Pamplona Cathedral or Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in the archdiocese of Pamplona, Spain. The current 15th century Gothic church replaced an older Romanesque one. Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of another two earlier churches. The Neoclassical façade was designed by

Ventura Rodríguez Ventura Rodríguez Tizón (July 14, 1717 – September 26, 1785) was a Spanish architect and artist. Born at Ciempozuelos, Rodríguez was the son of a bricklayer. In 1727, he collaborated with his father in the work at the Royal Palace of Ar ...

in 1783. It has a 13th-14th-century Gothic cloister that provides access to two other Gothic rooms: the Barbazan chapel and the refectory. The Mediaeval

kings of Navarre This is a list of the kings and queens of Pamplona, later Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain ...

were crowned and some also buried there. The Navarrese ''

Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...

'' (Parliament) was held there during the early modern ages. Since its foundation the church has been dedicated to the invocation of ''Santa María de la Asunción'' (Saint Mary of the Assumption), whose feast is celebrated on August, 15. It is possible that, due to a

metonymy Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word " suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such as sales ...

phenomenon, the ownership of the building has been associated with the titular image of the temple, ''Santa María la Real''. José Goñi Gaztambide – a historian specialized in the episcopal history of the diocese of Pamplona – explains, in part, the matter by echoing the petition made in 1905 to the council by the chaplain, Mariano Arigita Lasa, a relevant figure who became archivist of the Navarra Provincial Council, the Pamplona City Council and the cathedral. Arigita had initially requested to return the "primitive title" of ''Santa María la Real de Pamplona''. Goñi Gaztambide's reply read like this: Following the Canonical Coronation of Santa María de Pamplona, on September, 21 of 1946, "the title became popular Santa María la Real de Pamplona which does not mean that it was his true dedication."

Church

The site of the cathedral is the oldest part of the Roman ''Pompaelo''. Archaeological excavations in 1994 have revealed streets and buildings from the 1st century BC. The oldest cathedral was demolished in 924 during the invasion of

Abd-al-Rahman III ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥakam al-Rabdī ibn Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Dākhil (; 890–961), or simply ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III, was the Umayyad Emir of Córdoba fro ...

Caliph of Cordoba A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entir ...

. During the reign of Sancho III (1004–1035) the church was reconstructed. That church was demolished from 1083 to 1097, and the Romanesque cathedral was built from 1100 to 1127. It collapsed in 1391, with only the façade remaining. The building of the current Gothic church began in 1394 and lasted to 1501. The floorplan is

cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

with

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 ...

, a central

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 ...

and four shorter aisles, all covered by partially polycromed

rib vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic a ...

. The style is very influenced by

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models. The sculpture of the interior includes the tomb of Charles III of Navarre and Eleanor of Castile, by (1419), and the image of Royal Saint Mary, a Romanesque woodcarved silverplated sculpture. The

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 ...

, with its

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

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 ...

(1541), is separated from the nave by a Gothic iron grating (1517). There was a

retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum, it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate struct ...

(1598) in the presbytery, now in the church of Saint Michael in Pamplona. In the lateral chapels there are two Gothic retables (, 1507); one Italian Renaissance retable (16th century); one late Renaissance

(1610, polycromed in 1617); and five

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 ...

retables (1642, 1683, 1685).

Cloister

Probably, the most outstanding element of the cathedral is its 13th century cloister. As the temple, the style followed the

French Gothic architecture French Gothic architecture is an architectural style which emerged in France in 1140, and was dominant until the mid-16th century. The most notable examples are the great Gothic cathedrals of France, including Notre-Dame Cathedral, Reims Cathed ...

, and the sculptural decoration is very rich. The door that gives access from the temple shows the

Dormition The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of ...

of the Virgin, and at the

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

stands a 15th-century sculpture of the Virgin Mary. The Barbazan chapel—named after the Pamplonese bishop buried there, Arnaldo de Barbazán—is covered by a Gothic eight-rib vault. The so-called 'Precious Door' gives access to the ancient canons' dormitory and shows a complete sculptural story of the Virgin Mary's life. There are several notable burials: Bishop Miguel Sánchez de Asiáin's (14th century), Viceroy of Navarre Count of Gages' (

, 18th century) and

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

fighter Francisco Espoz y Mina's ( Neo-classical, 19th century). The lavatory is closed by a grid whose iron is said to be from the battle of Navas de Tolosa. Another decorated Gothic door gives access to the old kitchen and the

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

Diocesan Museum

The former canons' rooms house the Diocesan Museum. The main room is a 14th-century rib-vault covered refectory. The adjacent kitchen is covered by a pyramidal stone-built

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...

. This museum exhibits pieces of religious art from the cathedral and from many other Navarrese churches, many of them abandoned today: Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque sculpture, Gothic and Baroque painting, and 13th to 18th centuries

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

and

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

. The most outstanding silversmith pieces are the Gothic Holy Sepulcher

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported ...

, made in 13th century Paris; the 14th century ''

Lignum Crucis According to Christian tradition, the True Cross is the real cross on which Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. It is related by numerous historical accounts and legends that Helen, the mother of Roman emperor Constantine the Great, recovered the ...

'' reliquary and the Renaissance 16th century processional

monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharisti ...

Gallery

Exterior of the Cathedral of Pamplona.jpg Interior of the Cathedral of Pamplona 01.jpg Main altar of the Cathedral of Pamplona 01.jpg Main altar of the Cathedral of Pamplona 02.jpg Interior of the Cathedral of Pamplona 03.jpg Chapel of Santa Catalina, Cathedral of Pamplona.jpg Interior of the Cathedral of Pamplona 02.jpg Interior of the Cathedral of Pamplona 04.jpg Interior of the Cathedral of Pamplona 05.jpg Interior of the Cathedral of Pamplona 06.jpg Interior of the Cathedral of Pamplona 07.jpg Interior of the Cathedral of Pamplona 08.jpg Tomb of Charles III of Navarre and Eleanor of Castile 03.jpg Tomb of Charles III of Navarre and Eleanor of Castile 02.jpg Cloister of the Cathedral of Pamplona 02.jpg Cloister of the Cathedral of Pamplona 01.jpg Cloister of the Cathedral of Pamplona 03.jpg Cloister of the Cathedral of Pamplona 07.jpg Cloister of the Cathedral of Pamplona 06.jpg Sepulchre of Francisco Espoz y Mina.jpg Chapel of Barbazana, Cathedral of Pamplona 01.jpg Chapel of Barbazana, Cathedral of Pamplona 02.jpg Chapel of Barbazana, Cathedral of Pamplona 03.jpg Refectory of the Cathedral of Pamplona 02.jpg Refectory of the Cathedral of Pamplona 01.jpg

References

Bibliography

* * Arraiza, Jesús: ''Catedral de Pamplona: la otra historia'', Pamplona: Ediciones y Libros, 1994

External links

Cathedral of Pamplona's web page
* Catálogo monumental de Navarra:

The Art of medieval Spain, A.D. 500-1200
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Pamplona Cathedral (no. 96) {{Authority control Roman Catholic cathedrals in Navarre 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Gothic art Renaissance sculptures Baroque sculptures Buildings and structures in Pamplona Gothic architecture in Navarre Neoclassical architecture in Navarre Churches in Navarre Burial sites of the Castilian House of Burgundy Burial sites of the House of Évreux Burial sites of the House of Champagne Neoclassical church buildings in Spain