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Finca Güell (1884-1887)
In 1884, Eusebi Güell gave Gaudí a commission for the completion of various projects at his extensive estate between the villages of Les Corts and Sarrià, in the area now known as Zona Universitaria. These projects consisted of the construction of the enclosing wall with three gates, the main gate and stables, a mirador, a fountain, the chapel of the house-residence, and various decorative complements. The Finca Güell (Güell Estate) was made up of two large estates (Can Feliu and Torre Baldiró) that Joan Güell had purchased during the 1870s, along with a third estate, called Can Cuyàs, which Eusebi Güell acquired in 1883. The main entrance was located on the Can Cuyàs estate, since the Güells' summer residence was located there. A private road, now called Passeig Manuel Girona, had been built linking this estate to the highway that ran between Barcelona and the village of Sarrià. At this point, two pavilions flank two entrances: a small one for pedestrians, and another, more than five metres wide, for horses and carriages. Entering through this gate, on the left stands what was once the caretaker's house, distributed in three bodies: one octagonal, with a basement, topped by a dome, and two square buildings with a similar floor and roof. This is currently the home of the university porter. On the right stands the pavilion intended foir horses, made up of a rectangular hall with transversal parabolic arches, which was the stable. It is linked with another pabilion meant as the manège. The flooring of this square building is done in a concentric solid brick rowlock. In the centre, covering the drain chamber, there is a large round stone with a sculpted "G" for Güell. The roof of this hall is a revolution vault, crowned with a lantern, which is supported on pendentives in each corner, joined in a continuous surface. Between the two pavilions, there is a large forged-iron gate, representing a chained dragon, designed by Gaudí in 1885 and completed in the Vallet and Piquer workshops in Barcelona. The gate includes various pieces of forged iron, such as strips, meshes, T-profiles and plates.
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