Hypostyle Hall

The hypostyle hall

The Barcelona audio-guided tour leads you, at the top of the Dragon staircase, into the hypostyle hall of Park Güell. This forest of slanting columns, crowned with mosaic domes, is one of the most striking spaces imagined by Gaudi.

A covered market for the garden city

The hall was meant to serve as a covered market for the garden city imagined by Gaudi and Güell. It is composed of eighty-six fluted columns, inspired by the Greek Doric order; none is perfectly straight, the outer columns leaning according to the slope of the ground. They support white-dominated mosaic domes, enhanced with colourful panels made in trencadis.

What there is to see

On the ceiling, the large circular rosette-shaped panels represent the four seasons, depicted by twenty-pointed suns in different colours; fourteen smaller panels evoke the lunar cycle, in swirls and spirals. Above the hall extends the great nature square and its undulating bench, part of which the hypostyle hall supports.

Practical information

The hypostyle hall is in the monumental zone of Park Güell, in Barcelona. Access to this zone is ticketed and limited, with hours that vary by season; it is best to plan ahead. The hall, sheltered and shaded, offers a welcome stop in the heart of the park visit.

How many columns does the hypostyle hall have ?

Eighty-six fluted columns inspired by the Doric order, the outer ones leaning according to the slope of the ground.

What was the hypostyle hall meant for ?

It was to be the covered market of the garden city imagined by Gaudi for Eusebi Güell.