The Church of San Nicolás (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Iglesia de San Nicolás'') also known as the church of Church of San Nicolas de Bari, or the Church of San Nicolas de los Servitas, 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 ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in central

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Spain. The church dates back to medieval times, although it has been very altered over the centuries. The building 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 1978. Its tower was already protected, having been declared a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

in 1931. It is one of the oldest churches in Madrid.

History

The Church of St. Nicholas in Bari is named in the Law of Madrid of 1202 as one of the oldest parishes in the city. Today it is the oldest church in

, after the demolition of the Church of Santa Maria de la Almudena. Archaeological remains suggest that the church and its bell-tower may have been part of a former

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

. It was likely constructed during the 12th century. The nave and chapels were renovated in the 17th century. By the 19th century, this church was poor in resources and parishioners. The parish was joined to that of El Salvador in 1805. For a time, the building was abandoned till the church was ceded in 1825 to the Third Order of Servites. When the nearby church of El Salvador was destroyed in 1842, this church gained its former status as a parish church. In the year 1891 the parish was relocated to a church that had been Anton Martin Hospital in Atocha street, today the Parish of San Nicolas and San Salvador, leaving the old building as the church of "St. Nicholas of the Servites", a name derived from the

Servite Order The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary (; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothers), contemplative nu ...

, which still owns it. At the end of

century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

profile interventions have been implemented, the main one being held in 1983. In some of these interventions was the replacement of the stone, he must be very poor, in the apse, where they appreciate different finishes to the original stone.

Description

Successive restorations that this building has undergone over the centuries have conditioned its current appearance. Built on a three naves, apse has a 15th-century, built with hewn stone from small outcrops of Upper Cretaceous, except the window is illuminated inside with granite recercada. This comes from quarried stone areas The Molar or

Torrelaguna Torrelaguna () is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It covers an area of 43.40 km2. , it has a population of 4,940. History Public transport Torrelaguna has three line buses. They are: Line 197: Torrelaguna - Madrid (Pl ...

(

Quarries Redueña A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safety ...

). It also highlights the beautiful Mudejar covering the nave and the apse of the Gothic vault. The most interesting feature of this temple is undoubtedly its tower, dating from the 12th century except the

Herrerian The Herrerian style ( or ''arquitectura herreriana'') of architecture was developed in Spain during the last third of the 16th century under the reign of Philip II of Spain, Philip II (1556–1598), and continued in force in the 17th century ...

style

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

tops, made of slate for the 18th century. It has a square and is constructed of brick decorated with blind arches. The brick has dimensions of 30 x 15 cm in the lower parts, but it was the brick bell tower area are smaller and of a different hue. This tower possibly corresponds to one of the Arab minarets preserved in the city. The tower was transformed in the 14th century, when it changed the cover, which was subsequently replaced by the spire. The church has two entrances, both with jambs and lintels made of granite. The principal is a beautiful cover

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 ...

carved in the 18th century by

Luis Salvador Carmona Luis Salvador Carmona (1708, Nava del Rey – 1767, Madrid) was a Spanish Baroque sculptor who came from a family of artists. Biography His parents were of modest means, but when he showed artistic aptitude, they sent him to Segovia to study. T ...

where is the image of St. Nicholas in a relief. The whole façade is inserted in this cover is made of brick with a layout and dimensions very different from the rest of the building. The other is a semicircular door, inserted in a socket façade masonry

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

evolves vertically curbs brick masonry with drawers, which corresponds to the so-called " rigging Toledo", which also promptly displayed a dolomite-limestone masonry Tertiary. This front end on the upper level with three windows and a balcony on brick.

References

* :es:Iglesia de San Nicolás (Madrid)

External links

Church of San Nicolas de los Servitas

Madrid entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of San Nicolas (Madrid) Romanesque architecture in Madrid

Nicolas Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

Former mosques in Spain Churches converted from mosques Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in Madrid Buildings and structures in Palacio neighborhood, Madrid

History

Description

See also

References

External links