepreneur , patron and politician .

Life

Eusebi Güell, son of the entrepreneur Joan Güell i Ferrer and the Genoese nobleman Francisca Bacigalupi, is best known today for his close ties to the architect Antoni Gaudí . Numerous works by Gaudi therefore still bear the name of their client and some of them are UNESCO World Heritage Sites . In 1871 he married Luisa Isabel Lopez y Bru, daughter of Antonio López y López, the first Marquis of Comillas, and had ten children with her.

His father was a successful businessman and entrepreneur who first made his fortune in Cuba . Eusebi Güell, who studied law and economics in Barcelona, France and Great Britain , successfully continued the ventures in his hometown. He benefited from the onset of industrialization in his home region at the end of the 19th century, namely the textile industry . He was also successful in the real estate industry, as he had large land holdings that quickly gained in value as Barcelona grew rapidly. According to current estimates, his fortune would be worth around € 70 billion. This makes him one of the richest people there has ever been. The extension of the well-known Avinguda Diagonal and its development are an example of this.

Cultivated and humble at the same time, he was committed to promoting both art and social projects. The workers in his textile factories, such as Colònia Güell , enjoyed comparatively good working conditions and social benefits.

In 1875 he became a member of the Barcelona City Council and in 1878 a member of the Provincial Assembly of Catalonia. He also became a senator. For his services he was named by King Alfonso XIII. ennobled.

Güell and Gaudí

Güell became aware of Gaudí as part of a smaller work on the Paris World Exhibition in 1878 . Both were linked by a lifelong friendship and a business relationship, as well as a deep religiousness. Güell introduced Gaudí to the higher society of the city and brokered a number of commissions, although the majority were skeptical of Gaudí's work at the time.

In 1884, the first order to build some pavilions and an enclosure wall including an entrance gate on Finca Güell took place. Just two years later, construction of the Palau Güell , the new city palace of the Güell family in Barcelona, ​​began.

The Bodegas Güell ensemble was built between 1895 and 1901 under the direction of Francesc Berenguer, Gaudí's assistant, and was one of the avant-garde buildings in wine architecture .

Güell commissioned Gaudí in 1898 to build a church for his workers' settlement, the Colònia Güell in Santa Coloma de Cervelló near Barcelona. The church remained unfinished after a long planning phase and ongoing technical problems. Only the crypt and the portico were built .

In 1900 Gaudí began building Park Güell . Güell originally planned to build a garden city that was intended for high demands. However, it was never fully realized as such, as there were too few interested parties for the planned 60 villas. Today it is the most famous park in the city and a tourist attraction.

literature

• Joan Bergós i Massó, Joan Bassegoda i Nonell, Maria A. Crippa: Gaudí. The man and the work. Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern 2000, ISBN 3-7757-0950-9 .
• Xavier Güell: Antoni Gaudí. Verlag für Architektur Artemis, Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-7608-8121-1 .

Web links

Commons : Eusebi Güell  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• The relationship between Antoni Gaudí and Eusebi Güell on the website of the Gaudí & Barcelona Club Association (English)