The Old Cathedral of Managua, known as the ''Catedral de Santiago'' (St. James' Cathedral) in Spanish, is a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Managua ) , settlement_type = Capital city , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Nicara ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

. The Cathedral was designed by

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

architects. Its neoclassical design was said to have been inspired by the look of the

church of Saint-Sulpice , image = Paris Saint-Sulpice Fassade 4-5 A.jpg , image_size = , pushpin map = Paris , pushpin label position = , coordinates = , location = Place Saint-Sulpice 6th arrond ...

in Paris, France. Construction began in 1928 and lasted until 1938. Belgian engineer Pablo Dambach oversaw the construction of the cathedral. The iron that was used to frame the core of the cathedral was shipped directly from Belgium. The cathedral survived the

1931 Nicaragua earthquake The 1931 Nicaragua earthquake devastated Nicaragua's capital city Managua on 31 March. It had a moment magnitude of 6.1 and a maximum MSK intensity of VI (''Strong''). Between 1,000 and 2,450 people were killed. A major fire started and destroye ...

, as only its iron core had been erected at the time. Four decades later, the cathedral was heavily damaged during the

1972 Nicaragua earthquake The 1972 Nicaragua earthquake occurred at 12:29:44 a.m. local time (06:29:44 UTC) on December 23 near Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It had a moment magnitude of 6.3 and a maximum MSK intensity of IX (''Destructive''). The epicenter w ...

, and the building was subsequently condemned though it was not demolished. The closing of the cathedral eventually led to the construction of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, also known as the New Cathedral of Managua, which was completed in 1993. Since that time, the restoration of the Old Cathedral has appeared to be possible. The Old Cathedral's tower clock, which was damaged during the Contra Civil War of the 1980s, was later removed during renovations to the cathedral in the late 1990s. The clock is now housed at the National Palace of Culture.

References

Roman Catholic cathedrals in Nicaragua Tourist attractions in Managua Buildings and structures in Managua Ruins in Nicaragua 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Nicaragua {{RC-cathedral-stub