Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia (Barcelona)
Built between the 13th and 15th centuries, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia is a Gothic-style church that currently serves as the seat of the Archbishopric of Barcelona.
It was built on the foundations of an old Romanesque cathedral, which in turn was built on another ancient temple of Visigothic origin. This provides an idea of the significant age of this imposing construction and its historical and heritage value.
Its design is of vast dimensions – 90 meters in length by 40 inches in width – and the cloister gardens are 25 meters by 6 inches in width surrounded by beautifully decorated walls. Its internal design consists of three naves of equal height, but the central one is much wider than the lateral ones, with a false transept joining in an ambulatory passing behind the presbytery and creating an imposing semicircular arch housing nine chapels covered with pointed arches of four sections. These are crowned by spectacular Gothic stained glass windows that offer an excellent entrance of natural light.
In addition to the impressive number of richly elaborated details, among which representative works of Catalan Gothic art stand out, an interesting and unique detail is that inside its Gothic cloister are 13 white geese symbolizing the age of Saint Eulalia when she was martyred and the fact that she was a goose herder.
Due to its impressive beauty and enormous heritage value, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest and, in 1929, a National Historic-Artistic Monument.
It was built on the foundations of an old Romanesque cathedral, which in turn was built on another ancient temple of Visigothic origin. This provides an idea of the significant age of this imposing construction and its historical and heritage value.
Its design is of vast dimensions – 90 meters in length by 40 inches in width – and the cloister gardens are 25 meters by 6 inches in width surrounded by beautifully decorated walls. Its internal design consists of three naves of equal height, but the central one is much wider than the lateral ones, with a false transept joining in an ambulatory passing behind the presbytery and creating an imposing semicircular arch housing nine chapels covered with pointed arches of four sections. These are crowned by spectacular Gothic stained glass windows that offer an excellent entrance of natural light.
In addition to the impressive number of richly elaborated details, among which representative works of Catalan Gothic art stand out, an interesting and unique detail is that inside its Gothic cloister are 13 white geese symbolizing the age of Saint Eulalia when she was martyred and the fact that she was a goose herder.
Due to its impressive beauty and enormous heritage value, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest and, in 1929, a National Historic-Artistic Monument.
Location
Religious Buildings in Barcelona
Civil Buildings in Barcelona
Museums in Barcelona
