The Cathedral of Seville, also known as Catedral de Santa María de la Sede (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See) is the cathedral of the city of Seville in Andalucia. It is claimed by some to be the largest Gothic cathedral and the fourth largest Christian church in the world.
Description
Construction of the cathedral began in 1402 and continued into
the 16th century. Its central nave rises to a height of 42
metres.
The interior, with the longest nave in Spain, is
lavishly decorated, with a large quantity of gold evident. In the
main body of the cathedral only the great boxlike structure of the
choir stands out, filling the central portion of the nave. It is
also dominated by a vast Gothic retablo of carved scenes from the
life of Christ. The altarpiece
was the lifetime work of a single craftsman, Pierre Dancart.
The builders used some columns and elements from the mosque, and
most famously the Giralda, was converted
into a bell tower. The Giralda is the city's most famous
symbol.
This cathedral was built to demonstrate Seville's wealth, as it
had become a major trading center in the years after the Reconquista.
During the planning of the cathedral's construction, a member of
the chapter was recorded to have commented "we shall have a church
[so great and] of such a kind that those who see it built will
think we were mad."
Timeline
- 1184 - La Giralda begun (Harvey 260)
- 1198 - Completion of Almohad Mosque (Montiel 12) (Harvey
260)
- 1248 - Conquest of Seville by Ferdinand III, mosque
Christianized (Montiel 14)
- 1376 - Earthquake destroys minaret, replaced by bell gable
(Montiel 12)
- 1401 - (8 July- Harvey 230) Decision made to replace former
mosque (Montiel 15)
- 1402 - Nave begun- SW corner (Harvey 260)
- 1432 - Nave completed, east end started (Harvey 260)
- 1466 - Demolition of Royal Chapel authorized by Juan II
(Montiel 15)
- 1467 - East end completed, vaults begun. Anchors added. (Harvey
260)
- 1475 - Stalls begun (Harvey 260)
- 1478 - Stalls completed (Harvey 260)
- 1481 - Doorways in high altar completed (Montiel 16)
- 1482 - Retablo Mayor begun (ALTARPIECE) (Harvey 260)
- 1498 - Vaults completed, lantern begun (Harvey 260)*
- 1506 - Main dome (lantern) completed (Montiel 16) (Harvey
260)
- 1511 - Lantern collapses, rebuilding begins (Montiel 16)
(Harvey 260)
- 1515 - New choir vaults completed (Montiel 16)*
- 1517 - New transept vaults completed (Montiel 16)*
- 1519 - Lantern rebuilding completed (Harvey 260)
- 1526 - Retablo Mayor completed (Harvey 260)
- 1551 - Capilla Real begun (Harvey 260)
- 1558 - Belfry replaces bell gable (Montiel 12)
- 1568 - Giralda, top stages (Harvey 260)
- 1575 - Capilla Real completed (Harvey 260)
- 1888 - Main dome and vaults collapse (Montiel 16)
Burials
- Ferdinand III of Castile
- Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen
References
- References are to John Harvey's "The Cathedrals of Spain" and
Luis Martinez Montiel's "The Cathedral of Seville"
External
links