Justo Gallego Martínez

Don Justo 2003 with the German artist Ulrich Brinkhoff on the vaulted ceiling of his church

Justo Gallego Martínez (born September 20, 1925 in Mejorada del Campo , Autonomous Community of Madrid ) is a Spaniard who has been building a church in Mejorada del Campo, a town of 23,000 people about 20 kilometers east of the city center of Madrid , since 1961 .

Life

As the son of a peasant family, Gallego Martínez entered the novitiate of the Trappist abbey of Santa María de Huerta near Soria at the age of 27 , which he had to leave again in 1961 before professing because of tuberculosis . After his surprising healing, in 1961, out of gratitude, he began to build a church on an inherited property. He lives with his sister near his building.

Gallego Martínez works to this day without the support of the Catholic Church , without building plans and without building permits, mostly alone, occasionally with the help of his six nephews or volunteers. Sometimes he hires specialists at his own expense. He finances his work by leasing and selling farmland that he has acquired or through private donations. In 2005, an advertising campaign for the Aquarius drink made him and his building known in Spain. Martínez named the diocese of Alcalá de Henares as heir for the building in his will .

For a long time he was considered the “crazy monk” in Mejorada, but today the town, which is 20 kilometers from Madrid, has become a much-visited place because of the church - even if the city fathers have not yet put up a single sign about the biggest attraction. The work has also received international recognition; Among other things, the Museum of Modern Art , New York, dedicated a photo exhibition to the church.

The construction

"Don Justo's Cathedral" in Mejorada del Campo in 2005

According to Martínez, his building is dedicated to Our Lady on the Pillar , one of the patron saints of Spain, popularly known as “Don Justo's Cathedral”.

The structure is 55 meters long, 25 meters wide and 35 meters high, and covers an area of 8,000 square meters. It corresponds to the proportions of a classic Spanish type basilica with an unfinished two-tower west facade, long nave, column-supported main vault with galleries, and crossing dome, also still unfinished. The building is built over a lower church. The blue dome is about 36 meters high and has already been built, the two west towers are to be 58 meters high. The twelve towers have begun and now tower over the nave, the walls of the cloister are already closed.

Most of the building materials and tools that Don Justo uses are recycled. He uses everyday items as well as materials donated by construction companies and a nearby brick factory. The mortar for the joints, for example, stirred in old fuel drums and the formwork for the high columns of concrete are cardboard drums.

Detailed views

media

Catedral. Documentation / short film, director: Aliocha, Alessio Rigo de Righi, spanish, 2009 ( imdb.de )
The Madman and The Cathedral. Documentation / short film, director: James Rogan / Spain & United Kingdom, 2009, Spanish, with Engl. UT ( http://www.cathedraljusto.com/ )
The Lord's construction site. 360 ° geo-report. Documentation, directors: Peter Moers, Jörg Daniel Hissen, DVD Studio Hamburg Distribution & Marketing, 2009
"The Lone Man Building a Cathedral by Hand," Great Big Story 2016

Web links

Commons : Cathedral of Justo Gallego Martínez - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Andreas Moring: A man builds a cathedral - alone. In: Hamburger Abendblatt. October 5, 2005, accessed August 21, 2015 .
^ Mark Eveleigh: Don Justo and the Home-made Cathedral. travelintelligence, archived from the original on June 27, 2009 ; Retrieved May 3, 2009 .
^ ^A ^b Don Justo's Self Built Cathedral. Archived from the original on December 23, 2009 ; Retrieved May 3, 2009 .
↑ Spain's DIY Cathedral. Jaunted, accessed May 3, 2009 .
↑ Thomas Urban Don Justo is building a church , sueddeutsche.de, April 12, 2017
↑ To the dimensions and numbers
↑ Information on the heights

40.394166666667 -3.4883333333333Coordinates: 40 ° 23 ′ 39 " N , 3 ° 29 ′ 18" W

personal data
SURNAME	Gallego Martínez, Justo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Spanish architect
DATE OF BIRTH	September 20, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH	Soria

[1] Andreas Moring: A man builds a cathedral - alone. In: Hamburger Abendblatt. October 5, 2005, accessed August 21, 2015 .

[2] Mark Eveleigh: Don Justo and the Home-made Cathedral. travelintelligence, archived from the original on June 27, 2009 ; Retrieved May 3, 2009 .

[Hasselhoff-3] A ^b Don Justo's Self Built Cathedral. Archived from the original on December 23, 2009 ; Retrieved May 3, 2009 .

[4] Spain's DIY Cathedral. Jaunted, accessed May 3, 2009 .

[5] Thomas Urban Don Justo is building a church , sueddeutsche.de, April 12, 2017

[6] To the dimensions and numbers

[7] Information on the heights