Cathedral of Madrid (Catedral de Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena de Madrid) description and photos - Spain: Madrid (Topic)

Madrid Cathedral (Catedral de Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena de Madrid) description and photos - Spain: Madrid. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Catedral de Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena de Madrid.

Photo and description

The Cathedral of Madrid, located next to the Royal Palace, opposite the Plaza of Arms, is called the Cathedral of Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena and is dedicated to Our Lady of Almudena.

This is a fairly young cathedral - the first stone of its foundation was laid by King Alfonso XII on April 4, 1884. The king planned to bury his first wife Maria de Las Mercedes, who died of tuberculosis, in the cathedral.

The construction of the cathedral was started by the project of the Marquis Francisco de Cubas. As conceived by the author, the building of the cathedral should have been erected in the neo-Gothic style and have the shape of a Latin cross. A neo-Romanesque tomb was added to the cathedral and opened in 1911, where it was supposed to keep the crypt of Queen Maria de Las Mercedes. The main nave of the tomb is crossed by a transept, the left wing of which is decorated with an extraordinary painting "Immaculate with fleur de lis", executed on plaster and dating back to the 16th century.

In 1944, certain changes were made to the original design of the cathedral, proposed by architects Carl Sidro and Fernando Chueca-Goitia.

The interior of the cathedral, also created in the neo-Gothic style, is filled with light. The building of the cathedral has three naves, the central of which is 99 meters long and is crossed by a transept 65 meters long. The magnificent main altar, made of green marble, is surmounted by a crucifix by the Baroque artist Juan de Mesa.

The interior of the cathedral is decorated with figures of John the Baptist of the 18th century, the Virgin of Almudena of the 16th century, a retablo of the early 16th century,

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Topic: Cathedral of Madrid (Catedral de Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena de Madrid) description and photos - Spain: Madrid.