For any tourist and lover of Gaudí, the news that Casa Vicens will open to the public is cause for significant celebration. This house, tucked away in the Gràcia district of Barcelona is of specific importance owing to the fact that it was the first full building from Gaudí within Barcelona's official borders today. He had worked on other smaller projects, but Casa Vicens was the start of fortune for Gaudí.
Since its creation, the iconic building has been privately owned and unopen to the public for visits, except for on May 22nd, Saint Rita's Day; when locals usually visit for a small concert. The owners had put the building up for sale with an asking price of €27,000,000 - €35,000,000, however, in 2014 Casa Vicens was bought by MoraBanc for the sum of "around €30,000,000", stating that their primary objective is to convert the landmark into a house-museum that the public can visit.
What makes Casa Vicens so special?
It's no secret that Gaudí has left his brand all over Barcelona. His works literally attract millions of people from around the world to the city. There's the Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, Park Guell, and many more, but none of them have the historical claim of being one of the principle starting points in the career of this internationally reknowned architect.
Casa Vicens is the first full building design that the architect drafted and went on to be completed, having been signed on 15th January 1883. Not only that, it was commisioned in 1878, the very same year Gaudí graduated as an architect at 26 years old. For any Gaudí fan this is considered as his kilometre zero... The beginning of an amazing career.
It's also the first time that Gaudí developed one if his projects in the Orientalist style, influenced deeply by Iberic-Arabian (Mudéjar) architecture.
A historic building, some of it lost
Casa Vicens is a prime example of the expansion and transformation of Barcelona as a city. When it was built, it stood outside of the city before eventually being enveloped into the borders. Not only that, in 1925 a huge private garden was built beside the house. It featured the beautiful fountain of Saint Rita that locals tell tales of visiting when they were young to sample the carbonated water drawn from the nearby mountain. Unfortunately the fountain and much of that garden was lost to make room for apartment flats, however, the fence bars seen in the photo can now be found at Park Güell.
When does it open? How much will it cost?
At the moment the details of the opening haven't been revealed, only that it will happen, therefore in terms of the opening date or what the price and opening hours of Casa Vicens will be; there is no definitive answer. A good indicator though, is the opening hours and prices of the other Gaudí work located in the Gràcia district of Barcelona; Torre Bellesguard, which has a visiting price of €16 and open doors between 10AM and 7PM.