Wine cathedrals
In Catalonia, historically one of the main occupations has been growing vineyards and making wine. In the early 20th century, wine workers' trade unions and cooperatives built beautiful buildings for their job.
In 1921, the famous Catalan writer Àngel Guimerà, already in his elderly years, visited the seat of the Agricultural Union in the village L'Espluga de Francolí. Amazed at its sight, he called it a "wine cathedral". This name has become the denomination of this kind of buildings, built in the Catalan Modernist style. Many of them were designed by the Catalan architect Cèsar Martinell.
Though it's difficult to show the size and monumentality of these buildings only with photos, I have added some of them below. The photos where you can see the wine containers below are taken already from a very high point (the ground is under the wine containers).
Cooperative winery in l'Espluga de Francolí (Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia). Built in 1913. Photo by Marc Castellet and Javier Hidalgo.
Winery of the Agriculture Cooperative in Gandesa (Terres de l'Ebre, Catalonia). Built in 1919. Photos by Rafa Pérez, Casa de las Letras and Cooperativa Gandesa.
Cooperative Cellar of Pinell de Brai (Terres de l'Ebre, Catalonia). Built in 1922. Photos by Tjerk van der Meulen and Jordi Borràs.
Cellar of the Agrarian Society in Barberà de la Conca. Built in 1919-1921. Photos from Conca de Barberà Turisme and D.O. Conca de Barberà.
There are about 40 buildings in Catalonia who belong to wine workers' cooperatives and that were built around those years in Catalan Modernist style.
