The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia ( ca, Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia), also known as Barcelona Cathedral, is the

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 ...

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 denominatio ...

and seat of the Archbishop of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The cathedral was constructed from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, with the principal work done in the fourteenth century. The cloister, 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, 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 was constructed over the nondescript exterior that was common to Catalan churches. The roof is notable for its gargoyles, featuring a wide range of animals, both domestic and mythical. Its form is pseudo-

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

, 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 churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

is truncated. The east end is a chevet of nine radiating chapels connected by an

ambulatory The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘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 ...

. The

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...

is raised, allowing a clear view into the crypt. Cathedral of Santa Eulalia Barcelona

The cathedral is dedicated to

Eulalia of Barcelona Eulalia (c. 290 – 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 (although the Sequence of Saint ...

, co-patron saint of Barcelona, a young virgin 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 body of Saint Eulalia is 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. In his first trip into Spain, Charles, the future Holy Roman Emperor, selected Barcelona as the site of a chapter of his Order. The king had arrived for his investiture as Count of Barcelona, and the city, as a Mediterranean port, offered the closest communication with other far-flung Habsburg 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''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...

executed the painted decoration of the sanctuary. "The church was named after Barcelona's patron saint Eulalia; its official name - Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia - is Catalan for "Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia". The commonly used name La Seu refers to the status of the church as the seat of the diocese." 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 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 (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independen ...

. In addition to Saints Eulàlia and

Olegarius Olegarius Bonestruga (from Germanic ''Oldegar'', la, Ollegarius, Oligarius, ca, Oleguer, es, Olegario; 1060 – 6 March 1137) was the Bishop of Barcelona from 1116 and Archbishop of Tarragona from 1118 until his death. He was an intimate of R ...

, the cathedral contains the tombs of Saint

Raymond of Penyafort Raymond of Penyafort ( ca, Sant Ramon de Penyafort, ; es, San Raimundo de Peñafort; 1175 – 6 January 1275) was a Catalan Dominican friar in the 13th century, who compiled the Decretals of Gregory IX, a collection of canonical laws tha ...

, Count Ramon Berenguer I and his third wife

Almodis de la Marche Almodis de la Marche ( 1020 – 16 October 1071) was a French noble. She was famed for her marriage career, in particularly for her third marriage to Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, with whom she committed double bigamy in 1053, for whi ...

, and bishops Berenguer de Palou II, Salvador Casañas y Pagés, and

Arnau de Gurb Arnau de Gurb (in Spanish language, Spanish, ''Arnoldo de Guerbo'') was bishop of Barcelona from 1252 to 1284. He had served as a canon (priest), canon at the cathedral of Vic and later as primary archdeacon in Barcelona. As bishop, he expanded the ...

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

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

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'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the she ...

are kept, the number explained by the assertion that Eulalia was 13 when she was martyred. A program of cleaning and restoration of the cathedral was carried out from 1968 to 1972.

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 ( ca, Museu d'Història de 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 ...

archaeological underground. Reportedly, this

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

chapel was dedicated to Saint James, and was the

proprietary church {{Short pages monitor Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disamb ...

offered to complete the neo-Gothic facade and central tower as inspired by the original fifteenth-century design prepared by master Carlí and rearranged and drawn by the architect Josep O. Mestres. This work was completed in 1913 by Girona's children. Barcelona-Catedral-Capitular-055

File:Cathedral of Barcelona 1850 Villaamil.jpg, The facade 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 t ...

, published in the work ''España artística y monumental''. File:Catedral-1890.jpg, The reform of the facade starting to built in 1890. File:Catedral-1900.jpg, The facade with the lateral towers, around 1900. File:150 Catedral de Barcelona.jpg, Reform of the facade completed in 1913.

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

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

, and

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

. 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 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 forward-most part ...

of the galley captained by

Juan of Austria John of Austria ( es, Juan, link=no, german: Johann; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the natural son born to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V late in life when he was a widower. Charles V met his son only once, recognizing him in a secret ...

, step-brother of Spanish Philip II of Spain during the

Battle of Lepanto 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 (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Soverei ...

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>

Traditions

* The tradition of the '

dancing egg The dancing egg (''L'ou com balla'' in Catalan) is an old tradition that takes place in several towns in Catalonia, Spain, during the feast of Corpus Christi, when an egg is suspended in the vertical jet of a water fountain. The tradition proba ...

' (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, Santa Eulàlia'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 of the Santa Eulalia 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

External links

Official site
{{Authority control 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Roman Catholic churches completed in 1417 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