Gaudí's failed housing estate Park Güell now Barcelona's top park

Park Güell, a UNESCO World Heritage Site designed by Antoni Gaudí, was originally conceived as a private housing estate for Barcelona's bourgeoisie. Commissioned by industrialist Eusebi Güell in 1900, the project was inspired by Ebenezer Howard's garden city movement. Gaudí planned 60 triangular plots for luxury homes, but only two were built due to complex lease contracts and poor transport links. Construction halted in 1914, and after Güell's death in 1918, the estate was sold to the city council in 1922 and opened as a public park in 1926. Today, the 12-hectare park features whimsical gingerbread house-style pavilions, mosaic-covered terraces, a dragon staircase, and the Hypostyle Room with 86 Doric columns. It attracts around 4.5 million visitors annually, leading to overcrowding and a city council plan to reduce visitor numbers. The park includes Gaudí's former home, now the Gaudí Home Museum, and Güell's Larrard House, converted into a municipal school. Recent reports have reexamined Güell's wealth from slavery in Cuba.