Religious sites in Spain
Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba
The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, also known as the Great Mosque of Córdoba and the Mezquita is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture. According to a traditional account, a small Visigoth church, the Catholic Basilica of Saint Vincent of Lérins, originally stood on the site. In 784 Abd al-Rahman I ordered construction of the Great Mosque, which was considerably expanded by later ...
Founded: 784 AD |
Location:
Córdoba, Spain
Seville Cathedral
Seville's cathedral, Santa Maria de la Sede, is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, and is recognised as UNESCO World Heritage. After its completion in the early 16th century, Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years. History The basilica occupies the site of the great Aljama mosque, built in the late ...
Founded: 1401 |
Location:
Seville, Spain
San Tirso Church
The Church of Saint Thyrsus (Iglesia de San Tirso) was established in the 790s. Dedicated to Saint Thyrsus, it was built by Tioda, the royal architect of Alfonso II of Asturias. The Great Fire of Oviedo in 1521 and rebuilding in the 18th century removed most of the original church, except for a three-light window. The building has suffered so much from alterations over the centuries and only the general plan has been pre ...
Founded: 790s AD |
Location:
Oviedo, Spain
Oviedo Cathedral
The Cathedral of San Salvador of Oviedo today displays an array of architectural styles, from Pre-Romanesque to Baroque, including Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance parts. It began as a large Pre-Romanesque basilica in the present location of the Gothic cathedral, but nothing more is known about that first building, built by order of King Alfonso II of Asturias. The cathedral was founded by King Fruela I of Astur ...
Founded: 781 AD |
Location:
Oviedo, Spain
Santiago de Compostela Cathedral
The Santiago de Compostela Cathedral is the reputed burial place of Saint James the Great, the apostle of Jesus Christ. It is also one of the only three known churches in the world built over the tomb of an apostle of Jesus. According the legend, the tomb of Saint James was rediscovered in 814 AD. The king Alfonso II of Asturias ordered the construction of a chapel on the site. This was followed by the first church in 82 ...
Founded: 1075 |
Location:
Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Cámara Santa
The Holy chamber of Oviedo (Cámara Santa de Oviedo) is a pre-Romanesque church built next to pre-romanesque Tower of San Miguel of the city"s cathedral. Nowadays, the church occupies the angle between the south arm of the cathedral transept and a side of the cloister. It was built during the 9th century as a palace chapel for King Alfonso II of Asturias and the church of San Salvador of Oviedo. Apart from acting ...
Founded: 9th century AD |
Location:
Oviedo, Spain
Monastery of San Vicente de Oviedo
San Vicente de Oviedo is a church and monastery in Oviedo. Its foundation, in 761, is recorded in a charter known as the Pacto monástico de Oviedo ('Monastic Pact of Oviedo') a copy made in the 12th-century of the original that is dated 25 November 781 and is considered the earliest document on the monarchy of the Kingdom of Asturias. Although doubts exist as to the veracity of this document since the monastery ...
Founded: 761 AD |
Location:
Oviedo, Spain
Monastery of Saint Pelagius
The Monasterio de San Pelayo is a convent for women of the Benedictine order, located in the city of Oviedo. It was founded by King Alfonso II of Asturias (the chaste), and first dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, but later to Saint Pelayo martyr, whose relics were supposedly acquired in 994 by the monastery. The monastery stands near the Cathedral of Oviedo. Mostly remodeled after the 16th century, losing most o ...
Founded: 1590 |
Location:
Oviedo, Spain
Monastery of San Martiño Pinario
The monastery of San Martiño Pinario is the second largest monastery in Spain after San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Little remains of the original medieval buildings (founded around 899 AD), as the monastery has been largely rebuilt since the sixteenth century. Throughout the Middle Ages the monastery grew so that by the end of the fifteenth century the monastery became the richest and most powerful of Galicia. This brought ...
Founded: 1587 |
Location:
Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Toledo Cathedral
The Primate Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo is one of the three 13th-century High Gothic cathedrals in Spain and is considered to be the masterpiece of the Gothic style in Spain. It was begun in 1226 under the rule of Ferdinand III and the last Gothic contributions were made in 1493 when the vaults of the central nave were finished during the time of the Catholic Monarchs. It was modeled after the Bourges Cathed ...
Founded: 1226-1493 |
Location:
Toledo, Spain
Burgos Cathedral
The Burgos Cathedral construction began in 1221 and was completed in 1567. It is a comprehensive example of the evolution of Gothic style, with the entire history of Gothic art exhibited in its superb architecture and unique collection of art, including paintings, choir stalls, reredos, tombs, and stained-glass windows. The plan of the Cathedral is based on a Latin Cross of harmonious proportions of 84 by 59 metres. The ...
Founded: 1221 |
Location:
Burgos, Spain
Granada Cathedral
Unlike most cathedrals in Spain, construction of Granada Cathedral was not begun until the sixteenth century, after acquisition of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada from its Muslim rulers in 1492. While its earliest plans had Gothic designs, such as are evident in the Royal Chapel of Granada by Enrique Egas, most of the church"s construction occurred when the Spanish Renaissance style was supplanting the Gothic in Spanis ...
Founded: 1518 |
Location:
Granada, Spain
San Nicolás de Bari
Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari is located next to the Camino de Santiago, in front of the cathedral. Since the Church of San Esteban was turned into a museum, it has served as the seat of the parish of San Esteban. The church was built in 1408, replacing another Romanesque temple. It contains notable examples of fifteenth century Castilian Renaissance art by Simón de Colonia and his son Francisco. Also of great inter ...
Founded: 1408 |
Location:
Burgos, Spain
Monastery of San Paio de Antealtares
King Alfonso II founded the Monastery of San Paio de Antealtares in the year 830. It fell into decay at the end of the 13th century, and in ruins, the Catholic Monarchs eliminated it and included it into S. Martín Pinario. In 1495, Gómez de Marzoa´s efforts to set up a college for poor students led to the monastery becoming Compostela´s first school and the origin of Galicia´s Renaissance University. The Order of ben ...
Founded: 1599 |
Location:
Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Almudena Cathedral
When the capital of Spain was transferred from Toledo to Madrid in 1561, the seat of the Church in Spain remained in Toledo and the new capital had no cathedral. Plans to build a cathedral in Madrid dedicated to the Virgin of Almudena were discussed as early as the 16th century but even though Spain built more than 40 cities in the new world during that century and plenty of cathedrals, the cost of expanding and kee ...
Founded: 1879 |
Location:
Madrid, Spain
León Cathedral
León Cathedral was built on the site of previous Roman baths of the 2nd century. During the Christian reconquest the ancient Roman baths were converted into a royal palace. King Ordoño II, who had occupied the throne of Leon in 916, defeated the Arabs in the Battle of San Esteban de Gormaz in 917. As a sign of gratitude to God for victory, he gave up his palace to build the first cathedral. Under the episcopate ...
Founded: c. 1205 |
Location:
León, Spain
Oratorio del Caballero de Gracia
Oratorio del Caballero de Gracia is one of the best hidden architectural treasures in Madrid. This church looks small from the outside, but inside it unfolds into a neoclassical temple by Juan de Villanueva, which looks like a Roman basilica. Among its most noteworthy internal features are the single-piece granite columns, the vault and the sculptures of the Virgen del Socorro, signed by Francisco Elías in 1825, and of ...
Founded: 1786-1795 |
Location:
Madrid, Spain
Old Cathedral of Salamanca
The Old Cathedral is one of two cathedrals in Salamanca. It was founded by Bishop Jerome of Périgord, in the 12th century and completed in Romanesque/Gothic style in the 14th century. It is dedicated to Santa Maria de la Sede. The apse houses a large cycle of 53 tableaux, 12 of which by the 15th-century Italian artist Dello Delli, depicting the life of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. A fresco of the Final Judgemen ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Salamanca, Spain
New Cathedral of Salamanca
The New Cathedral is located adjacent to the Old Cathedral in Salamanca. It was constructed between the 16th and 18th centuries in two styles: late Gothic and Baroque. Building began in 1513 and the cathedral was consecrated in 1733. The building began at a time when the gothic style was becoming less popular and was merging with the new Renaissance style, giving the resulting Plateresque style in Spain. Howev ...
Founded: 1513-1733 |
Location:
Salamanca, Spain
Basilica of Saint Mary of the Chorus
The Basilica of Saint Mary of Coro is a baroque Roman Catholic parish church and minor basilica completed in 1774. The main nave consists of a large space of 48 by 33 metres divided into three naves, which in turn can be divided into 4 zones having as axis the pillars of the nave. Six pillars and the walls with pillars act as a buttress supporting the vaults. The octagonal pillars reach, up to their capitals, a hei ...
Founded: 1774 |
Location:
San Sebastián, Spain