Burgos - Cathedral of Santa María Catedral de Santa María
Prominently situated on a terrace at the foot of the castle hill is the Cathedral of Santa María, in its general structure and its profusion of sculpture one of the most impressive of Gothic cathedrals. Built of white limestone with some of the quality of marble, it was begun in 1221, when Ferdinand II laid the foundation stone. The nave and aisles, together with the doorways, were completed by the middle of the 13th century, and the towers were built in the 15th century, but work on the completion of the building dragged on into the 16th Century.
The founder, Bishop Mauricio, employed Spanish architects, but his 15th century successor Alonso de Cartagena brought in master builders from northern Europe - Felipe Vigarny (Felipe de Borgoña) from Burgundy, Gil de Siloé from Flanders and Juan de Colonia (Hans of Cologne) from Germany.
A better side of the Cid's character is shown by his signature on his marriage contract, which can be seen, with other old documents, in the Capilla de Santa Catalina.
In the Capilla del Corpus Cristi is preserved the Cofre del Cid, an iron-bound chest which the Cid left with some Jewish merchants as security for a loan of 600 silver marks - though it is said that the chest was filled with sand and stones instead of the silverware it was supposed to contain.
In the center of the Capilla Mayor is the richly gilded high altar (by Rodrigo and Martín de la Haya, 1580). In front of it are the tombs of several members of the royal house of Castile and León. The reliefs in the trascoro (retrochoir) are mainly by Felipe Vigarny.
The choir and Capilla Mayor are separated from the rest of the church by high wrought-iron screens. The double rows of richly carved walnut stalls in the choir (1521) are mostly by Felipe Vigarny. In the center of the choir is the tomb of Bishop Mauricio (d. 1240), whose recumbent figure is covered with enameled sheet copper.
The other doorways of the cathedral are also very fine: at the end of the north transept the richly decorated Puerta de la Coronería (c. 1250), also known as the Puerta de los Apóstoles from the magnificent figures of Apostles; also on the north side but facing east, the Puerta de la Pellejería (1516), a lively example of Plateresque by Francisco de Colonia, grandson of Juan de Colonia; and at the end of the south transept the Puerta del Sarmental (c. 1230), also richly decorated with sculpture (Christ as teacher of the Apostles).
The first chapel in the south aisle is the Capilla del Santísimo Cristo, with the famous Cristo de Burgos, a figure of Christ covered with buffalo hide. In the third chapel on the right, the Relicario or Reliquary Chapel, is the much revered Virgen de Oca, probably dating from the 16th century. The first chapel in the north aisle is the Capilla de Santa Tecla, built by Churriguera in 1736, with over-ornate colored Rococo decoration and a very large altar; it also contains a Romanesque font. The other chapels all contain fine examples of religious art of the 13th-16th centuries, and in some of them there are also sumptuous tombs.
On the first floor of the cloister, in the old chapterhouse, is the Diocesan Museum, with valuable 16th and 17th century tapestries and fine gold and silverware.
High up on the outside wall of this chapel can be seen the Papamoscas ("Flycatcher") clock, with a figure which opens its mouth every hour on the hour.
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Façade of the Burgos Cathedral.
Looking up at one of the cupolas of the Burgos Cathedral.
