The Cathedral of the Holy Cross over the Waters () is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

, southern

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 ...

, and the seat of the Diocese of Cadiz y Ceuta. It was built between 1722 and 1838. The cathedral was declared ''

Bien de Interés Cultural (, , , ) is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Colombia and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" ("goods" in the economic sense). It includes not only mater ...

'' in 1931. The Plaza de la Catedral houses both the Cathedral and the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Santiago church, built in 1635. The church was known as "The Cathedral of The Americas" because it was built with money from the trade between Spain and America. The 18th century was a golden age for Cádiz, and the other cathedral in the city, Santa Cruz, was very small for this new moment of Cádiz. The new cathedral was built from 1722 to 1838. The first person who designed the church was

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Vicente Acero, who had also built the Granada Cathedral. Acero left the project and was succeeded by several other architects. As a result, this largely

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

-style cathedral was built over a period of 116 years, and, due to this drawn-out period of construction, the cathedral underwent several major changes to its original design. Though the cathedral was originally intended to be a baroque edifice, it contains

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

elements, and was finally completed in the

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

. Its

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

s have many paintings and relics from the old cathedral and monasteries from throughout Spain. In the crypt are buried the composer

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was a Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20t ...

and the poet and playwright

José María Pemán José María Pemán y Pemartín (8 May 1897 in Cadiz – 19 July 1981, Ibid.) was a Spanish journalist, poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, and monarchist intellectual. Biography Originally a student of law, he entered the literary world wi ...

, both born in

. Levante Tower, one of the towers of Cádiz Cathedral, is open to the public and shows panoramas of the city from on high.

Gallery

Vistas desde la Torre de Poniente - Cádiz - DSC 0023.jpg, Cathedral and port Andalucía_Cádiz_Catedral2_tango7174.jpg, Interior of the cathedral Interior_de_la_Catedral_de_C%C3%A1diz.JPG, Interior of the cathedral Catedral de Cádiz, España, 2015-12-08, DD 57-59 HDR.JPG, Choir Catedral de Cádiz, España, 2015-12-08, DD 69-71 HDR.JPG, Crypt

References

Buildings and structures in Cádiz Roman Catholic cathedrals in Andalusia Roman Catholic churches completed in 1838 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Baroque architecture in Andalusia Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Cádiz Churches in the Province of Cádiz {{Spain-RC-cathedral-stub

Gallery

See also

References