Santa María Co-cathedral (Castellón)

Main Gothic facade of the Santa María Co-cathedral

The Santa María Co- cathedral (Valencian: Cocatedral de Santa Maria , Spanish: Concatedral de Santa María ) is a church building in the Spanish Mediterranean city of Castellón de la Plana . It is co- cathedral of the Segorbe-Castellón de la Plana diocese .

location

The co-cathedral Santa María is located on the main square (Spanish: Plaça Major ) in the city center of Castellón de la Plana. The El Fadrí bell tower is structurally separated a few meters northwest of the co-cathedral. Opposite the co-cathedral at the western end of the square is the town hall. A few meters southwest on the main square is the city's central market hall. To the east, the co-cathedral borders on Plaça de Cardona Vives .

history

The co-cathedral looks back on a very eventful history. The first building was built on the same site in the 13th century and was later destroyed by fire. In the 15th century the church was rebuilt in the Gothic style and completed in 1549 by the builder Miguel García de Segorbe .

In 1931 the building was declared a National Historic Monument, but burned down a few years later in the first days of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The reconstruction of the building began immediately, but the church was destroyed again after a few months. In 1939 the reconstruction of the church in neo -Gothic style began . The new design came from the architect Vicente Traver Tomás . The work could not be fully completed until 1999.

Since 1960, the Church of Santa María has been elevated to a co-cathedral of the Segorbe-Castellón de la Plana diocese by a decree by Pope John XXIII .

architecture

The co-cathedral Santa María has an apse and the floor plan is in the shape of a Latin cross . The nave consists of a central nave with octagonal pillars and two side aisles. The naves have a rib vault . There is a dome over the crossing . The co-cathedral has a small cloister that connects to the south-west of the transept .

The Gothic main facade of the previous building facing the main square, parts of two further portals and paintings of the previous church are still preserved.