Justo Gallego MartÃnez
Justo Gallego Martínez ( born September 20, 1925 in Mejorada del Campo, Community of Madrid ) is a former Spanish monk, of a church in Mejorada del Campo, a town near Madrid built since 1961.
Life
As the son of a peasant family Gallego Martínez joined with 27 years in the Trappist monastery of Santa María de Huerta in Soria, but he had to leave in 1961 before taking the profession due to tuberculosis disease again. After his surprising recovery in 1961 he took out of gratitude a cathedral on an inherited property to build. Gallego Martínez lives with his sister near his cathedral.
Gallego Martínez works to this day (he is 88 years old in 2013 ) without the support of the Catholic Church, without plans and without building permits, mostly alone, sometimes with the help of his six nephews or volunteer. Sometimes he is at his own expense a professionals. He financed his work by the lease and sale of arable land, which he has taken, or through private donations. In 2005, he and his cathedral made known an advertising campaign for the drink Aquarius throughout Spain.
A long time he was in Mejorada as the "mad monk ", but today is the village which is 20 kilometers from Madrid, has become because of the church to the bustling town. The work has received international recognition, among others, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Church, a photo exhibition.
The building
According to Martínez his building was Our Lady of the Pillar, the patron saint of Spain, dedicated, popularly known under " Don Justos Cathedral ".
The building 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 basilica type ' with unfinished two-tower west facade, nave, säulengetragenem main vault with galleries, and cupola, also unfinished. The structure is built over a crypt. The blue dome is approximately 36 meters high, the two western towers will be 58 meters high.
Most building materials and tools used Don Justo, are recycled. He uses both everyday objects and materials donated by construction companies and a nearby brick factory. The mortar for the joints is mixed, for example, in old fuel drums and the formwork for the tall pillars of concrete are cardboard drums.
- Detail views
Media
- Catedral. Documentation / short film, directed by Aliocha, Alessio Rigo de Righi, Spanish, 2009 ( imdb.de )
- The Madman and The Cathedral. Documentation / short film, directed by James Rogan / Spain & UK, 2009, Spanish, with English subtitles. UT ( http://www.cathedraljusto.com )
- The construction site of the Lord. 360 ° Geo Reportage. Documentation, Director: Peter Moers, Jörg Daniel hoisting, DVD Studio Hamburg Distribution & Marketing, 2009 ASIN B002HWRLCE