This is my beloved Segovia, coming here since my early teen years which is a lot first with my mom, then alone, then wife and finally wife and boys , its a family trek. This is one of the monuments all should come to see, the history of the place, city , country is told in its walls. Then we can travel after knowing the local customs it will be better. I like to tell you again with new found pictures of the beautiful Cathedral of Segovia !!!
The Cathedral of Segovia, known as the Lady of the Cathedrals, by its dimensions and its elegance or officially as the Santa Iglesia Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción y de San Frutos or the Holy Church Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Fruits. I have already given you plenty on its history and description but this is new from my personal library which I translated from Spanish.
A first cathedral was erected in Segovia in the early days of Christianity. It was destroyed in 526, probably during the invasion of the Visigoths. The second cathedral was erected at the end of the 12C by King Alfonso VII and consecrated in 1228. This Romanesque cathedral was located in the current garden of the Alcazar. It will be almost completely destroyed in 1520 during the wars of the communities which saw the confrontation of the “communeros” against the advent of Charles V. The construction of the current Santa Iglesia Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción y de San Frutos began in 1525, on the Plaza Mayor.
The new Segovia Cathedral is one of the most interesting buildings of the Castilian late Gothic, and an outstanding example of the survival of late medieval aesthetics during the 16C. The Cathedral of Segovia stands out for the spaciousness of the spaces and the harmony of its forms. The structure of the cathedral ,also follows the same model as the Salamanca Cathedral. It has a Latin cross plan with three naves, the central one being wider and higher. Side chapels open between the buttresses, which continue around the semicircular ambulatory. The three naves are covered with star-shaped ribbed vaults. The transept is closed with a semicircular dome with a lantern, raised on a drum, which was made in 1686. The Latin cross-shaped building is over 105 meters long, 50 meters wide and 33 meters high. It consists of a triple nave with side chapels, a transept and a semicircular apse with an ambulatory and its seven radiating chapels. The buttresses of the nave and the choir are dominated by elegant pinnacles. Its size and elegance have earned the Cathedral of Segovia the nickname of “Lady of Cathedrals”. It was consecrated in 1768.
The gothic cloister attached to the cathedral with beautiful arches with openwork tracery dates from 1470 and, therefore, the one that was attached to the old romanesque cathedral. It was moved stone by stone to its new location. The choir is located, as is customary in Hispanic cathedrals, in the center of the main nave. It constitutes another of the vestiges of the original cathedral, from where it was moved in the 1550s. Its stalls are an interesting example of Castilian Gothic sculpture from the mid-15C. In the part closest to the altar, there are two prominent seats under canopies, intended for the Kings, with the heraldic shields of Castile and Portugal, and opposite is the episcopal chair, with the emblem of Juan Arias Dávila. The canons’ chairs are decorated with plant motifs.
The two organs are facing each other, above the sides of the choir. They were made at different times of the 18C. Both the sides of the choir and the retrochoir are from the same century. In them there is a baroque structure, with the statues of the Evangelists. The retrochoir was made for the Riofrío Palace, from where it was moved in the reign of Carlos III. The pulpit, which is located between the main altar and the choir, is a baroque piece, made of marble, which was moved to the Cathedral from the monastery of San Francisco de Cuéllar after the confiscation of Mendizábal (separation of State and Church). It is decorated with reliefs of the four Evangelists and the Immaculate Conception, and on the pedestal the emblem of the Dukes of Albuquerque.
The cloister Its access is located in the Chapel of Cristo del Consuelo, located next to the transept. The access doorway was made in 1484 and, like the cloister, was moved here from the old building. It is articulated by means of a lowered arch with a lintel. The cloister has a quadrangular plan, and its pandas are covered with five sections of ribbed vaults. It opens onto the patio by means of five openwork tracery in each of the pandas, which are supported by seven mullions carved with great delicacy.
The chapter house opens onto the western panda of the cloister. It is a rectangular space, where a white and gold coffered ceiling stands out, made at the end of the 16C. From this room, a staircase leads to the chapter archive and library, located on the upper floor. Among its collections, the work and factory books stand out, where the expenses of the construction of the temple were noted, as well as a large collection of musical and song scores, and a notable number of incunabula, among which the Synodal de Aguilafuente stands out ( 1472), considered the first book printed in Spain.
The official Cathedral of Segovia: https://catedralsegovia.es/
The Segovia tourist office on the Cathedral: https://segoviaturismo.es/ven-a-segovia/turismo-monumental/horarios-de-monumentos/segovia-capital/3341-catedral-de-segovia
The Castilla y Léon region tourist office on the Cathedral: https://www.turismocastillayleon.com/turismocyl/en/art-culture-heritage/cathedrals/cathedral-segovia
There you go folks, a wonderful must monument to visit in awesome Segovia. An integral part on the beautiful history of Segovia. Hope you enjoy this post on the beautiful Cathedral of Segovia as I.
And remember, happy travels , good health ,and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 