Cádiz Cathedral, Cádiz, Spain - SpottingHistory.com

Cádiz Cathedral built between 1722 and 1838. The Plaza de la Catedral houses both the Cathedral and the Baroque Santiago church, built in 1635.

The church was known as 'The Cathedral of The Americas' because it was built with money from the trade between Spain and America. The 18th century was a golden age for Cádiz, and the other cathedral that the city had got, Santa Cruz, was very small for this new moment of Cádiz. The new cathedral was built from 1722 to 1838. The first person who designed the church was architect Vicente Acero, who had also built the Granada Cathedral. Acero left the project and was succeeded by several other architects. As a result, this largely baroque-style cathedral was built over a period of 116 years, and, due to this drawn-out period of construction, the cathedral underwent several major changes to its original design. Though the cathedral was originally intended to be a baroque edifice, it contains rococo elements, and was finally completed in the neoclassical style. Its chapels have many paintings and relics from the old cathedral and monasteries from throughout Spain.

In the crypt are buried the composer Manuel de Falla and the poet and playwright José María Pemán, both born in Cádiz.

Levante Tower, one of the towers of Cádiz Cathedral, is open to the public and shows panoramas of the city from on high.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Ronnie Lee (11 months ago)
There are restaurants around the cathedral and live performances; Spanish dancing, violinist, singing. Different days may have a different act in front if the cathedral. Also its around 6eu to go inside the cathedral. It's a beautiful site.

Felix Kruhøffer (11 months ago)
The experience was amazing! The architecture of the building has an insane 'Wow' factor inside and out

Alexandra Ciopei (11 months ago)
Cahriz is a beautiful place near the Atlantic Ocean that you must visit. The cathedral is very nice it can be visited but you have to pay. But the ocean the light house and the is an unforgettable image. You must visit this city by the ocean that will give you a stunning sunset.

Marta Rodenas (13 months ago)
Beautiful cathedral in the heart of old town. The entrance fee is worth the visit, you get to see the beautiful cathedral inside, go to the top of the tower (best part), and the entrance to a museum nearby (we didn’t have time to go). The view from the top of the tower is unbeatable and absolutely stunning. It’s not too hard to get to the top, there are no steps until you get to the end, it is just a ramp that goes up. Not sure on their wheelchair or stroller policy but you can make it almost to the top without steps.

Marlene McClelland (14 months ago)
Worship place. Impressive with excellent collection of antiquities. The crypt below is fascinating with lots of tombs. The entry fee (senior/pensioner discount available) to the Cathedral also includes a visit to Torre Poniente where the visitor come close to the huge bells of the Cathedral. The tower also gives an excellent view of Cadiz skyline.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Dan Lundberg

Historic Site of the week

Hagios Demetrios

The Church of Saint Demetrius, or Hagios Demetrios, is the main sanctuary dedicated to Saint Demetrius, the patron saint of Thessaloniki. It is part of the site Palaeochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessaloniki on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO since 1988.

The first church on the spot was constructed in the early 4th century AD, replacing a Roman bath. A century later, a prefect named Leontios replaced the small oratory with a larger, three-aisled basilica. Repeatedly gutted by fires, the church eventually was reconstructed as a five-aisled basilica in 629–634. This was the surviving form of the church much as it is today. The most important shrine in the city, it was probably larger than the local cathedral. The historic location of the latter is now unknown.

The church had an unusual shrine called the ciborium, a hexagonal, roofed structure at one side of the nave. It was made of or covered with silver. The structure had doors and inside was a couch or bed. Unusually, it did not hold any physical relics of the saint. The ciborium seems to have been a symbolic tomb. It was rebuilt at least once.

The basilica is famous for six extant mosaic panels, dated to the period between the latest reconstruction and the inauguration of the Byzantine Iconoclasm in 730. These mosaics depict St. Demetrius with officials responsible for the restoration of the church (called the founders, ktetors) and with children. An inscription below one of the images glorifies heaven for saving the people of Thessalonica from a pagan Slavic raid in 615.

Thessaloniki became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1430. About 60 years later, during the reign of Bayezid II, the church was converted into a mosque, known as the Kasımiye Camii after the local Ottoman mayor, Cezeri Kasım Pasha. The symbolic tomb however was kept open for Christian veneration. Other magnificent mosaics, recorded as covering the church interior, were lost either during the four centuries when it functioned as a mosque (1493–1912) or in the Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 that destroyed much of the city. It also destroyed the roof and upper walls of the church. Black-and-white photographs and good watercolour versions give an idea of the early Byzantine craftsmanship lost during the fire.

Following the Great Fire of 1917, it took decades to restore the church. Tombstones from the city"s Jewish cemetery - destroyed by the Greek and Nazi German authorities - were used as building materials in these restoration efforts in the 1940s. Archeological excavations conducted in the 1930s and 1940s revealed interesting artifacts that may be seen in a museum situated inside the church"s crypt. The excavations also uncovered the ruins of a Roman bath, where St. Demetrius was said to have been held prisoner and executed. A Roman well was also discovered. Scholars believe this is where soldiers dropped the body of St. Demetrius after his execution. After restoration, the church was reconsecrated in 1949.

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