Santa María La Mayor Basilica

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Facade of the basilica
inner space

The Basilica of Santa María La Mayor is a church in Pontevedra on the Galician coast of Spain . The Church of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela is Maria consecrated. The church from the 16th century has had the rank of a basilica minor since 1962 and has been listed as a historical cultural asset since 1931 ; it is the only Galician building to be awarded the title of santuario real ( German  royal sanctuary ), which it was granted by King Juan Carlos in 2000 I. Received from Spain.

history

The Marienbasilika is the main church in the old town of Pontevedra and was built in place of a Romanesque church. The construction of the church was sponsored by the Archbishops of Santiago de Compostela, several local noble families, the fishing guild and the merchant shipping association, as well as brotherhoods. It was built according to the plans of Juan de los Cuetos and Diego Gil, Cornielles de Holanda, Mateo López, Sebastián Barros, Domingo Fernándes and Juan Noble.

description

The church was designed as a Gothic building with influences from the Manueline style of nearby Portugal. The western entrance facade rises above the broad main staircase. This was completed in the Plateresque style by Cornielis de Holanda and Juan Noble in 1541. The portal in the middle part of the facade is vaulted by a round arch , next to which there are sculptures of Saints Peter and Paul. On the upper part of the door there is a relief of the Virgin Mary; medallions in the form of scallops and sculptures of saints, biblical and historical figures were installed above it. In the upper part there is a rose window . The facade is crowned by a calvary and finally a coat of arms typical of the Manueline style. On the sides of the rose window, between the saints, there are also busts of Christopher Columbus and Hernán Cortés . The facade on the south side of the building has a baroque portal with a semicircular stone arch, the transept protrudes far.

In the three-nave church, the main nave shows the dominance of the Renaissance style , while the two side chapels are in the late Gothic style. The naves and the side chapels were covered with ribbed vaults created by Diego de Siloé in 1522. The Capella Maior has a reredos made of chestnut and walnut, which was created between the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the Galician sculptor Máximo Magariños, who also created the pulpit and the fourteen Stations of the Cross .

Notable chapels are:

  • The Christ Chapel, also known as the Chapel of Good Jesus and Even Torments. Its baroque altar was made by José in the 18th century

Ferreiro.

  • Chapel of the Purísima, with its wooden altarpiece (in which the image of the Virgen de la Esperanza, known as the Virgen de la O, is the patron saint of the city of Pontevedra) with five panels from 1500 and a work by the Portuguese sculptor Atayde.
  • Altar of the Sorrowful Virgin, in which there is a baroque altarpiece, in the lower part of which a reclining Christ can be seen inside a glass urn.

literature

  • Juan Juega Puig: Santa María a maior de Pontevedra . Concello de Pontevedra, 2010.
  • Iglesias gallegas de la Edad Media, collection of articles published by José Villa-amil y Castro. San Francisco de Sales. Madrid. 2005.

Web links

Commons : Basilica of Santa María La Mayor  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Parishes of the Diocese of Santiago de Compostela. Retrieved January 13, 2020 (Spanish).
  2. ↑ Basilica de Santa María la Mayor on gcatholic.org (English)
  3. ^ Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport: Query the real estate database. Retrieved July 12, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Decree of the Ministry of Public Education and the Arts, published in Gaceta de Madrid No. 155 of June 4, 1931, available online at [1] (Spanish)
  5. ↑ The Basilica of Santa Maria receives the title Royal (Spanish)
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g Basílica de Santa María la Mayor (Pontevedra) (Spanish)
  7. ↑ a b c La Basílica de Santa María la Mayor (Spanish)
  8. ↑ a b Basílica Santa María la Mayor (Spanish)
  9. ↑ a b c Basílica de Santa María la Mayor (Spanish)
  10. ↑ a b c Basílica de Santa María la Mayor (Spanish)

Coordinates: 42 ° 26 ′ 1.6 ″  N , 8 ° 38 ′ 51.1 ″  W.