Seville Cathedral
From Archiplanet
 | Seville Cathedral |
| Designer | unknown |
| Location | Seville, Spain |
| Date | 1402 to 1520 |
| Building Type | large church, cathedral, religious |
| Climate | mediterranean |
| Context | urban |
| Architectural Style | refined Gothic |
| Street Address | |
| Notes | Piers soar nearly seamlessly into vault 132 feet overhead. |
| At Great Buildings | http://www.GreatBuildings.com/buildings/Seville_Cathedral.html |
Contents |
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[edit] Discussion
| UNESCO World Heritage Sites | |
| Name | Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias in Seville |
| UNESCO State Party | Spain |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iii, vi |
| UNESCO Site ID | 383 |
| Year of Listing | 1987 |
| Building Details |
"Seville Cathedral is the largest Gothic church in the world, its size only later surpassed, in the Renaissance, by Saint Peter’s in Rome. Though it shows influences from French Gothic prototypes (and possibly help from French architects) and from Italy (primarily Milan Cathedral), it carries a personality of its own. Its nave is soaringly powerful, one of the too-little-appreciated Gothic glories of Europe.
"The cathedral reputedly was constructed on the foundations of a mosque, thus producing an unusual squarish plan. In the resultant five-aisle church, the lofty nave is flanked by slightly lower double side-aisles, so that the towering central piers rise straight upward uncompromised, as it were, by the triforium gallery and clerestory that hem typical Gothic naves. Pausing only briefly for small decorative capitals, the nave piers meld with the clearly stated vault of the ceiling, topping off at 132 feet. (The nave of Chartres is 120 feet high.) Seville’s breathtaking—and structurally daring—nave combines soaring vericality with the horizontal mystery of the side aisles..."
— from G.E. Kidder Smith. Looking at Architecture. p64.
[edit] Related content from Wikipedia
Seville Cathedral
The Cathedral of Seville in Seville, Andalucia is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world. It is also known as Catedral de Santa María de la Sede (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See)
At the time of its completion in the 1500s, it supplanted the Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world. Previously, the Hagia Sophia had held the title for more than a thousand years. The cathedral also serves as the burial site of Christopher Columbus.
Description
The cathedral was built to demonstrate Seville's wealth, as it had become a major trading center in the years after the Reconquista. The builders of the cathedral decided in July 1401 to build a new temple, as the ancient Muslim mosque was in bad shape after the 1356 earthquake. According to the oral tradition of Seville, the decision of members of the chapter was: "Let a church so beautiful and so great that those who see it built will think we were mad". According to the minutes of that day, the new church should be: "a work such as good, which like no other."
Construction began in 1402 on the site of a former mosque, following the capture of Seville from the Moors; it continued until 1506. Church workers gave half their salaries to pay for architects, builders and other expenses.
thumb|left|235px|The Mayor dome.
Five years after construction ended, in 1511, the dome collapsed and work on the cathedral re-commenced. The dome again collapsed in 1888, and work was still being performed on the dome until at least 1903. The 1888 collapse occurred due to an earthquake and resulted in the destruction of "every precious object below" the dome at that time.
The interior has the longest nave in Spain. Its central nave rises to a height of 42 metres and is lavishly decorated, with a large quantity of gold evident. In the main body of the cathedral, only the great boxlike structure of the choir stands out, filling the central portion of the nave. It is also dominated by a vast Gothic retablo of carved scenes from the life of Christ. The altarpiece was the lifetime work of a single craftsman, Pierre Dancart.
The builders used some columns and elements from the mosque, and most famously the Giralda, a minaret converted into a bell tower. The Giralda is the city's most famous symbol. Its square base is 13.61 meters and a height of 105 meters. It was built as a minaret of the old mosque, although the bell tower and spire top, is Renaissance.
Chapels
The cathedral has 80 chapels, in which 500 masses were said daily as reported in 1896. The north side Chapel of Saint Anthony contains the Murillo painting of The Vision of St. Anthony (1656).
Timeline
- 1184 - La Giralda begun (Harvey 260)
- 1198 - Completion of Almohad Mosque (Montiel 12) (Harvey 260)
- 1248 - Conquest of Seville by Ferdinand III, mosque Christianized (Montiel 14)
- 1376 - Earthquake destroys minaret, replaced by bell gable (Montiel 12)
- 1401 - (8 July- Harvey 230) Decision made to replace former mosque (Montiel 15)
- 1402 - Nave begun- SW corner (Harvey 260)
- 1432 - Nave completed, east end started (Harvey 260)
- 1466 - Demolition of Royal Chapel authorized by Juan II of Castile (Montiel 15)
- 1467 - East end completed, vaults begun. Anchors added. (Harvey 260)
- 1475 - Stalls begun (Harvey 260)
- 1478 - Stalls completed (Harvey 260)
- 1481 - Doorways in high altar completed (Montiel 16)
- 1482 - Retablo Mayor begun (ALTARPIECE) (Harvey 260)
- 1498 - Vaults completed, lantern begun (Harvey 260)*
- 1506 - Main dome (lantern) completed (Montiel 16) (Harvey 260)
- 1511 - Lantern collapses, rebuilding begins (Montiel 16) (Harvey 260)
- 1515 - New choir vaults completed (Montiel 16)*
- 1517 - New transept vaults completed (Montiel 16)*
- 1519 - Lantern rebuilding completed (Harvey 260)
- 1526 - Retablo Mayor completed (Harvey 260)
- 1551 - Capilla Real begun (Harvey 260)
- 1558 - Belfry replaces bell gable (Montiel 12)
- 1568 - Giralda, top stages (Harvey 260)
- 1575 - Capilla Real completed (Harvey 260)
- 1888 - Main dome and vaults collapse (Montiel 16)
Burials
Gallery
Further reading
John Harvey, The Cathedrals of Spain Luis Martinez Montiel, The Cathedral of Seville
References
External links
bg:Севилска катедрала cs:Katedrála v Seville de:Kathedrale von Sevilla es:Catedral de Sevilla fr:Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Siège de Séville ko:세비야 대성당 it:Cattedrale di Siviglia he:קתדרלת סביליה ka:სევილიის საკათედრო ტაძარი arz:كاتدرائية سيڤييا nl:Kathedraal van Sevilla ja:セビリア大聖堂 no:Katedralen i Sevilla pl:Katedra Świętej Marii w Sewilli pt:Catedral de Sevilha ru:Севильский кафедральный собор fi:Sevillan katedraali sv:Katedralen i Sevilla vi:Nhà thờ chính tòa Sevilla zh:塞维利亚主教座堂
[edit] Maps
[edit] References
G. E. Kidder Smith. Looking at Architecture. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Publishers, 1990. ISBN 0-8109-3556-2. LC 90-30728. NA200.S57 1990. discussion, p64.interior photo, p65.
Louis Grodecki. Gothic Architecture. New York: Electra Rizzoli, 1978. interior perspective of nave, plate272, p190.
Christopher Wilson. The Gothic Cathedral. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1990. interior perspective of high altar, plate 215, p286. exterior perspective, plate 214, p284.
