Burgos Cathedral
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Criteria | Cultural: ii, iv, vi |
| Reference | 316 |
| Inscription | 1984 (8th Session) |
The Burgos Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral de Burgos) is a Gothic-style cathedral in Burgos, Spain. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is famous for its vast size and unique architecture. Its construction began in 1221, following French Gothic parameters. It had very important modifications in the 15th and 16th centuries (spires of the principal façade, chapel of the Constable, cimborio of the transept: these elements of advanced Gothic give the cathedral its distinguished profile). The last works of importance (the sacristy or the chapel of Saint Tecla) pertain to the 18th century, century in which the Gothic statuary of the doors of the principal façade was also dismantled completely. At the beginning of the 20th century, some semidetached construction to the cathedral was eliminated, such as the Archbishopric Palace and the upper floor of the cloister. The style of the cathedral is Gothic, although it has some Renaissance and Baroque works.
In the cathedral, works of extraordinary artists are kept, such as the architects and sculptors of the Colonia family (Juan, Simón and Francisco), the sculptors Gil de Siloé, Felipe Vigarny or Juan de Anchieta, the sculptor and architect Diego de Siloé, the grillworker Cristóbal de Andino or the painter Sebastiano del Piombo ("Holy Family On A Voyage"), among many others.
The cathedral was declared "World Heritage Site" by UNESCO on October 31 of 1984. It is the only Spanish cathedral that has this distinction independiently, without being joined to the historic center of a city (as in Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Ávila, Córdoba, Toledo or Cuenca) or in union with others buildings, as in Seville.
The principal façade was inspired in the purest French Gothic style of the cathedrals of Paris and of Reims. It consists of three bays topped by two lateral, square towers. The steep spires of German influence were added in the 15th century and are work of Juan de Colonia.
Some elements of great interest of within of the cathedral are the Papamoscas (Flycatcher), articulated statue which opens its mouth upon the sounding of the bells at each hour, the Romanesque sepulchre of Mudarra, the vengeful stepbrother of the death of the seven princes de Lara (brought to the cathedral from its original location in the Monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza due to its abandonment by alienation), the carved chairs of the choir, the sepulchre of the Bishop Mauricio, the tomb of El Cid and his wife Doña Jimena, the letter of security of El Cid and his chest.
History
The construction of the cathedral was ordered by King Ferdinand III of Castile and Mauricio, the English-born Bishop of Burgos. Construction started on the site of the former Romanesque cathedral on July 20, 1221, beginning at the chevet, which was completed in nine years. The high altar was first consecrated in 1260, then there was a lengthy hiatus of almost 200 years before construction was recommenced. The cathedral was completed in 1567, with the completion of the lantern spire over the main crossing (which rises above a delicate openwork star vault).
The architects principally responsible for its construction were a Frenchman in the 13th century and a German in the 15th century. In 1417, the bishop of Burgos attended the Council of Constance and returned with the master builder John of Cologne (Juan de Colonia), who completed the towers with spires of open stonework tracery.
Among the most famous of the bishops of Burgos was the 15th-century scholar and historian Alphonsus a Sancta Maria.
In 1919 the cathedral became the burial place of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar ("El Cid"), and his wife Doña Jimena. On October 31, 1984, it was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Architecture
The 15th-century west front of northern French gothic style is flanked by towers on square plans terminating in octagonal spires covered with open stonework traceries. The façade, in three stories, has triple entrances in ogival arched framing, with a gallery enclosed by a pinnacled balustrade and a delicately-pierced rose window. In the uppermost story, there are two ogival double-arched windows and statues on pedestals, crowned with a balustrade of letters carved in stone: PULC[H]RA ES ET DECORA ("Beautiful art Thou, and graceful"), in the center of which is a statue of the Virgin Mary. There are more balustrades and balconies in the towers, with further open-carved inscriptions: needle-pointed octagonal pinnacles finish the four corners. The main spires are 80 meters tall.
Its cruciform floorplan, with a 106 meter long nave and wide aisles is almost hidden, in exterior views,by the fifteen chapels added at all angles to the aisles and transepts, by the beautiful 14th-century cloister on the northwest and the archiepiscopal palace on the southwest. Over the three central doorways of the main or western façade rise the two lofty and graceful towers, crowned by their spires. Many of the altars, chapels and monuments within the cathedral are of artistic and historical interest.
The north transept portal, known as the Portada de la Coronería, has statues of the Twelve Apostles. Above, ogival windows and two spires crown the portal. On the south portal, the portada depicts the evangelists at their writing desks.
The magnificent octagonal Chapel of the Condestable is of Flamboyant Gothic style, filled with traceries, knights and angels and heraldry. It was destined for the graves of Pedro Fernández III de Velasco, Condestable of Castile and his family.
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