Gothic Cathedral of Barcelona

It is one of the most meaningful monuments of the Catalonian Gothic Architecture. It was built on the side of an existing Paleochristian Basilica. Firstly, it was built in a Romanesque style, but finally, it became a Gothic Cathedral. The count of Berenguer started the reconstruction of this new cathedral that was consecrated in 1058.

It has three naves with the same height, apse with ambulatory, transept and nine chapels between the buttresses distributed along the perimeter giving more light and amplitude to the complex. The main façade is the most current work in the Cathedral from the end of the XIX Century and beginning of the XX Century. The two octagonal towers that stand in the ends of the transept come from the XIV Century. The Cathedral has a dome which is 70 meters high. The Puerta de San Ivo (Door of Saint Ivo) has a Romanesque design.

There are many beautiful Gothic and Baroque altarpieces in some of the chapels: the altarpiece of St. Martin and St. Ambrosio by Joan Mates should be highlighted due to it is considered to be a masterpiece in the Cathedral. In the area of the Evangelio (Gospel) we can see the valuable Baroque altarpieces of St. Severo, and the Virgen del Rosario and St. Marcos. The choir occupies the centre of the temple, and it was started in 1390 by the sculptors Jordi and Pere Johan. At the beginning of the XVI Century, it was enriched with Bartolomé Ordoñez´ s sculptures.

The Chapter House is a masterpiece of the Gothic style. Through a Romanesque façade you access to a rectangular cloister that has a simple ogive vault in its gallery. This gallery links with the Romanesque chapel of Santa Lucia. The Puerta de la Piedad (Door of Mercy) belongs to the Gothic style from Barcelona and it is a Miguel Lochner´ s work of art. Next to the sacristy of the cathedral, from the XIV Century, the valuable treasure of the cathedral is located.