Old Cathedral, Salamanca

The old cathedral of Salamanca ( Catedral Vieja de Santa María del asedio ), together with the adjacent major new Cathedral, the Episcopal Church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salamanca. The Romanesque- Early Gothic basilica in 1854 received the rank of a minor basilica. Since 1988 she is part of the UNESCO World Heritage town of Salamanca.

History

The Diocese of Salamanca derives its tradition from the early Christian time ago. About the Roman, Visigoth and Moorish period, however, no reliable evidence. Whether the present cathedral had a Mozarabic predecessor, is uncertain.

During the Reconquista, the diocese in 1102 was restored. Around 1150 began the construction of today's Old Cathedral, 1162 the cloister. The work went on until well into the 13th century. 1174 the cathedral school was founded in 1218 from the University of Salamanca emerged. The construction of more than twice as large new cathedral north beside the old began in 1513 and lasted until 1733.

Architecture

The church is a cruciform basilica. The nave is 52 meters long and 16.70 meters high in the nave. All three ships close with semicircular apses. The left transept was cut during the construction of the new cathedral. The most striking part of the building is the octagonal crossing tower ( Torre del Gallo ) with four gables and ornamental towers. He's exterior and interior richly decorated with late Romanesque figures and capitals. The vaults of the nave show the transition to Gothic. The main portal, of whose character wealth only parts have survived, is flanked by a proclamation group.

The west front of the cathedral is doppeltürmig created and originally conceived as a defensive structure. The south tower was carried out only up to the amount of the nave. The mighty north tower with the bells belonging to the old and the new cathedral, was given its present baroque -classical form only in the 18th century after a fire and the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

Also, the cloister, originally Moorish influences, was restored after destruction in the earthquake of Lisbon in classical forms and increases by one floor.

Equipment

Inside the Gothic wall painting is mostly preserved. It is one of the most outstanding of its kind in Europe. The altars and images of the many bands from different eras are of the highest quality.