Cusco Cathedral
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The Cathedral of Cusco or the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ( Spanish Catedral Basílica de la Virgen de la Asunción ) is the most important church of Cusco in Peru . The cathedral of the Archdiocese of Cusco , together with the side churches Chapel of Triumph and Chapel of the Holy Family ( Sagrada Familia in Spanish ), form the cathedral complex with almost 4000 square meters, which is located in the northeast of today's Plaza de Armas . The facility was built on the Inca temple of Wiraqucha . The monument in the historic center of Cusco has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983 .
history
Construction of the cathedral complex began with the construction of the triumphal chapel, which was initially used as the cathedral of the diocese created in 1538. The cathedral was built in the Herrera style between 1560 and 1664 . The first architect was Juan Miguel de Veramendi in 1560, who was replaced by Juan Correa two years later. Marco Vitruvio and Jacopo Vignola followed until Miguel Gutiérrez Sencio completed the Cathedral of Cuzco in 1649. The Chapel of the Holy Family followed in the 18th century. On February 8, 1928, Pope Benedict XVI. the cathedral also has the title of a minor basilica .
cathedral
The Cathedral of Cusco is a three-aisled church with 24 vaults and eleven chapels 85 meters long and 45 meters wide, the massive towers reach a height of 33 meters. The three ships are the same size as in the cathedrals of Lima and Jaén . The latter was the model for the two Peruvian cathedrals.
The building material was andesite from the surrounding areas, and red granite blocks from the Sacsayhuamán fortress were also reused.
The cathedral with a Renaissance facade and baroque, late Gothic and Plateresque interiors has one of the most outstanding examples of colonial goldsmithing. It is equipped with eleven altars with significant wood carvings. The cathedral is adorned with a total of 365 paintings by mostly local artists such as Marcos Zapata and Antonio Sinchi Roca. The masterfully crafted choir stalls with 40 life-size figures of saints are outstanding. The cathedral venerates the famous image of the Lord of the Earthquakes , who is carried through the city in the annual procession.
Triumphal chapel
The structure was erected in 1538 on a cross-shaped floor plan on the basis of the old Suntur Wasi temple made of the same andesite and temporarily served as the city's cathedral.
On the main facade, the image of Our Lady of the Assumption was placed in memory of the Spanish victory over Manku Inka Yupanki in 1536, from which the name El Triunfo refers. The cruciform floor plan of the three-aisled church has a stone dome over the crossing , supported by four cruciform columns that rise on the plinths and four semicircular stone arches.
Chapel of the Holy Family
On September 13, 1723, the foundation stone was laid to begin the construction of the Temple of the Holy Family on behalf of Bishop Gabriel de Arregui. After the death of the architect commissioned with the work, construction was resumed in 1733 and completed on September 3, 1735. In 1996 the chapel was completely restored with the support of the Archdiocese of Cusco and the European Union because of its poor state of preservation. It was closed for about 30 years.
The chapel consists of a Latin transept with a rectangular floor plan with small side niches. The walls inside the temple are made of polished stone with lime plaster. The whole church is also built with andesite. The roof of the temple consists of five vaults with rectangular tiles. In the area of the choir is the baroque altar with two side sacristies.
literature
- Rolf Seeler: Peru and Bolivia: Indian cultures, Inca ruins and the baroque colonial splendor of the Andean states . Dumont, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-7701-4786-1 , pp. 236 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
Individual evidence
- ↑ City of Cuzco on whc.unesco.org
- ↑ Catedral Basílica de la Virgen de la Asunción on gcatholic.org
- ^ Cathedral of Cusco, Peru
Coordinates: 13 ° 30 ′ 58.7 ″ S , 71 ° 58 ′ 41.2 ″ W.