Burgos cathedral

Burgos Cathedral


The Cathedral of Santa Maria de Burgos is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in the Spanish city of Burgos. Its official name is Holy Church Cathedral Metropolitan Basilica of Santa Maria de Burgos. Its construction began in 1221, following French Gothic patterns. It had very important modifications in the XV and XVI centuries: the spiers of the main facade, the Chapel of the Condestable and cruise dome, late Gothic elements that give the temple its unmistakable profile. The last works of importance (the sacristy or the Chapel of Santa Tecla) already in the eighteenth century, the century in which the Gothic portals of the main facade were also modified. The style of the cathedral is Gothic, although it has, in its interior, several Renaissance and Baroque decorative elements. Construction and renovations were made with limestone extracted from quarries in the nearby town of Burgos Hontoria de la Cantera.

In the cathedral works of extraordinary artists are preserved, such as architects and sculptors of the Colonia family (John, Simon and Francisco), the architect Juan de Vallejo, Gil de Siloé, Felipe Bigarny, Rodrigo Sculptors Hague, Martin de la beech, Juan de Ancheta and Juan Pascual de Mena, sculptor and architect Diego de Siloé, the rejero Cristobal de Andino, the glassmaker Arnao of Flanders or Alonso de Sedano, Mateo Cerezo, Sebastiano del Piombo or John Ricci painters, among many others .

The design of the main facade is related to the purest French Gothic style of the great cathedrals of Paris and Reims, while the interior elevation as a reference to the Cathedral of Bourges. It consists of three bodies topped by two lateral square towers. The Germanic influence squelette were added in the fifteenth century and are the work of Juan de Colonia. Outside are outstanding also covers Sarmental and Coronería, Gothic thirteenth century, and the cover of Pellejería with platerescas-sixteenth century Renaissance influences.

There are numerous architectural, sculptural and pictorial treasures inside. highlights include:

The Gothic-Plateresque dome, first raised by Juan de Colonia in the fifteenth century and rebuilt by Juan de Vallejo in the XVI, following plans by Juan de Langres.1
Chapel of the Constable, Elizabethan Gothic style, which worked Colony, Diego de Siloam and Felipe Bigarny family.
The Hispano-Flemish Gothic altarpiece of Gil de Siloam Chapel of Santa Ana.
The choir stalls, plateresque Renaissance work Vigarny.
The late Gothic reliefs girola of Vigarny.
Numerous Gothic and Renaissance tombs.
Renaissance Escalera Dorada, Diego de Siloam.
The Holy Christ of Burgos, image of great devotional tradition.
The tomb of the Cid and his wife Doña Jimena, his letter of earnest money and your chest.
The flycatcher, articulated statue that opens his mouth to give the chiming of the hours.
Burgos cathedral was declared a National Monument on April 8, 1885 and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 31 October 1984. It is the only Spanish cathedral that has this distinction Unesco independently, without being attached to the historic center of a city (as in the cases of Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Avila, Cordoba, Toledo and Cuenca) or with other buildings, as in Seville and Zaragoza. It is also the highest ranking Catholic church in Castilla y Leon to be the only temple being metropolitan cathedral is both a basilica.

In 1994, following the release of a figure of the facade it occurred a few years earlier, began the restoration work. In total, they have been invested 30 million euros, making it the European monument which has received more funds for restoration and has lasted more in the time.2