The Holy Priory Church Cathedral Basilica of the Military Order of Our Lady Saint Mary of the Prado of Ciudad Real is located in

Ciudad Real Ciudad Real (, ; en, "Royal City") is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. History It was founded ...

, Autonomous region of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. Construction began in the 15th century in Gothic style, although it has elements of late Romanesque, Renaissance and Baroque styles; it has undergone many restorations with the first remodelling credited to

Alfonso X Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Ger ...

(23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) since the Romanesque period. It was completed in the mid 16th century after construction of the roof vaults. The tower was built in the early 19th century. The structure is a monument indexed in the Spanish heritage register of

Bien de Interés Cultural A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" (" goods" in the economic sense) and incl ...

under the reference RI-51-0000514.

History and architecture

The oldest part of the cathedral is the Door of Forgiveness (''Puerta del Perdón'') from the late 13th or early 14th century, which may have been reassembled later. It was probably the door of the primitive chapel which stood on the site of today's cathedral church. The cathedral was built in stages, combining 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 ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

styles. The

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

dates to the early 15th century, the eastern section of the nave is from 1514 while the remainder was completed ''c''. 1580. The cathedral consists principally of a huge nave, high, long and wide, the second largest in Spain after that of

Girona Cathedral Girona Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Girona (in Catalan: ''Catedral de Santa Maria de Girona'' or simply ''Catedral de Girona''), is a Roman Catholic church located in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the seat of the ...

. The Chapel of the Virgin and the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually locate ...

are in the 17th-century

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

style. The tower, rebuilt in 1825, has recently been restored."Catedral de Santa María del Prado"
Turismo de Castilla-La Mancha. Retrieved 31 August 2013. During the

Spanish civil war The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

, the cathedral was used as a military garage. As a result, many of its treasures were stolen or destroyed. The architectural style of the Perdón doorway is in Gothic with Romanesque features while the Renaissance style is seen in the southern doorway; Perdón doorway is conjectured to belong to the reign of

. The tower built in the 19th century is in stone masonry and it is in four tiers.

Interior

The magnificent Baroque

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...

is the work of Giraldo de Merlo and his son-in-law, the painter Juan de Hasten. The work was continued by the brothers Cristóbal and Pedro Ruiz Delvira who charged Juan de Villaseca to implement a design created by Andrés de la Concha, completed in 1616. The altarpiece is dedicated to the Virgen of the Prado, the patron saint of Ciudad Real. The carved walnut pews are from the first half of the 18th century. The

Sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually locate ...

has many paintings. There is also a chest of drawers made in a

style. The church of Santa Maria del Prado gained the status of cathedral by papal bull in 1981.

Restorations

*1967 - First restoration of the bells: bells recast, providing them with metal yokes *1983 - 1986 : Restoration of the tower *1987 - 1988 - Second restoration of the bells, recast and new mechanization *1992 - Third restoration of the bells: minor welding hood *1998 - 2002 - Restoration of the facades and the ceiling of the old sacristy *2001 - Restoration of the organ *2003 - 2004 - Restoration of the altarpiece *2009 - 2010 - Restoration of the Virgen del Prado Chapel

References

Bibliography

* * *Sainz Magaña, E., Herrera Maldonado, E. & Almarcha Nuñez-Herrador, E., ''Ciudad Real y su provincia'', Tomo III, Ed. Gever, Sevilla, 1997. .

External links

Santa Iglesia Prioral Basílica Catedral de las Ordenes Militares de Santa María Del Prado
. With many photographs. {{Cathedrals in Spain Churches in Castilla–La Mancha Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Ciudad Real

Tourist attractions in Castilla–La Mancha Romanesque architecture in Castilla–La Mancha Gothic architecture in Castilla–La Mancha Renaissance architecture in Castilla–La Mancha Baroque architecture in Castilla–La Mancha Roman Catholic churches completed in 1580 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Buildings and structures in Ciudad Real