Spain 5: The cathedrals

In just about every city in Spain, there was a fantastic cathedral to be explored and photographed. There were more than we had time for, but here are some of my favourites. Starting with Almudena Cathedral in Madrid, pictured above. Just opposite the royal palace in Madrid, Almudena is a clean neoclassical cathedral, a sort that doesn’t normally get me to excited. However, the placement at the far end of the palance court yard allow for every open views of the facade, which made for some powerful contrasting shows in the afternoon sun.

Primate Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo

Toledo’s history feels like a tug-o-war between Judaism, Islam, and Catholicism. The Catholics won out in the end, and the magnificent cathedral sits where the mosque once was. Though apparently there was church there before the mosque. Really.

In any case, it is a wonderful gothic building. The best part of visiting is the well layed out walking tour with detailed explanations of everything that you find inside. From the first gold that was brought over from the New World, to choir and altar piece that are simply too detailed to take in as a single pieces of art – they really are small museums unto themselves. It’s one of the pricier cathedrals to get into, but well worth the price for the treasures inside.

Salamanca

Salamanca’s cathedral is actually two cathedrals, an old one which was started in the 12th century, and a “new” one – attached to the old cathedral starting in the 16th century. Once again, this cathedral has a great tour that takes you up into the main tower and around the roof of the cathedral for great views of the city. The history of the building is very well documented, and it’s very interesting to see the commissions for construction and repairs. While the interior of the Cathedral lacks the splendor you’ll find in many others, the outside is stunning. It’s built out of some type of sandstone (I know I didn’t believe it until I got my hands on it) that really lights up a beautiful orange-red at sunrise and sunset. There are some playful modern decorations – an astronaut and dragon with an ice cream cone – carved into a space where the old decorations had deteriorated.

Seville

Seville’s massive cathedral is yet another that was built on the site of an old mosque. But rather than just tearing down the mosque and starting from scratch, the Catholics kept one old courtyard and the massive minaret – converting it into an impressive bell-tower. The inside of the cathedral is immense, and felt like a larger interior space than any other old European cathedral I’d been in before. Inside you also find the impressive tomb of Cristobal Colon, or Christopher Columbus, though it is debated if his remains are actually in the tomb. I would recommend getting the audio guide if you visit this catheral, we didn’t and had to depend on Lonely Planet’s descriptions to know what we were looking at as there was no information included with the entrance ticket. Still a good value though for the views from the minaret and the hodge-podge of centuries of different architecture from a variety of cultures.

Sagrada Familia

The most famous cathedral in Spain, and yet I didn’t know a very crucial fact about it: it’s still under construction and will be for the foreseeable future. Antoni Gaudi designed the whole thing and oversaw the first bit of construction. Sadly though, all the plans we lost after his death during the Spanish Civil War, and folks have been working like mad to try and finish the masterpiece of design ever sense. Queue up early in the morning as there can be a long wait for tickets, but it’s well worth it. Not only is a fantastic modern cathedral, but likely the most fascinating building site you are likely to visit. While the shape and space match the conventions of a cathedral, the decoration and design are unlike anything you’ll see anywhere else. Truely one of the great buildings of the world.