What famous church in Barcelona has been under construction since 1882?

The famous church in Barcelona that began construction in 1882 is the Sagrada Família. Its full name, Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, means Basilica and Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family.

Construction began on 19 March 1882 under architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. Antoni Gaudí took over the project in 1883 and radically reshaped it, combining Gothic traditions with Catalan Modernisme and highly expressive curving forms. Gaudí devoted the rest of his life to the basilica, but he died in 1926 when less than a quarter of the project was complete.

The church was funded primarily through private donations, and progress was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, during which parts of Gaudí's workshop and original plans were destroyed. Later architects reconstructed the design using surviving material, photographs, and published plans. Pope Benedict XVI consecrated it and declared it a minor basilica in 2010.

It is sometimes called a cathedral, but Barcelona's cathedral is the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia. Sagrada Família is a basilica and remains one of the world's most famous unfinished architectural projects.