Girona Cathedral

Considered as a symbol of Girona, the Cathedral of Saint Mary is a monument that impresses by its dimensions and its great beauty. It is located in the highest point of the city, within the walled enclosure called Força Vella. The ensemble of the cathedral is the result of various overlapping architectural styles, from Romanesque and Gothic to baroque and neoclassical.

The construction works have started in the 11th century in Romanesque style, but the original temple was dismantled to raise the current Gothic building, remaining as witnesses only the cloister and the northern half of the bell tower. The original idea was to build a temple with three naves. The proposal to change the project and build just a single nave has caused the suspension of the works and a debate that lasted 50 years to solve it. In the end the decision has been to continue with the most ambitious plan, resulting in a huge nave, the widest of all European Gothic. The baroque facade was built in several phases, in the 17th - 18th centuries. The last sculptures were made in the 20th century.

Highlights

✔ The interior of the cathedral, constituted by a grand unique nave, of gothic style, covered with ribbed vault. The dimensions of the nave, 50 m long by 23 m wide and 34 m high, are unprecedented at the time. In the interior are conserved works of great beauty and value. The retable of the high altar, made of golden silver and enamel, is a jewel of Gothic goldsmithing (14th century). The Chair of Carlemany is a remarkable Romanesque episcopal seat of the 11th century, made in a single piece of marble. Numerous tombs of bishops, historical figures and other figures of relevance are dispersed throughout the building. Some sepulchres are real works of art. The beautiful polychrome stained glass also deserve attention.
✔ The cloister of great dimensions with trapezoidal plan (century XII), attached to the north wall of the cathedral. It is considered as one of the most important Romanesque cloisters of Catalonia thanks to its sculptural richness.
✔ The Carlemany Tower, a elegant six-storey Lombard Romanesque belfry reused as a buttress of the Gothic nave.
✔ The elegant facade baroque - classicist style, divided into three superposed sections similar to an altarpiece. In the upper part a large rosette crowned by a pediment and a gallery complete the whole.
✔ The monumental staircase with 90 wide steps, built at the end of the 17th century to get to the main entrance. The staircase and the facade form an impressive ensemble of Baroque architecture.
✔ The bell tower (16th - 18th centuries), 67 meters height. It consists of three octagonal shaped sections crowned by a small circular temple with a bronze angel above.
✔ The Museum - Treasury. It preserves important works of religious art, among them the Tapestry of Creation (12th century), an exceptional piece of Romanesque tapicería, and the Beatus manuscript (10th century).