Almudena Cathedral

The Almudena Cathedral

Cathedral, in front of the Royal Palace

View of the altar and main nave

Santa María la Real de La Almudena is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Madrid ( Spain ).

history

The first plans for the construction of a new church, which one wanted to dedicate to St. Mary of the Almudena (from Arabic al-mudayna , citadel; a title of the Mother of God Mary as the city patroness of Madrid), emerged as early as the 16th century. However, construction of the cathedral did not begin until the 19th century and was only finished in 1993. In that year the cathedral was consecrated by Pope John Paul II and at the same time elevated to the status of episcopal church of the Archdiocese of Madrid (from the foundation of the diocese in 1885, the Colegiata de San Isidro had initially served as a temporary cathedral).

Although the church was started in the neo-Gothic style , the cathedral was eventually built in the neoclassic style to match the style of the adjacent royal palace . The interior of the Almudena Cathedral is uniquely modern, with a “Pop Art” decor, designed by the icon painter Kiko Argüello .

On May 22nd, 2004 the first royal wedding took place in the cathedral with the wedding of Crown Prince Felipe of Spain and Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano .

On February 7, 2013, a bomb attack on the cathedral was prevented after a clergyman found an explosive device near a confessional. The cathedral was then cleared and cordoned off in large areas before the explosive device could be defused.

Bronze door entrance portal
Crossing dome seen from the choir
South view
John Paul II monument

Furnishing

Painting of the crossing dome

Shrine of St. Isidoro

The cathedral is built in the shape of a Latin cross, consisting of the central nave, flanked by two side aisles, which continues into the choir, which is surrounded by an ambulatory, to which a wreath of five chapels adjoins. In contrast to the external appearance, which is dominated by neoclassical and baroque style elements, the interior is largely built in the neo-Gothic style. Most of the furnishings are also neo-Gothic.

In the south transept is the altar of the Virgen de la Almudena , the patroness of Madrid. The middle chapel is dedicated to St. Isidoro Labrador and his wife, St. María de la Cabeza , whose portraits in the 17th / 18th centuries. Century by the sculptor Juan Villabrille y Ron. They flank a sarcophagus from the 13th century, in which the bones of the saint were kept for a while. The sarcophagus is painted with various scenes from the lives of the saints. Maria de las Mercedes d'Orléans-Montpensier , Queen of Spain, has also been buried in the Almudena Cathedral since 2000 .

The chapels flanking the nave to the left and right are dedicated to contemporary saints, including a. the Opus Dei founder Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer , the holy priest Pedro Poveda , the founder of the order Maria Josepha Sancho or the Carmelite Maravillas de Jesús . All chapels are decorated in a contemporary style.

Also of particular importance are the cathedral windows, especially the apse, which were completed in 2004.

View into the choir room with newly designed picture areas
Ceiling painting
Altar installation in the south transept
Window (Santa Maria de Atocha)

organ

Grenzing organ

The organ was built in 1999 by the organ builder Gerhard Grenzing (El Papiol, Barcelona). The instrument has 70 stops on four manuals and a pedal . The organ case is designed based on the work principle; With the exception of the swell , the individual organ works are also visible in the prospectus . The Rückpositiv is not located directly in the organist's back, but is distributed over two small housings, each of which is located on the side of the console. One of the special features of the instrument is the large-sized trumpet or solo movement, which, in addition to the typical Spanish trumpets based on the classic Iberian organ building tradition, also has other registers in the iSe solo movements. The game actions (hanging actions) are mechanical.

I Rückpositiv Ca ³
1.	Flautado	08th'
2.	Tapado	08th'
3.	Quintatón	08th'
4th	Flauta Travesera 0	08th'
5.	Octava	04 ′
6th	Tapadillo	04 ′
7th	Nazardo 12 ^a	02 ² ⁄ ₃  ′
8th.	Quincena	02 ′
9.	Flauta Silvestre	02 ′
10.	Nazardo 17 ^a	01 ³ ⁄ ₅  ′
11.	Nazardo 19 ^a	01 ¹ ⁄ ₃  ′
12.	Churumbela II
13.	Lleno IV
14th	Címbala III
15th	Serpenton	16 ′
16.	Cromorno	08th'
	tremolo

II main work Ca ³
17th	Flautado Mayor	16 ′
18th	Flautado	08th'
19th	Flauta Chiminea	08th'
20th	Flauta Armonica	08th'
21st	Octava	04 ′
22nd	Docena	02 ² ⁄ ₃  ′
23.	Quincena	02 ′
24.	Lleno VI
25th	Címbala IV
26th	Trompeta Mayor 0	16 ′
27.	Trompeta Real	08th'

III Swell approx ³
28.	Violón Mayor	16 ′
29	Flautado Tapado	08th'
30th	Gamba	08th'
31.	Onda Marina	08th'
32.	viola	08th'
33.	Octava	04 ′
34.	Flauta Travesera	04 ′
35.	17 ^a Mayor	03 ¹ ⁄ ₅  ′
36.	Nazardo 12 ^a	02 ² ⁄ ₃  ′
37.	Quincena	02 ′
38.	Pífano	02 ′
39.	Nazardo 17 ^a	01 ³ ⁄ ₅  ′
40.	Séptima	01 ¹ ⁄ ₇  ′
41.	Cipher	01'
42.	Lleno IV
43.	Tercerilla III
44.	Bassoon	16 ′
45.	Trompeta Armonica 0	08th'
46.	oboe	08th'
47.	Voz Humana	08th'
48.	Clarín Campaña	04 ′
	tremolo

IV Trompetería Ca ³
49.	Trompeta Magna	16 ′
50.	Trompeta Batalla 0	08th'
51.	Clarín	08th'
52.	Orlos	08th'
53.	Bayoncillo	04 ′
54.	Violeta	02 ′
55.	Corneta VI
56.	Violón	08th'
57.	Flauta Dulce	04 ′

Pedal Cg ¹
58.	Grave	32 ′
59.	Cons	16 ′
60.	Subbajo	16 ′
61.	Flautado	08th'
62.	Bajo Cónico	08th'
63.	Octava	04 ′
64.	Corno	02 ′
65.	Compuestas III0
66.	Lleno V
67.	Contra Bombarda 0	32 ′
68.	Bombarda	16 ′
69.	Trompeta	08th'
70.	Clarín	04 ′

Coupling: I / II, III / I, III / II, IV / II, III 16 ′ / II, I / P, II / P, III / P, IV / P, IV 4 ′ / P

Bells

A total of 21 bells hang in the two towers of the cathedral.

In the wall openings of the east and west towers hang 4 bells each , which are rung in a rollover procedure. The (larger) bells in the west tower were cast in 1998 by the bell foundry Ocampo (Arcos de Condesa), the (smaller) bells in the east tower were cast by the bell caster Quintana (Saldana) in 2003-2004.

No.	Surname	Caster	Casting year	Diameter (cm)	Weight (kg)	Nominal (16th note)	tower
1	Benedicta	Quintana, Campanas (Saldana)	2003	105	670	f sharp ¹	east
2	Ancilla Domini			117	927	it ¹	east
3	Magnificat			131	1302	it ¹	east
4th	Gratia Plena		2004	140	1589	of the ^1st	east
5	Santa Maria de la Flor de Lis	Ocampo, Artesanos Campaneroas (Arcos de Condesa)	1998	138	1522	it ¹	west
6th	Santa María de Atocha			140	1589	e ¹	west
7th	Santa Maria de la Paloma			146	1802	h ⁰	west
8th	Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena			155	2156	b ⁰	west

Inside the east tower hangs a 13-part carillon that was cast in 2003 by the bell caster Quintana (Saldana). The bells weigh between 37 and 579 kg; their diameters are between 40 and 100 cm. It has the beat notes c ¹ - c ² .

Individual evidence

↑ orf.at on February 7, 2013
↑ Information on the design and furnishings of the cathedral ( Memento from August 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (Spanish)
↑ To the disposition
↑ More information on the conception of the organ .
↑ More information about the bells
↑ More information about the individual bells

Web links

Commons : Almudena Cathedral - collection of images, videos and audio files

40.415555555556 -3.7144444444444Coordinates: 40 ° 24 ′ 56 " N , 3 ° 42 ′ 52" W.

[1] rf.at on February 7, 2013

[2] Information on the design and furnishings of the cathedral ( Memento from August 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (Spanish)

[3] To the disposition

[4] More information on the conception of the organ .

[5] More information about the bells

[6] More information about the individual bells