BARCELONA GOTHIC QUARTER: CATHEDRAL

Today I would like to speak about one of the points of reference in the Barcelona Gothic Quarter: The Cathedral. Around the cathedral are located some of the most beautiful buildings, streets and squares of this lovely area in Barcelona, like:

• La Plaça del Rei and Palau Reial (Frederic Marès Museum)
• La Plaça de Sant Felip Neri
• La Casa de la Ardiaca
• La Casa dels Canonges
• La Pietat and Bisbe Streets
• Narrow streets of the Jewish Quarter (Call Jueu)
• Carrer Petritxol

One of the walks I like the most in Barcelona is to walk around the cathedral along the streets of Els Comtes de Barcelona, La Pietat and El Carrer del Bisbe admiring the gothic elements of the cathedral and the gothic buildings of La Plaça del Rei.

 Main facade of the Barcelona Cathedral recently restored

A bit of history

Barcelona Cathedral was built over six centuries. Funded by donations from the medieval brotherhoods and guilds, the building work in Santa Creu commenced in 1298, on consecrated ground which was the former site of a 14th-century early-Christian basilica, which had been destroyed by al-Mansur’s troops. Only the baptistery survives from this building.

The chapel of Santa Llúcia was part of the Romanesque church built prior to the Gothic Cathedral, while the oldest surviving doorway is the Porta de Sant Iu. The main façade and bell tower were completed around 1890, following the original plans, in the neo-Gothic style.

Gothic windows and details of the main facade of the Barcelona Cathedral, dedicated to Santa Eulàlia, one of Barcelona’s patron saints

The interior is an impressive sight with 25 side chapels, the magnificent 14th-century cloister, the choir stalls. The pulpit and the crypt, which is the burial place of Santa Eulàlia, one of Barcelona’s patron saints, are also extremely beautiful.

Gothic archivolts of the Barcelona cathedral doorway

The Latin-cross floor plan and cross vault, as well as the magnificent stained-glass windows, fill the Barcelona Cathedral with light.

The following pictures show some of the beautiful details of the Barcelona Cathedral.

The apse of the Barcelona Cathedral, where you can see the buttress, and one of the two octagonal bell tower

Detail of the previous octagonal bell tower of the Barcelona Cathedral

Gothic windows between the buttress of the apse of the Barcelona Cathedral 

Doorway of La Pietat, one of the most beautiful gothic details of  the Barcelona Cathedral

Gothic doorway of Sant Iu, the oldest doorway of the Barcelona Cathedral

The cross vault of the magnificent 14th-century gothic cloister of the Barcelona Cathedral

A fountain inside the cloister of the Barcelona Cathedral

Side chapels between gothic archs in the cloister of the Barcelona Cathedral

The interior of the Barcelona Cathedral is an impressive sight with 28 side chapels between the columns supporting the gothic vault. In this picture, the altar

The chapel of Santa Llúcia, located next to the cloister, was part of the Romanesque church built prior to the Gothic Cathedral

If you like gothic architecture, you would be interested in visiting the following religious buildings in Barcelona:

• Santa Maria del Mar church
• Santa Maria del Pi church
• Santa Anna church
• Sant Just i Pastor church
• Sant Pere de les Puelles church
• Pedralbes Monastery

I have visited other beautiful cathedrals, like:

- In Catalonia

• Cathedral of Girona
• Cathedral of Tarragona

- In Spain

• Cathedral of Sevilla
• Cathedral of Córdoba
• Cathedral of Toledo
• Cathedral of Segovia
• Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca
• Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
• Cathedral of Tui in Galicia

- In Europe

• Westminster Abbey in London
• Saint Peter Basilica in the Vatican
• Nôtre Dame in Paris
• Cathedral of Florence
• Cathedral of Siena in Tuscany
• Cathedral of Milano

Next you have some useful information in case you want to visit the Barcelona Cathedral:

- Address: Pla de la Seu, s/n

- Phone: 933 428 260

- How to get there:

• Metro L4, stop Jaume I.
• Bus 17, 19, 40 and 45.
• Barcelona Bus Turístic, stop Barri Gòtic.

- Web site: www.catedralbcn.org

- Guided Visits: 933 428 260

Finally, clicking on the next link you will find links to other beautiful places in Barcelona, among them, more nice places inside the Gothic Quarter.