Santiago Cathedral ( es, Catedral de Santiago; eu, Donejakue Katedrala) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

in the city of

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

. The temple was originally built during the 14th–15th centuries as Bilbao's main parish church, and was only declared cathedral in 1950 when the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Bilbao The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bilbao ( la, Dioecesis Flaviobrigensis) is a diocese located in the city of Bilbao and Province of Biscay in Northern Spain. It is part of the Ecclesiastical province of Burgos. History * November 2, 1949: Establi ...

was officially created. Its origins probably date to well before the foundation of the city in 1300, when Bilbao was little more than a small enclave of fishermen. Portal_of_the_Cathedral_of_Bilbao

The temple is consecrated in honor of the apostle

Saint James the Great James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...

(''Santiago in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

''), by virtue of being a point of transit for the pilgrims that followed the

Northern branch The Northern Branch is a railroad line that runs from Jersey City to Northvale in northeastern New Jersey. The line was constructed in 1859 by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey to connect the New York and Erie Railroad's Piermont Branch ter ...

of the

Way of Saint James The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...

. Architecturally, the present building is a mixture of styles: from the 15th century

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

of the cloister and the main vault, where of special interest are the cloister and the beautiful portal that gives access ''Correo'' street (''Puerta del Angel''), to the ostentatious

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

façade and spire. A curious custom is the addition of stone carvings of local merchants along the buttresses of the main vault. It should not be confused with the

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica (Spanish and Galician: ) is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The c ...

. For various reasons, the San Mamés stadium, home of local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

, was referred to as ''La Catedral'' several decades prior to the inauguration of Santiago Cathedral. A place of worship is depicted on the club's crest (as in the city coat of arms) but this is the nearby San Antón church and its bridge.San Mamés, la eterna Catedral del fútbol español (San Mamés, the eternal Cathedral of Spanish football)

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

, 24 May 2013

References

External links

Information about Santiago cathedral

Photography of Bilbao cathedral (facade and interior)

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...

{{coord, 43, 15, 25, N, 2, 55, 26, W, source:eswiki_region:ES_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Bilbao Basilica churches in Spain Tourist attractions in Bilbao Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Gothic Revival church buildings in Spain 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain