Capela de Santa Catarina (Goa)
The Chapel of Saint Catherine ( Portuguese Capela de Santa Catarina ) is a chapel in honor of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in the Indian city of Velha Goa . The chapel is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Ensemble “ Churches and Monasteries of Goa ” (see World Heritage in India ) and is considered the first Roman Catholic building in India. It belongs to the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman .
history
In 1510 the Portuguese navigator Afonso de Albuquerque stood at the gates of Goa, then under the rule of the Sultanate of Bijapur . Albuquerque had a small chapel built right next to the Goa city wall, which, after the Portuguese conquered Goa on November 25, 1510, was dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria . The royal hospital and the São Francisco monastery , which still stands today, were built next to the chapel .
The first building was a simple clay building with a thatched roof. Albuquerque, however, ordered a chapel to be built, in his opinion more appropriate, for which the riches of the main mosque of Goa should be taken. In 1515 the vicar of the chapel already had sufficient funds and a first draft for a stone building, but construction did not begin until 1534.
In 1550 the chapel was rebuilt on the orders of the colonial governor Jorge Cabral . An inscription on the chapel reports it:
«AQUI NESTE LVGAR ESTAVA A PORTA PORQVE ENTROU O GOVERNADOR Å DALBOQUERQUE E TOMOU ESTA CIDADE AOS MOUROS ˜e dIA DE SANTA CATARINA ANO DE 1510 EM CVJO LOVVOR E MEMORIA O GOVERNADOR JORGE DE CABRAL DE ESTATE50»
“This place was at the [entrance] gate [of the city], because this is where Governor Afonso de Albuquerque stepped in and took the city from the Moors on Saint Catherine’s Day in 1510, and Governor Jorge Cabral in 1550 in her honor and memory ordered the construction of this house at the expense of SA [unclear]. "
On the occasion of an exhibition of the relics of St. Francis Xavier , the chapel received a thorough renovation in 1952 based on a design by the architect Baltasar de Castro , then an official of the Portuguese Monument General Directorate. This was part of a large-scale renovation of Velha Goa.
In 1986, UNESCO classified the church as part of the “Monasteries and Churches of Goa” ensemble as a World Heritage Site . In the Portuguese monument database Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico , which also includes monuments of former Portuguese colonies, the cathedral is registered with the number 11431. The cathedral is registered with the number N-GA-5 in the database of the Archaeological Survey of India .
architecture
Outside
The chapel has a square plan with only one nave. The facade of the chapel is kept simple and divided into three parts by pilasters , two small bell tower attachments complete the facade. The entrance gate is centrally located in the middle and has a straight lintel, above which there is a small window.
inner space
The interior of the chapel consists only of a nave and a stone apse and a vaulted ceiling, also made of stone.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b António Nunes Perreira: Capela de Santa Catarina. In: Património de Influência Portuguesa (HPIP). Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian ,, July 20, 2012, accessed October 30, 2017 (Portuguese).
- ↑ a b c d Sofia Diniz: Capela de Santa Catarina. In: Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico. 2002, accessed October 30, 2017 (Portuguese).
- ↑ http://www.hpip.org/Default/pt/Homepage/Obra?a=613
Coordinates: 15 ° 30 ′ 11.6 " N , 73 ° 54 ′ 37.7" E