The Cathedral of Burgos (Spain)
Also Known as Catedral de Santa María, a Spanish World Heritage Site
Catedral de Santa María (Saint Mary Cathedral) in Burgos (Spain), declared Wold Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984. It is the only cathedral in Spain to be so designate
The Cathedral of Santa María (Saint Mary) in Burgos (Spain), or Catedral de Burgos, is one of the most famous in this country. Its predominant architectonic style is gothic but we can also find other artistic styles (Renaissance and Baroque). That is because its construction was started in 20th July 1221, when king Ferdinand the Third (Fernando III) laid the foundation stone, but was not finished until 1795.
Both, this king and the English-born bishop of Burgos, Mauricio ordered the construction of this temple, which was built on the remains of a previous possibly Romanesque cathedral. We don’t know how the former cathedral looked like, as the cathedral was destroyed in order to build the new one. We just can guess, according to other coeval buildings like the Monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza.
Looking back in time, the construction of that former cathedral had become a need, as the city of Burgos was declared Episcopal See in 1075. That’s why king Alfonso VI decided to built the former temple. That was not the only reason. Burgos was the center of a important commercial area and could be seen as the capital of the kingdom. But this temple, due to the increasing commercial relations in Burgos was at the end not big enough. That’s why, later, this temple was destroyed to build a new one, the current Catedral de Santa María or Catedral de Burgos.
The first architects where Spanish and French, but Alonso de Cartagena (15th century), Mauricio’s successor, employed architects from the North of Europe: Gil de Siloé (from Flanders) or Juan de Colonia (from Germany).
The main façade of the cathedral is inspired in French gothic style, so its look is very similar to Paris cathedral’ one, as the façade is divided in three main “bodies” and both external sides are covered by two square-based towers. Juan de Colonia built the spires, with fabulous stonework traceries, on both towers in 15th century.
Some important parts of the cathedral are:
La Capilla del Condestable. In fact, the real name of this chapel is Capilla de la Purificación de la Virgen, although everybody name it “Capillas del Condestable” or “Capilla de los Condestables”, as the Condestables de Castilla (Condestable = Title related with the army) ordered this chapel to be used as their familiar mausoleum. It was built on the rest of the former gothic chapel dedicated to San Pedro (Saint Peter).
La Escalera Dorada.(Golden Stairs). By Diego de Siloé, This stairs were used to communicate the cathedral with an external door, the Puerta de la Coronería. Nowadays, this staiirs are useless as the door is closed, but every year is used during Holly Week.
The base of the cathedral is not easy to identify as there are a lot of chapels around it. But the center of the cathedral shows the tomb of a very famous warrior in Castilla: El Cid.
And finally, don’t forget to take a look at those marvellous and colored stained-glass windows, filtering Burgos rights of sun to illuminate such a historical and wonderful monument.
