The Colegiata de Santa Maria la Mayor, in translation, the
Collegiate church of St Mary Major is a
mudéjar-
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 ...
style,
Roman Catholic church located in
Calatayud, in
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
,
Spain.
History
The church was commissioned in the 12th century after the
Reconquista of Calatayud by King
Alfonso I el Batallador
Alfonso I (''c''. 1073/10747 September 1134), called the Battler or the Warrior ( es, el Batallador), was King of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Pet ...
. This church was sited where the main mosque of the town was located.
The church assumed a historical position in that it hosted some of the meetings of the Cortes de Calatayud during the reign of King
Pedro IV of Aragon, and where the town swore allegiance to
Emperor Charles I
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Emp ...
and later to King
Philip III of Spain. The church was declared ''
Bien de Interés Cultural'' in 1884.
Art and architecture
Of the original mudéjar-gothic construction, the church retains the cloister, tower and apse. In the 16th century the portal was sculpted in alabaster by
Juan de Talavera Juan de Talavera (Talavera de la Reina, ? 1476 -? 1531) (John of Talavera) was a Spanish architect, sculptor and carver, member of the "Toledo School of Architecture", and architect of Queen Isabella I of Castile. Probably his father was also name ...
and
Esteban de Obray Esteban () is a Spanish male given name, derived from Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos) and related to the English names Steven and Stephen. Although in its original pronunciation the accent is on the penultimate syllable, English-speakers tend ...
.
In 1884, the church was declared ''Monumento Nacional'', and the main portal was surrounded by a gate.
In 2001, the UNESCO recognized it as a World Heritage, within the
Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon Site.
Torre de Santa María
The 70 meter brick tower of octagonal base, and like most such towers, the decoration increases as one rises. Construction took centuries. At the base, the walls are 1.5 meters in thickness. The stairwell spirals upward between an inner and outer wall. The spire atop the belltower was built in the mid- to late 18th century.
Calatayud city hall, tourism office, entry on tower
See also
* List of Bien de Interés Cultural in the Province of Zaragoza
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
Roman Catholic churches in Calatayud
Colegiata de Santa Maria la Mayor
Colegiata de Santa Maria la Mayor
Colegiata de Santa Maria la Mayor
Colegiata de Santa Maria la Mayor
World Heritage Sites in Spain
{{Spain-church-stub