St. Catherine's Church (; ) is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

-style

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 ...

church located in the city of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, Spain at the southern end of Plaza de la Reina.

History

St. Catherine's Church was built in the early 13th century at the site of a prior mosque. Most of the interior was rebuilt after a fire in 1548 acquiring 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 ...

style. It has a 16th-century portal of

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

style. The imposing bell tower, with a hexagonal base and five levels, once the site of a

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

, was rebuilt in a Baroque fashion between 1688 and 1705 using the designs of Juan Bautista Viñes. Today still presents the 13th-century Gothic exterior. The church was restored in 1785.Ayuntamiento de Valencia
entry on church. The bells were melted in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1729 and later, in 1914, the clock was added. During the restoration carried out in 2012, when they went to repair the clock they realized that the machinery was relatively modern and had no value, so it was decided to remove it and adding again the old bell that had been removed in 1902. In 1936, the church's interior was assaulted and burned by Republican militiamen. In the 1950s, what managed to be saved was restored, and some Neoclassical additions that covered the Gothic façade were removed.

Gallery

File:Torre de la iglesia de Santa Catalina, Valencia, España, 2014-06-29, DD 17.JPG, Baroque belfry File:Iglesia de Santa Catarina, Valencia, España, 2014-06-30, DD 143.jpg, Façade Valencia, chiesa di santa catalina, interno 02.jpg, Interior

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine Valencia Catalina Baroque architecture in the Valencian Community Gothic architecture in the Valencian Community 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Towers completed in 1705 Former mosques in Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Valencia