Count Eusebi de Güell commissioned Antoni Gaudí in 1898 to design a church for the company town of Colònia Güell. The infobox says work started in 1898, while the text says it did not begin until 1908. The crypt was built from 1908 to 1915 and is the only fully completed part. Construction halted in 1914 after the count's death. Gaudí planned upper and lower naves, two towers and a central dome about 130 feet (40 m) high.
He designed it with hanging hemp ropes weighted by lead-filled sacks at 1:10 scale, then photographed, flipped and traced the model. The forms are hyperbolic paraboloids and hyperboloids. The pillars use brick and solid stone blocks, and the crypt has 22 lead stained glass windows.
Repairs in 2000 let visitors stand on the roof. It is part of Gaudí's UNESCO listing of 1984.
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