Casa Botines is a uniquely exceptional Modernista building located in the city of León that was designed and built by the architect Antoni Gaudí between 1891 and 1892. Its construction began on the initiative of two wealthy textile traders from the city, Simón Fernández and Mariano Andrés, who maintained important personal and commercial contacts with the Catalan industry and its bourgeoisie.p>

A difficult building to classify, Casa Botines is a clear example of the visionary transgression of styles that Gaudí masterfully practiced. It draws its inspiration from a historicism and eclecticism that are filtered through Gaudí’s romantic spirit to give it its final look, which recalls that of a medieval castle. Its distribution of spaces is structured by a poetic rationalism and the features of Modernisme at its peak can be found in its ornamentation.

With a trapezoidal floor plan and recalling the Gothic style, it was designed to house a textile business on the ground floor and semi-basement, with the remaining four floors dedicated to apartments. Construction details such as its open floor plan supported by iron columns, uneven balance of its façades, treatment of light and air... as well as such ornamental features as its iron fence, light well, covered courtyards, towers or sculpture of Saint George over its main entrance deserve particular attention.

It functioned as a textile business and apartment block for 36 years until it was purchased by Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de León to house its banking entity and continues as an apartment block. It was declared a National Monument in 1969 and restored between 1992 and 1996. Today, it houses the Casa Botines Gaudí Museum, with its permanent exhibition and space for temporary exhibitions. The centre is open to all people and combines traditional museography with a great variety of activities that take place throughout the year aimed at all audiences (from children’s workshops to dramatized visits, concerts, talks, courses, etc.). It is managed by the Fundación Obra Social de Castilla y León (FUNDOS).