The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia (), also known as Barcelona Cathedral, is the seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The cathedral was constructed from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, with the principal work done in the fourteenth century. The

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

, which encloses the Well of the Geese ''(Font de les Oques)'', was completed in 1448. In the late nineteenth century, the

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

façade was constructed over the nondescript exterior that was common to Catalan churches. Its form is a pseudo-

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, vaulted over five aisles, the outer two divided into chapels. The

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

is truncated. The east end is a

chevet In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. In Byzan ...

of nine radiating chapels connected by an

ambulatory The ambulatory ( 'walking place') is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th century but by the 13t ...

. The

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

is raised, allowing a clear view into the crypt. The cathedral is dedicated to the Holy Cross and

Eulalia of Barcelona Eulalia (c. 289 – February 12, 303), co-patron saint of Barcelona, was a 13-year-old Roman Christian virgin who was martyred in Barcelona during the persecution of Christians in the reign of emperor Diocletian (the Sequence of Saint Eulalia m ...

, co-patron saint of Barcelona, a young

virgin martyr The title Virgin (, ) is an honorific bestowed on female saints and blesseds, primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. Chastity is one of the seven virtues in Christian tradition, listed by Pope Gregory I at the end ...

who, according to Catholic tradition, suffered martyrdom during Roman times in the city. One story says that she was exposed naked in the public square and a miraculous snowfall in mid-spring covered her nudity. The enraged Romans put her into a barrel with knives stuck into it and rolled it down a street (according to tradition, the one now called ''Baixada de Santa Eulàlia''). The

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

s of Saint Eulalia are entombed in the cathedral's crypt. The

choir stalls A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the sanctuary, which houses the altar and Church tab ...

retain the coats-of-arms of the knights of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

. In his first trip into Spain,

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

, selected Barcelona as the site of a

chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

of his order. The king had arrived for his investiture as

Count of Barcelona The count of Barcelona (, , , ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, Usages and Catalan constitutions, of the Principality of Catalonia as Prince#Prince as generic for ruler, p ...

, and the city, as a Mediterranean port, offered the closest communication with other far-flung

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

dominions, while the large proportions of the cathedral would accommodate required grand ceremonies. In 1518 the Order's herald, Thomas Isaac, and its treasurer, Jean Micault, were commissioned to prepare the sanctuary for the first sitting of the chapter in 1519.

Juan de Borgonya ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philip ...

executed the painted decoration of the sanctuary. The side Chapel of the Holy Sacrament and of the Holy Christ of Lepanto contains a cross said to date from the time of the

Battle of Lepanto (1571) The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf o ...

. In addition to Saints Eulalia and Olegarius, the cathedral contains the tombs of Saint

Raymond of Penyafort Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

, Count

Ramon Berenguer I Ramon Berenguer I ( 1023 – 26 May 1076), called the Old (, ), was Count of Barcelona in 1035–1076. He promulgated the earliest versions of a written code of Catalan law, the Usages of Barcelona. Born in about 1023, he succeeded his fat ...

and his third wife

Almodis de la Marche Almodis de la Marche ( 1020 – 16 October 1071) was a French noble famed for her marriages. She and her third husband, Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, with whom she committed double bigamy in 1053, were excommunicated by the Pope. Life ...

, and bishops Berenguer de Palou II,

Salvador Casañas y Pagés Salvador Casañas y Pagés (5 September 1834 – 27 October 1908) was a Spanish cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Barcelona from 1901 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1895. Biography Salvado ...

, and Arnau de Gurb, who is buried in the Chapel of Santa Llúcia, which he had constructed. The cathedral has a secluded Gothic

where 13 white

geese A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyp ...

are kept, the number explained by the assertion that Eulalia was 13 when she was martyred.

History

Parts of an early Christian and Visigothic episcopal complex including the baptistery (fourth century), a basilical hall (fifth century), a cross shaped church (sixth-seventh century) and bishop's palace (sixth-seventh century) are displayed in

Barcelona City History Museum The Museum of the History of Barcelona (, MUHBA) is a history museum that conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the historical heritage of the city of Barcelona, from its origins in Roman times until the present day. The museum's headq ...

archaeological underground. Reportedly, this

Visigothic The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

chapel was dedicated to Saint James, and was the

proprietary church During the Middle Ages, a proprietary church (Latin ''ecclesia propria'', German ''Eigenkirche'') was a church, abbey or cloister built on private ground by a feudal lord, over which he retained proprietary interests, especially the right of what ...

of the Viscounts of Barcelona.F. Carreras Candi ''La Ciutat de Barcelona'' However, in a document from the Second Council of Barcelona in 599, it states that the cathedral was dedicated to the Holy Cross. This church was severely damaged by al-Mansur (

Almanzor Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Abi ʿĀmir al-Maʿafiri (), nicknamed al-Manṣūr (, "the Victorious"), which is often Latinized as Almanzor in Spanish, Almansor in Catalan language, Catalan and Almançor in Portuguese ( 938 – 8 A ...

) during his attack on Barcelona in 985. In 1046, Count

and his wife Almodis, together with

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Guislabert, began construction of a Romanesque cathedral at the site; it was consecrated in November 1058. The cathedral was constructed over the

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

of the former church. It has been reported that a Viscount of Barcelona, Mir Geribert, sold the site to Bishop Guislebert in 1058, though however, this date does not coincide with the reported start of construction. The present Gothic cathedral was begun on the foundations of the previous churches on 1 May 1298;

James II the Just James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Aragonese: ''Chaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just, was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He was also the King of Sicily (as James I) f ...

was

King of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...

at the time, and Bernat Pelegrí was Bishop of Barcelona. The church was built from the east end towards the west end, with a simple west façade completed in 1417. The cloister was completed in 1448, making the total duration of construction 150 years. In the late nineteenth century, offered to complete the neo-Gothic façade and central tower as inspired by the original fifteenth-century design prepared by master Carlí and rearranged and drawn by the architect . This work was completed in 1913 by Girona's children. File:Cathedral of Barcelona 1850 Villaamil.jpg, The façade in year 1850 by

Jenaro Pérez Villaamil Jenaro Pérez de Villaamil y d'Huguet (3 February 1807 – 5 June 1854) was a Spanish painter in the Romantic style who specialized in landscapes with figures and architectural scenes. He often inflated the scale of the buildings relative ...

, published in the work ''España artística y monumental'' File:Catedral-1890.jpg, The reform of the façade at the commencement of the build in 1890 File:Catedral-1900.jpg, The façade with the lateral towers, around 1900

Chapel of Lepanto

The Chapel of the Holy Sacrament and of the Holy Christ of Lepanto is a small side chapel constructed by Arnau Bargués in 1407, as the chapterhouse. It was rebuilt in the seventeenth century to house the tomb of San Olegarius,

Bishop of Barcelona The Archdiocese of Barcelona () is a Latin metropolitan archbishopric of the Catholic Church in northeastern Spain's Catalonia region. The cathedral archiepiscopal see is a Minor basilica: Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de la Santa Creu i S ...

, and

Archbishop of Tarragona The Archdiocese of Tarragona () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Tarragona, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The archdiocese heads the ecclesiastical province of Tarragon ...

. The "Holy Christ of Lepanto" crucifix, is located on the upper part of the chapel entrance's front façade. The curved shape of the body, of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross, is explained by a Catalan legend which holds that the cross was carried on the

prow The bow () is the forward part of the hull (watercraft), hull of a ship or boat, the point that is usually most forward when the vessel is underway. The aft end of the boat is the stern. Prow may be used as a synonym for bow or it may mean the f ...

of the

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

captained by

Juan of Austria John of Austria (, ; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the illegitimate son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V recognized him in a codicil to his will. John became a military leader in the service of his half-brother, King Phi ...

, half-brother of Spanish

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

during the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of t ...

in 1571. When a cannonball flew toward the cross, it leaned out of the way in order to avoid being hit, and has been inclined ever since. The Habsburgs were said to have regarded this as an encouraging omen. A separate story says that the cross was in the ship's hold and that the figure moved to cover a large hole that would have sunk the ship."Holy Christ of Lepanto", Catedral de Barcelona
/ref>

Architecture

The architectural design of the Barcelona Cathedral consist of the regional style of Catalan Gothic. Catalan Gothic construction is confined to the Barcelona area and its influences. Catalan Gothic constructing consist of diaphanous areas and large spanning naves. Catalan Gothic does not seek to create towering buildings but to balance the dimensions of the structure. The Barcelona Cathedral is 93 meters (305.1 feet) long, 40 meters (131.2 feet) wide, and 28 meters (91.8 feet) high at the central nave. Each bell tower of the cathedral is 54 meters (177.1 feet) in height. The tallest point of the cathedral reaches 70 meters (229.6 feet) tall at the peak of the cimborio. The cathedral consist of three

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

s, one

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, and a

. The nave carries through the plan to the choir and the isle naves are at disproportioned heights to structurally support the central nave and the cimborio. Each aisle has two chapels in each section. The choir consist of 10

ogive An ogive ( ) is the roundly tapered end of a two- or three-dimensional object. Ogive curves and surfaces are used in engineering, architecture, woodworking, and ballistics. Etymology The French Orientalist Georges Séraphin Colin gives as ...

(pointed) arches whereas ribbed arches were placed in the nave. Large windows are placed opening to the cloister to provide sunlight to the choir. A windowed gallery runs atop the chapels in the aisle of the nave to provide indirect light. The facade is consistent with neo-Gothic design elements. Ornament of the cathedral facade is known for sculptural gargoyles on the roof along with many other animals and mythical creatures.

Gothic Quarter

The Barcelona Cathedral is located in the cathedral neighborhood in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona. As a showing of Catalonian nationalism the mediaeval buildings of the Gothic quarter were restored from 1927 to 1970. Over 40 structures were remodeled in the gothic style to upgrade the area that became one of the most attractive part of the city. The 'Catalan house' was the building that shaped the rest of the Gothic quarter. Directly behind the cathedral, many buildings during the restoration of the neighborhood were demolished or renovated to harmonizes after the Catalan House. Rebuilding the gothic quarter around the rebuilt facade of the Barcelona Cathedral and the Catalan house gave the opportunity to embellish the city with its most important buildings. The transformation of the cathedral neighborhood gives Barcelona an historic image that creates a relationship between heritage and tourism.

Traditions

* The tradition of the '

dancing egg The dancing egg (''L'ou com balla'' in Catalan language, Catalan) is an old tradition that takes place in several towns in Catalonia, Spain, during the feast of Corpus Christi (feast), Corpus Christi, when an Egg (food), egg is suspended in the ...

' (supported by the jet of a fountain) is maintained on the day of Corpus Christi at the cathedral.

Present day

The cathedral has been updated in response to an increasing number of tourists. The cloister now contains a gift shop, the traditional candles normally lit at the shrines of saints have been replaced with electronic candles, and cellular phones have been banned from the Chapel of Lepanto and other chapels.

Images

Image:Santaeulaliabarcelona224.jpg, Cathedral plan File:Altar mayor de la Catedral de Barcelona.JPG, Illustration of the main altar (1839) File:Barcelone - Cathédrale - Portail principal.jpg, Main portal Image:Porta claustre catedral de Barcelona.jpg, Door in the

Barcelona Cathedral Interior - Altarpiece of our Lady of the Rosebush - Agusti Pujol 1617-1629.jpg, Chapel of Lady of the Rosebush Barcelona Cathedral Interior - Crypt of Santa Eulalia.jpg, Saint Eulalia's crypt Barcelona Cathedral - The fountain of the cloister.jpg, Cloister Image:cathedralgeesebarcelona.JPG, Geese in the cloister Barcelona Cathedral Interior - carved choir stalls.jpg, Choir seats at the cathedral Image:Creatity.com st eulalia fontain.jpg, The fountain in the atrium Image:Garden06390019.JPG, the Cathedral garden Image:Cathedral of Santa Eulalia - gargoyle 01.jpg, Gargoyle Barcelona Cathedral Interior - Capella de Sant Ramon de Penyafort.jpg, Tomb of Saint Raymond of Penyafort Image:Catalunya en Miniatura-Catedral de Barcelona.JPG, Scale model of the cathedral, at the Catalunya en Miniatura park Image:Barcelona, Cathedral and Palau del Lloctinent.jpg, Bell tower with stair turret above the door of Saint Ivo File:Barcelona Cathedral (original).jpg, Barcelona Cathedral at night

References

Notes

External links

Official site
{{Authority control 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Buildings and structures completed in 1417 Churches completed in the 1410s Gothic architecture in Barcelona Roman Catholic cathedrals in Catalonia Tourist attractions in Barcelona Ciutat Vella Basilica churches in Spain Roman Catholic churches in Barcelona Burial sites of the House of Barcelona