Jerez de la Frontera Cathedral

The Cathedral of San Salvador of Jerez de la Frontera was built on the site of a former Great Mosque, which later became the Church of the Saviour. A monumental 17th-century building where Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical styles blend.

It was initially an old Collegiate Church or Collegiate Church of Jerez de la Frontera, until it was elevated to the dignity of a cathedral in 1980. 

Construction of the new cathedral began in 1695, with Diego Moreno Meléndez as the master builder in Jerez. The construction lasted for more than eighty years, until it was blessed on 6 December 1778. The works were directed by Ignacio Díaz de los Reyes, Juan de Pina and Miguel de Olivares, who worked under the supervision of Torcuato Cayón de la Vega.

As an additional fact to its importance, its construction was largely financed by Kings Charles II, Louis I, and Charles III. Popes Innocent XIII and Benedict XIII also contributed with the grace "of the masses obtained".

Its structure is of Gothic design with a quadrangular floor divided into five naves by thick pilasters. A sixth nave forms the transept. Its magnificent dome rises over the intersection of the main (central) nave and the transept. Its roofs feature simple ribbed vaults in the side naves and more ornate decoration in the central one. Among its interior rooms, the Sacristy, arranged in two sections and covered by sail vaults, stands out. This is accessed through a large neoclassical portal.

On the exterior, it features three façades. The most outstanding is undoubtedly the main façade. It has lintelled doors with circular oculi, rich columns and Baroque-style decorations. The large flying buttresses connecting the side naves with the central one enhance the magnificence of this cathedral.

Of the previous church demolished in 1695, only the bell tower, which is separated from the temple, remains. This tower has two distinct parts: the lower, from the 15th century, built in Gothic-Mudejar style, and the upper, from the 18th century, built by Juan Pina.

Due to its historical and artistic significance, the Jerez Cathedral is declared an Asset of Cultural Interest with the category of monument. This declaration was published in the Gaceta de Madrid on 4 June 1931.

In its Cathedral Museum, there are highly significant pictorial works, such as The Girl Virgin by Zurbarán and paintings by Juan Rodríguez “El Tahonero”.