![AD Classics: Colònia Güell / Antoni Gaudí - Crypts & Mausoleums, Arcade, Column, Arch, Beam, Table, Lighting, Chair](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/50f9/97cb/b3fc/4b5b/1800/009b/newsletter/antoni-gaudi-spain-barcelona-colonia-guell-03-samuel-ludwig.jpg?1414192197)
Colònia Güell was a workers’ colony located in Santa Coloma de Cervelló, presently a town of around 7,000 inhabitants 20km outside Barcelona. The area was a manufacturing suburb that grew rapidly around the turn of the 20th century. In 1898, Antoni Gaudi was commissioned by Count Eusebi de Güell, who wanted to provide a place of worship for the booming suburb, to build a Church. It was never actually completed because the money ran out as a result of economic hardships. When work stopped in 1915, only the crypt was completed, though it is nevertheless listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site. In 2002, a restoration was carried out by architect Antonio González Moreno who was widely criticized for allegedly mistreating Gaudi’s work.