Key points
- The stained glass of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona has been corrected to reflect the Ukrainian spelling of Kyiv, from Kiev to Kíiv.
- A new stained glass was installed at the beginning of June to commemorate Kyiv Day.
- The old form Kiev was derived from the Russian transliteration.
- The new spelling Kíiv was approved by the language authority of Catalonia in May 2021.
- The changes were initiated by the Ukrainian community as part of the KyivNotKiev and CorrectUA campaigns.
In Barcelona, the stained glass of the Sagrada Familia basilica has been corrected to reflect the Ukrainian spelling of the capital city, from Kiev to Kíiv, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The change was made after appeals from the Ukrainian community in the city.
A new stained glass was installed at the beginning of June to commemorate Kyiv Day. For this, the old medallion was completely dismantled, and the new one was manufactured in about 6 weeks.
Previously, the stained glass used the form Kiev, which is derived from the Russian transliteration. The new spelling Kíiv was officially approved by the language authority of Catalonia in May 2021.
In the Ukrainian community of Barcelona, it is noted that the changes occurred as part of the KyivNotKiev and CorrectUA campaigns, launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the Center for Strategic Communications.
The initiator was the head of the Barcelona organization of Ukrainian civil society with the support of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Barcelona. The proposal was supported by the head of the parliament of Catalonia and the team of the basilica.
Catalan is one of the few languages in Western Europe where the name Ucraïna has never been fully subject to foreign phonetic norms, and the pronunciation almost coincides with the Ukrainian original.
The stained glass program of Sagrada Familia includes hundreds of medallions with the names of dioceses, saints, and notable shrines from around the world. The iconographic program was developed by Father Lluís Bonet i Armengol, and the artist Joan Vila-Grau implemented it in glass over 20 years.
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