Located in Barcelona, Spain, the Sagrada Familia is a Catholic church that has been under construction for over a century and is still unfinished. On Thursday, a part of the central tower of the church was lifted into place, making it the tallest church in the world.
According to reports from the Associated Press, the Sagrada Familia stated that the current height of the church is 162.91 meters (534 feet). This surpasses the previous tallest church, Ulm Minster in Germany, which stands at 161.53 meters (530 feet), by a slight margin.
Ulm Minster, a Gothic Lutheran church, was built between 1543 and 1890. It has held the title of the world’s tallest church since 1890. Now, with a tiny difference of over 1 meter, the title of the world’s tallest church goes to Sagrada Familia.
The height of the Sagrada Familia will continue to increase. When the “Tower of Jesus Christ” on top of the church is completed in the coming months, the height of the church will reach 172 meters (564 feet).
A crane lifted the first part of the “Tower of Jesus Christ” to the center of the top of the Sagrada Familia on Thursday morning.
Designed by the renowned Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, construction of the Sagrada Familia began in 1882, and it has been over 100 years in the making. The main building is expected to be completed next year, with the entire church projected to take approximately another 10 years to fully finish.
When Gaudí unexpectedly passed away in 1926, only one of the planned 18 towers had been built. In the following years, the construction of the Sagrada Familia has been overseen by the Sagrada Familia Foundation, funded by visitors, tourists, and private donors.
In terms of visitors, last year, 4.9 million people visited the church, with 15% coming from the United States. The ticket fees paid by these visitors are used to fund the ongoing construction.
Apart from the death of the chief architect Gaudí, the construction of this church has faced many other challenges over its nearly 150-year history.
For instance, during the Spanish Civil War, anarchists in Catalonia set fire to the church’s basement, destroying Gaudí’s original drawings and plaster models that could have guided future construction.
Additionally, in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused delays in the construction of the church, with foundation members attributing the halt to the downturn in the tourism industry and subsequent decrease in funding.
In September of this year, Xavier Martínez, the General Manager of the Sagrada Familia, told the Associated Press that the “Tower of Jesus Christ” is set to be completed in 2026, marking the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death that year. The church will hold various events to commemorate him.
With its towering presence and unique architectural design, the Sagrada Familia has become one of the most famous landmarks in Barcelona, and also a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.