Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.
Showing posts with label Spain.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spain.. Show all posts

Sunday 20 August 2017

León Cathedral, Spain.



English: León Cathedral, Spain.
España:
 Catedral de León in León, Castilla y León.
Illustration: PINTEREST


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Santa María de León Cathedral, also called The House of Light, or the Pulchra Leonina (The Beauty of Leon), is situated in the City of León, in North-West Spain. It was built on the site of previous Roman Baths of the 2nd-Century A.D., which, 800 years later, King Ordoño II converted into a Palace.

León Cathedral, Dedicated to Santa María de la Regla, was declared of Cultural Interest in 1844. It is known as the Pulchra Leonina and is a masterpiece of The Gothic Style of the Mid-13th-Century. The design is attributed to the Architect, Enrique. By the Late-16th-Century, it was virtually completed.

The main façade has two Towers. The Southern Tower is known as the 'Clock Tower'. The Renaissance Retro-Choir contains alabaster sculptures by Jusquin, Copin of Holland and Juan de Malinas. Particularly noteworthy is the Plateresque Iron Grill-Work Screen, or Reja, in the wall behind the Sepulchre of King Ordoño.


Leon Cathedral, Spain.
Available on YouTube at

It has three Portals decorated with sculptures situated in the Pointed Arches between the two Towers. The central section has a large Rose Window. Particularly outstanding is the image of The Virgen Blanca and The Locus Appellatione, where justice was imparted.

The Church has nearly 1,800 square metres of Stained-Glass Windows. The great majority of them date from the 13th- to the 15th-Century: A rarity among Mediaeval Gothic Churches.


English: The Gothic Cathedral of Saint Mary of León, Spain.
Photo: 19 March 2014.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)

In the Main Chapel, there is an Altarpiece by Nicolás Francés (15th-Century) and a Silver Urn containing the Relics of San Froilán, the Town's Patron Saint, made by Enrique de Arfe. The 13th- to 15th-Century Cloister contains sculpted details in the Capitals, Friezes and Ledges.

The Cathedral Museum houses a large collection of Sacred Art. There are almost 1,500 pieces, including fifty Romanesque sculptures of The Virgin, dating from pre-historic times to the 18th-Century (Neo-Classicism), with works by Juan de Juni, Gregorio Fernández, Mateo Cerezo, a Triptych of The School of Antwerp, a Mozarabic Bible and numerous Codices. The first Manuscript in the Leonese language, the Nodicia de Kesos, can be found in its archives.

Leon Cathedral is also one of the three most important Cathedrals, along with that of Burgos and Santiago de Compostela, on The Way of Saint James (or, in Spanish, El Camino de Santiago).



The Screen, León Cathedral, Spain.
Photo: 12 October 2010.
Source: Own work by uploader, http://bjornfree.com/galleries.html
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Roman Baths and the first Cathedral

Originally, under the current location of the Cathedral, the Legio VII Gemina had built the Baths, with a size larger than the current building. During the great restorations of the 19th-Century, its remains were discovered, and, in 1997, others were explored near the South Façade.

[Editor: Legio Septima (VII) Gemina (properly Geminia: Latin for "The Twins' Seventh Legion") was a Legion of The Imperial Roman Army. It was Founded in 68 A.D., in Spain, by General Galba to take part in his rebellion against the Emperor, Nero. "Gemina" means the Legion was dedicated to the legendary twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, who were suckled by a she-wolf. The Legion was deployed to the City called Legio (modern-day León, Spain) in 74 A.D., and remained in Hispania to the end of the 4th-Century.]

During the Christian reconquest of Spain, the ancient Roman Baths were converted into a Royal Palace. King Ordoño II, who had occupied the Throne of Leon in 916 A.D., defeated the Arabs in The Battle of San Esteban de Gormaz, in 917 A.D. As a sign of gratitude to God for victory, he gave up his Palace to build the first Cathedral. Under the Episcopate of Fruminio II, the building was transformed into a Sacred Place. The tomb of Ordoño II of Leon, who died in 924 A.D., is found in the Cathedral.


Leon Cathedral, Spain.
Available on YouTube at

The Cathedral was guarded and governed by Monks of The Order of Saint Benedict, and it is likely that its structure was very similar to many others existing during the Leonese Mozarabic period. Almanzor campaigned through these lands in the Late-10th-Century, devastating the City and destroying the Churches. However, damage to the building of the Cathedral appears to have been rapidly addressed, since, in the year 999 A.D., King Alfonso V was Crowned in the Church.

After the political turmoil and Moorish raids, that lasted till 1067, the state of the Cathedral was in extreme poverty. This would move to King Ferdinand I of León, who, after transferring the remains of San Isidoro to León, sought to restore the Cathedral.

With the help of Princess Teresa Urraca of Navarre, sister of the King, the construction of a second Cathedral, was started. It was within the Pelayo II Episcopal See. Its style was essentially Romanesque, built in brick and masonry, with three Naves finished in Semi-Circular Apses, the central one Dedicated to Saint Mary, as in the previous Church.
 The Cathedral was Consecrated on 10 November 1073 during the Reign of King Alfonso VI. Presumably, the same Masons who were building the Basilica of San Isidoro of Leon worked on the Cathedral.


English: Stained-Glass Windows in Leon Cathedral, Spain.
Español: Catedral dedicada a Santa María de Regla. Iniciada su construcción en el siglo XIII,
es una de las grandes obras del estilo gótico de influencia francesa. Se la conoce con
el nombre de Pulchra leonina, que significa "la bella Leonesa".
Photo: 8 May 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: AdriPozuelo
(Wikimedia Commons)


This Cathedral remained standing until the end of the next Century. When the last proprietary King of Leon, Alfonso IX, rose to the Throne, the City and the Kingdom witnessed major social, artistic, and cultural changes.

The Third Cathedral

Construction of the third Cathedral, Gothic in style, began circa 1205, but problems with the Foundation delayed work until 1255, under Bishop Martín Fernández, with the support of King Alfonso X of Castile and León. The design is attributed to the Master Mason Enrique, perhaps a native of France, who had previously worked on the Cathedral of Burgos.

The Cathedral of Leon, like its sister predecessor, Burgos Cathedral, follows the layout of Rheims Cathedral (although at a reduced scale). Like most French cathedrals, the one of Leon is built with a geometric module based on the triangle (ad triangulum), the primary lines of which relate to the square root of three.

In addition to its layout, the Cathedral of Leon is also inspired by that of Rheims in its structure, the form of the Chapels of its Ambulatory (in this case Polygonal), and the development of its Transept. The influence of Chartres Cathedral can be seen in the Western Porch.

Thursday 30 October 2014

Basilica Of The Benedictine Abbey Of Santa Maria De Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain.



English: Interior of the Basilica of the Benedictine Abbey of
Santa Maria de Montserrat, Spain (founded in 1025).
Santa Maria de Montserrat is located on the mountain of Montserrat,
in Monistrol de Montserrat, in Catalonia, Spain.
The current Basilica is from the 16th-Century.
The rest of the Abbey buildings are from the 18th-Century.
Català: Monestir de Santa Maria de Montserrat, situada a la muntanya homònima,
al municipi de Monistrol de Montserrsat (Bages)
Photo: Toni Genes / SHUTTERSTOCK



Feast Day of Santa Maria de Montserrat.



English: Monastery Montserrat in Catalonia, Spain.
Deutsch: Kloster Montserrat in Katalonien (Spanien):
Ansicht von Südosten.
Photo: 21 July 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Misburg3014.
(Wikimedia Commons)



English: The Cloisters of the Monastery of Santa Maria of Montserrat, Spain.
Català: Monestir de Santa Maria de Montserrat (Monistrol de Montserrat).
Photo: 12 May 2013.
Source: Flickr: Claustre gòtic, segle XV, Monestir de Montserrat.
(Wikimedia Commons)



English: Choir of the l'Escolania de Montserrat
in the Basilica of the Abbey of Montserrat,
Catalonia, Spain.
Français: Choeur de l'Escolania de Montserrat
dans la basilique de l'abbaye de Montserrat,
Catalogne, Espagne.
Photo: 21 September 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Bernard Gagnon.
(Wikimedia Commons)




Monday 18 August 2014

Basilica Of Santa Maria Del Mar And The Cathedral Of The Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, Barcelona, Spain.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.



Basilica of
Santa Maria del Mar,
Barcelona, Spain.
Photo: 20 September 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Jiuguang Wang.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Santa Maria del Mar (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈsantə məˈɾi.ə ðəɫ ˈmar]) is an imposing Church in the Ribera district of Barcelona, Spain, built between 1329 and 1383, at the height of Catalonia's maritime and mercantile pre-eminence. It is an outstanding example of Catalan Gothic, with a purity and unity of style that is very unusual in large Mediaeval buildings.

The first mention of a Church of Santa Maria del Mar dates from 998 A.D. The construction of the present building was promoted by Canon Bernat Llull, who was appointed Arch-Dean of Santa Maria in 1324. Construction work started on 25 March 1329, when the Foundation Stone was laid by King Alfonso IV of Aragon (King Alfonso III of Catalonia), as commemorated by a Tablet, in Latin and Catalan, on the façade that faces the Fossar de les Moreres.

The architects in charge were Berenguer de Montagut (designer of the building) and Ramon Despuig, and, during the construction, all the Guilds of the Ribera Quarter were involved. The walls, the Side Chapels and the façades, were finished by 1350.



Català: Església de Santa Maria del Mar vista des del Passeig del Born.
English: Exterior of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona, Spain.
Photo: 19 July 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Kippelboy.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The Bell-Tower of the
Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar,
Barcelona, Spain.
Photo: 5 February 2007.
Source: Own work; de:User:Ralf Roletschek,
Fahrradmonteur.de
Author: Ralf Roletschek.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In 1379, there was a fire that damaged important parts of the Works. Finally, on 3 November 1383, the last stone was laid and on 15 August 1384 the Church was Consecrated. In 1428, an earthquake caused several casualties and destroyed the Rose Window in the West End. The new window, in the Flamboyant Style, was finished by 1459 and, one year later, the glass was added. The images and the Baroque Altar were destroyed in a fire in 1936. The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, adjacent to the Apse, was added in the 19th-Century.

From the outside, the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar gives an impression of massive severity that belies the Interior. It is hemmed in by the narrow streets of the Ribera, making it difficult to obtain an overall impression, except from the Fossar de les Moreres and the Plaça de Santa Maria, both of them former burial grounds.



Exterior of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar,
Barcelona, Spain.
Photo: 10 October 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Dror Feitelson.
(Wikimedia Commons)



English: The Great West Door,
the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar,
Barcelona, Spain.
Català: Església de Santa Maria del Mar. Barcelona.
Español: Iglesia de Santa Maria del Mar. Barcelona.
Photo: 9 September 2013.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The latter is dominated by the West End of the Church with its Rose Window. Images of Saint Peter and Saint Paul occupy Niches, on either side of the Great West Door, and the Tympanum shows the Saviour, flanked by Our Lady and Saint John. The North-West Tower was completed in 1496, but its companion was not finished until 1902.

In contrast with the Exterior, the Interior gives an impression of light and spaciousness. It is of the Basilica type, with its three Aisles forming a single space with no Transepts, and no architectural boundary between Nave and Presbytery. The simple Ribbed Vault is supported on slender Octagonal Columns, and abundant daylight streams in through the tall Clerestory windows.



Català: Corpus. Sortida de la processó de l'església de Santa Maria.
English: The Corpus Christi Procession Leaving the Church of Santa Maria del Mar.
Artist: Ramon Casas i Carbó (1866–1932).
Date: 1907.
Barcelona, Spain.
Source: http://usuarios.lycos.es/ramoncasas/obra/pintura/imatge/rc98_processocorpusb.jpg
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Corpus Christi Procession Leaving the Church of Santa Maria del Mar is an oil painting by Ramon Casas, painted on 1907, and currently in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona.

In 1896, an anarchist attacked the Corpus Christi Procession, which had left the Church of Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona, killing twelve people and creating panic in the City. The act was part of the turbulent social landscape in Catalonia of the early 20th-Century, dominated by anarchist bombings like this, or that had taken place in Gran Teatre del Liceu, four years earlier.



Interior of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar,
Barcelona, Spain.
Photo: 10 October 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Dror Feitelson.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Interior is almost devoid of imagery of the sort to be found in Barcelona's other large Gothic Churches, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia and Santa Maria del Pi, after the fire, which occurred in 1936 during Anti-Clerical disturbances. Amongst the most notable of the works destroyed at that time, was the Baroque Retable, by Deodat Casanoves and Salvador Gurri.

Some interesting Stained-Glass Windows have survived from various periods. The Church has a serious claim to have the slenderest Stone-Built Columns in the world.



Русский: Собор Святого Креста и Святой Евлалии.
Español: La Catedral de la Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia.
English: Cathedral of The Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, Barcelona, Spain.
Similar to the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, the Cathedral is
another Gothic structure in Barcelona.
Photo: 16 August 2013.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mromanchenko.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Interior of the Cathedral of The
Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, Barcelona, Spain.
Photo: 22 April 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Jorge Lascar.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia (Catalan: Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia, Spanish: Catedral de la Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia), also known as Barcelona Cathedral, is the Gothic Cathedral and Seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona, Spain.

The Cathedral was constructed between the 13th- and 15th-Centuries, with the principal work done in the 14th-Century. The Cloister, which encloses the Well of the Geese (Font de les Oques) was completed in 1448. In the Late-19th-Century, the Neo-Gothic façade was constructed over the nondescript Exterior that was common to Catalan Churches. The roof is notable for its Gargoyles, featuring a wide range of animals, both domestic and mythical.


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