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.

Author: Carme Ribes Moreno.

(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.

Current location: Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya,

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.