Casa Batlló and La Pedrera are not the only modernist buildings in Barcelona. Here is a route through some architectural gemes we usually forget.
When you think about the most famous modernist buildings in Barcelona, Casa Batlló, Park Güell or Casa Amatller come to your mind. The fact of being the most popular does not mean being the most interesting ones.  Here some architectural masterpieces that are out of the touristic tours but are worth admiring.
About Catalan Modernism
Modernism was not an exclusively Catalan artistic movement, it painted Europe in color during the late 10th  and early 20th centuries. However, in this region it acquired a different dimension. The reasons were the rebirth of Catalan culture captained by the Renaixença and an impressive urban development. It was the breeding ground for painters like impressionist Ramón Casas or Santiago Rusiñol and architects who developed a unique language. Not only Antoni GaudÃ, but Josep Puig i Cadafalch, LluÃs Domènech i Montaner or Josep MarÃa Pujol. They designed some of the most unknown modernist buildings in Barcelona. Do you want to discover them?
Palau Güell
Carrer Nou de la Rambla, 3-5.
Unveiled in 1890, it is the first importantproject designed by Antoni Gaudà after meeting Eusebi Güell, his future sponsor and friend. The Catalan industrialist assignment him building a house in La Rambla, which he would inhabit for years. Gaudà designed a sober and colorless façade, far from the concept he would use at Casa Vicens or Casa  Batlló. However, the most interesting point is the impressive interior design of the building and the chimneys of the roof. There he applied trencadÃs, the technique that would make him the father of Catalan modernism.
 Palau de la Música
Carrer Palau de la Música, 4-6.
It was built between 1905 and 1908 and is, without a doubt, one of the most impressive modernist buildings in Barcelona. A true piece of art designed Catalan architect LluÃs Domènech i Montaner. Its concert hall is one of the most imposing in the world and is full of symbolism. The organ, located in the center, enbodies the sun, a sun illuminated by a glass of natural light in a forest where the Valkyries of Wagner, muses, the bust of Beethoven or Anselm Clavé coexist. There are no words to describe it.
Casa Bruno Cuadros
La Rambla 82
At the end of the 19th century, Bruno Cuadros, a popular merchant of fans, umbrellas and shawls, decided to give the business he had in La Rambla his own personality. He asked architect architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanoves to decorate the facade of the building. They say he had just returned from a trip to Japan and that inspired him to design one of the most original buildings in Las Ramblas. You will recognize him for his enormous dragon, guardian of the street since 1883.
Comalat House
Avinguda Diagonal, 442
Casa Comalat is one of those buildings that, if could be visited, it would compete with Casa Batlló in beauty. It is a design by architect Salvador Valeri Pupurull, who was very influenced by GaudÃ. Built between 1906 and 1911, it looks like a fairytale castle. It has two facades full of floral ornaments, baroque balconies and organic shapes. Anyone who has had the good luck to see it inside ehighlights its magical character and the originality of its lobby.
Bellesguard Tower
Carrer de Bellesguard, 16
Its official name is Casa Figueres and it is one of the most unknown works of GaudÃ. A true castle at the outskirts of the Tibidabo mountain with an architectural style that mixes Modernism and Gothic styles.It was the castle of the King of Aragon MartÃn I el Humano in 1410 and it functioned as an orphanage during the Civil War. Since 2013 you can visit and here concerts and plays are organized.
Gaudà Crypt  at Colonia Güell
Claudi Güell Street, Santa Coloma de Cervelló.
Colonia Güell is one of the most unknown and impressive Modernist jewels in Catalonia. The works began in 1890, a time of political and social instability: anarchist attacks, revolts, a general strike, violence… Eusebi Güell didn’t want this tension spreading among the workers of his textile factory in Sants. That’s why he trusted Gaudà and other architects to build an industrial colony near his residence in Santa Coloma de Cervelló. He was not the first one in making a similar decision. However, he went further and ensured that both its workers and their families lived in the best possible conditions. In this way, he assigned building a school, a hospital, a theater or a church. Antoni Gaudà was in charge of this last project. Güell told him he could designed the building he wanted, there were no limits. The result was an incredible crypt that was never ended but that the architect defined as a monumental model of the Sagrada Familia.
