Oviedo Cathedral

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West facade
Main nave

The Oviedo Cathedral is the main church of the Archdiocese of Oviedo . It is the Savior ( San Salvador ) ordained . Other churches and buildings belong to the complex.

Geographical location

The cathedral is located in the city of Oviedo in the Principality of Asturias in Spain . It is located on the site of a pre-Romanesque cathedral from the ninth century, some of which have been preserved.

history

Today's cathedral had at least three previous buildings: The high medieval churches of King Fruela I from the 8th century and King Alfonso II from the 9th century as well as their late medieval, Romanesque successor buildings.

Church of Fruela I.

The Asturian King Fruela I had the first church consecrated to San Salvador built on the site where the cathedral stands today. The exact time for this is unknown. Fruela I is attested as the founder in an inscription that was destroyed in the 16th century and which his son, Alfonso II, affixed and which Bishop Pelayo (1098–1129) had recorded in the cathedral's record book. This first church was destroyed in a Muslim raid in 794. Nothing is known about the architecture of this first church.

Church of Alfonso II

Exterior view of Cámara Santa and Santa Leocadia crypt
Apostles in the Cámara Santa
Cámara Santa : View of the sanctuary from the main room

Alfonso II moved the capital to Oviedo and had a new church built. This became the cathedral when the Diocese of Oviedo was founded in 811. The cathedral probably also included older parts of the previous building. The complex comprised several churches and other buildings, was expanded and rebuilt many times. These included the Monastery of San Vicente (monks), the Monastery of San Juan Bautista and San Pelayo (nuns). Next to the cathedral there was a St. Mary's Church and a cemetery that was used until the 16th century. San Salvador, was the main church, while Santa Maria served as the cemetery church.

The Basilica of San Salvador was probably consecrated on October 13, 821. It was a three-aisled building. In front of each ship was a rectangular choir . The ships were covered with a flat wooden ceiling. The dimensions of the church were about 40 × 20 m and it was 25 m high. The three-part chancel housed a main altar dedicated to the Savior. There were also twelve altars dedicated to the apostles, later there were 21 altars. The inside of the church was painted.

In the south of the church there were a number of buildings, remains of which are still preserved south of the cathedral and below the present-day bishop's palace. After the destruction in the Asturian miners' strike in 1934 , archaeological excavations could take place in this area between 1942 and 1950 . It was found that these buildings had emerged from the royal palace of Alfonso II.

The Cámara Santa is then around 884 during the reign of Alfonso III. was added to the slightly older "Old Tower" (Torre Vieja) and originally served as a palace chapel. The structure is two-story without the two levels within the building being connected to one another. The original function of the lower room is completely unexplained. Its brick vault is deep. The room later served as a crypt and is now referred to as the "Crypt of Santa Leocadia". Whether the relics of Saint Leocadia were moved here from Toledo is disputed. It seems certain that the bones of Saints Eulogius and Leocritia were moved here from Córdoba . The upper room served as the chapel of St. Michael from the 11th century. The church's treasures and relics were kept there, a function that it still has today. The Cámara Santa houses the cathedral's most valuable treasures: the crosses La Victoria and Los Angeles , symbols of Asturias and the city of Oviedo, the Caja de las Ágatas and the Arca Santa (“ Holy Ark ”), which contains a large number of relics , including the Holy Shroud (Santo Sudario).

Romanesque cathedral and alterations

Romanesque Torre Vieja

The church of Alfonso II was replaced - probably in the 12th century - by a third, Romanesque cathedral. Structurally, only relatively small remains of it have survived.

The Torre Vieja fulfilled its defensive function until the end of the 11th century. Then it was converted into a bell tower in Romanesque style and received two openings. Today it is the last major structural remnant from the Romanesque period in the complex.

The Cámara Santa was also rebuilt in the 12th century . The previously flat wooden roofing of the main room was replaced by a barrel vault , which rests on the inside on pillars that are designed as apostles, a masterpiece of Spanish Romanesque from 1165/1175. The figures are arranged in pairs. Each couple seems to be engrossed in conversation. The Sanctuary of Cámara Santa is lower and its vault is older. On the west wall the chiseled heads of a crucifixion can be seen, Christ, John and Mary. The rest of the scene was designed as a fresco that was destroyed when the Cámara Santa was blown up in the Asturian miners' strike in 1934, so that today the heads are torn out of context.

The gothic cathedral

Gothic wall structure

The influence of Gothic architecture did not reach Asturias until the end of the 13th century. It was then that the Gothic renovation of the cathedral began, first of all of the chapter house and the cloister . The chapter house is accessible from the cloister. It was not until a hundred years later that the Gothic renovation of the cathedral began. The chapter house owes its construction to the cathedral cantor Pedro Esteban, who died in 1293 and was buried in the hall itself, as well as that of the dean and later bishop Fernando Alfonso (1295–1301), who donated 2,000 maravedís for the construction. Neither the architect nor the date for the start of the work are known. It is known, however, that the work began before 1300 and that the first meeting of the cathedral chapter took place in the new room in March 1314.

The construction of the Gothic church began in 1382 (according to other sources in 1388) under the bishop Gutierre de Toledo (1377-1389). It would last into the 16th century. The first architect was Juan de Badajoz el Viejo . The ship was completed in 1498 and from 1500 onwards the facade design and towers (of which only one was built). The tower construction began in 1508 and was completed in 1552. In 1575 the tower burned down. The reconstruction, completed in 1587, was influenced by Burgos , as the openwork helmet shows.

20th century

On October 11, 1934, during the Asturian miners' strike, a group of revolutionaries set off a bomb in the crypt of Cámara Santa, which severely damaged the building. The works of art also suffered great damage and important relics disappeared . Nevertheless, treasures from the crypt could be saved. The reconstruction after this catastrophe took place between 1939 and 1942 with the greatest possible attention and restoration according to the original.

building

Exterior

The current facade was designed in the Gothic style at the beginning of the 16th century according to the design by Juan de Badajoz , the entrance as a low portico with three arches and three doors that give access to each of the three naves. It is covered with a flat rib vault. The design provided for a two-tower facade. However, only one tower was built with a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance elements. It is 80 m high, begins integrated into the portico and facade and is divided into five floors, which become smaller and smaller as the top rises. There is a clock in the tower on the second floor.

Interior

The plan of the church is based on a Latin cross . She has three ships. The central nave is 10 m wide, 67 m long and 20 m high and higher than the side aisles, which are 6 m wide. The vault rests on bundle pillars. The church originally closed with a central, semicircular apse, which was flanked by two other, smaller ones in front of the aisles. The current Gothic apse of the cathedral has a polygonal floor plan. Of the two rows of stained glass windows, only the upper one is visible today, as the oversized tableau of the main altar obstructs the view of the lower row. In the baroque era , the choir area was redesigned to create a gallery from which radial chapels emerged. Numerous chapels are also attached to the aisles.

Furnishing

Retable of the main altar

At the head of the south aisle, on the column of the south arch of the transept is the image of the Savior, a sculpture from the 13th century. It was an important destination for pilgrims.

The main altar is dedicated to the Savior. The retable was begun in 1511 by Giralte de Bruselas and completed in 1531 by Juan de Balmaseda and Miguel Bingeles . At 12 × 12 m, it is “huge, even by Spanish standards”. It depicts 24 scenes from the life of Jesus.

The Hornacina de la Hidria dates from the 15th century. According to legend, the niche contains one of the 6 vessels from the wedding of Cana . It was a pilgrimage destination for centuries. The jar holds 100 liters and will be shown to the public on September 21st, the feast of the Evangelist Matthew . On this occasion, previously blessed water is drunk from it.

Cloister

The cloister is Gothic and was built in various phases between 1300 and 1441, repeatedly interrupted by financial difficulties. It is rectangular, 27 × 32 m, with the long sides being formed by an archway with four and the short by three arches. This cloister replaced a Romanesque predecessor from the 12th century. In the 18th century the complex was fundamentally changed by the architect Riva Ladrón de Guevara when the upper floor was added. Due to the long period in which it was worked on, it contains different architectural styles between Romanesque and Baroque with an emphasis on different Gothic forms. The cloister has a total of 167 sculptural capitals, with a royal hunting scene and the Lamb of God still coming from the demolished Romanesque cloister.

Chapel of Our Lady King Alfonso II (Capilla de Nuestra Señora del Rey Casto)

Burial place of the Asturian royal family (18th century)

This royal burial place was in the Nuestra Señora del Rey Casto church , which was added to Oviedo Cathedral at the request of King Alfonso II in the ninth century. The chapel was rebuilt from 1705–1712 on behalf of Bishop Tomás Reluz on the older chapel. It has its own outside entrance through a garden north of the cathedral. It is connected to the cathedral by a large door designed by Juan de Malinas between 1470 and 1485 in late Gothic forms. Numerous members of the Asturian-Leonese royal family were buried here. The members of the Asturian-Leon royal family, buried here today in baroque urns, are:

  • Fruela I. (722-768)
  • Munia de Álava, wife of King Fruela I and mother of Alfonso II.
  • Bermudo I († 797)
  • Alfonso II (759-842)
  • Berta, wife of King Alfonso II.
  • Ramiro I. (842-850)
  • Ordoño I. (accession to government 830–866)
  • Munia, wife of King Ordoño I and mother of Alfonso III.
  • Alfons III (848-910)
  • Jimena de Asturias († 912), wife of King Alfonso III, daughter of King García Íñiguez of Pamplona and mother of García I, Ordoño II and Fruela II.
  • García I (871–914), King of León
  • Fruela II. (Approx. 875–925)
  • Elvira Menéndez († 921), wife of Ordoño II of León and mother of Alfonso IV and Ramiro II of León
  • Urraca Sánchez († 956), wife of Ramiro II of León and mother of Sancho I of León.
  • Teresa Ansúrez († 997), wife of Sancho I of León and mother of Ramiro III. from León.

A valuable piece of equipment in the chapel is the early Christian sarcophagus lid of Ithacius from around 500, which was created for a young member of one of the leading Roman families in Spain.

Protection status

The complex and its surroundings are a Spanish cultural monument and have been included in the list of monuments since 2007.

The Cámara Santa was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998 , the extension of a registration that was made in 1985.

In 2015, the cathedral was also included in the World Heritage list during the expansion of the Camino de Santiago World Heritage Site in Spain.

See also

literature

  • Dietrich Höllhuber and Werner Schäfke: The Spanish Way of St. James. History and art on the way to Santiago de Compostela . DuMont, [Cologne] 1999. ISBN 3-7701-4862-2
  • Pedro de Palol , Max Hirmer : Art of the early Middle Ages from the Visigoth Empire to the end of the Romanesque. Hirmer, Munich 1965, ISBN 3-7774-5730-2
  • Kingsley Porter: Romanesque Sculpture of the Pilgrimage Roads . 3 volumes. Hacker Arts Books, New York, reprinted 1969.
  • Werner Schäfke: Northwest Spain. Landscape, history and art on the way to Santiago de Compostela . DuMont, Cologne 1987. ISBN 3-7701-1589-9
  • Matthias Untermann : Architecture in the early Middle Ages . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2006, ISBN 978-3-534-03122-1 .

Web links

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

Remarks

  1. ↑ The diocese was elevated to an archdiocese in 1954.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Schäfke: Nordwest-Spanien , p. 217.
  2. ^ Schäfke: Nordwest-Spanien , p. 217.
  3. ^ Untermann: Architecture in the early Middle Ages , p. 124; Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 200.
  4. ↑ Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 200.
  5. ^ Untermann: Architecture in the early Middle Ages , p. 124.
  6. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 251.
  7. ^ Schäfke: Nordwest-Spanien , p. 218.
  8. ^ Porter: Romanesque Sculpture , p. 261; Schäfke: Northwest Spain , p. 200.
  9. ^ Palol: Spain , p. 119.
  10. ^ Schäfke: Nordwest-Spanien , p. 218.
  11. ^ Schäfke: Nordwest-Spanien , p. 219.
  12. ^ Schäfke: Nordwest-Spanien , p. 220.
  13. ^ Schäfke: Nordwest-Spanien , p. 198.
  14. ^ Schäfke: Nordwest-Spanien , p. 219.
  15. ↑ Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 252.
  16. ^ Schäfke: Nordwest-Spanien , p. 221.
  17. ^ Schäfke: Nordwest-Spanien , p. 221.
  18. ^ Schäfke: Nordwest-Spanien , p. 219; Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 251.
  19. ^ Schäfke: Nordwest-Spanien , p. 219.
  20. ^ Schäfke: Nordwest-Spanien , p. 221; Höllhuber: The Spanish Way of St. James , p. 252.
  21. ↑ List of monuments, no .: ARI - 53-0000644-00000 .
  22. ^ Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias .
  23. ↑ Routes of Santiago de Compostela: Camino Francés and Routes of Northern Spain .

Coordinates: 43 ° 21 ′ 45.3 "  N , 5 ° 50 ′ 35.1"  W.