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While there are many churches in Madrid, one that is relatively new is the one that takes center stage…for many reasons.
The Almudena Cathedral.
I’ve walked by this stunning piece of architecture countless times on my visits to Madrid. Why I never stepped inside, I am not sure. Perhaps it wasn’t during opening hours, or I simply had other more pressing matters to attend. On this particular day, however, it was open and I had nothing on the agenda.
But it was not the cathedral that I happened upon first. It was the crypt.
Noticing the open doors, located in front of the Arab Wall, I wandered in.
The first thing I noticed were the columns. 400 of them!
Four hundred columns fill the space, each crowned with biblical figures, nature scenes and the symbol of Madrid, the bear and the strawberry tree (which I had also spotted earlier near my hotel).
Mirroring the same architectural footprint as the cathedral above, it is the largest crypt in Spain and the resting place of some of the country’s most notable families and to King Alfonso XII’s first wife Maria de las Mercedes de Orleans. As I wandered through the space, admiring each of the incredibly bedecked side chapels with their Byzantine mosaics and Gothic stained-glass windows. Many of the tombs were extremely elaborate, demonstrating the power and wealth of the families of those interred. The most fascinating facet, however, was the Chapel dedicated to Nuestra Senora de la Flor de Lis (Our Lady of the Lily), possibly the oldest image of the Virgin in the city.
Overall, it had the grand feeling of a cathedral yet more peaceful as would be expected.
Now I was ready for the cathedral itself.
Making my way out of the crypt, I walked around the corner praying that I would find the cathedral open.
The sun was getting lower in the afternoon sky as I glanced up at the cathedral’s façade. Making my way up the stairs, it was hopeful to see other people exiting the entrance.
The church, which was completed and consecrated by in 1993 by Pope John Paul II, is the first cathedral to be consecrated outside of Rome, but plans for the church date back to 1879 when Francisco de Cubas wanted to create a pantheon for the late Queen Maria de la Mercedes. Construction was started four years later, but those plans were changed as the idea for a cathedral was conceived.
Inspired by French cathedral architecture, it was the first to include a crypt and it was to be a cathedral built by the people. When donations came up short, this and other construction problems delayed the project further. The crypt was opened in 1911 but further construction was delayed with the outbreak of the Civil War. As Gothic style went out of vogue, new architectural solutions were sought out. Work was restarted in 1950 with the cloister being completed in 1955 and the main façade in 1960. With many years of construction to follow, the cathedral was finally considered finished in 1993.
As I entered and made my way around the cathedral, what struck me most was not the beautiful stained glass windows (which were amazing), not the numerous columns that filled the space (like in the crypt), not the massive organ in the choir loft, but the colorful ceiling above. It was something like I’ve never seen and very much unexpected as it not matched the classical style!
After my departure, I learned that the cathedral houses a museum which contains effigies of the city’s patron saints, the Virgin Mary of la Almudena and San Isidro of Labrador and an exhibition of the life of the Church through the seven sacraments. The museum contains twelve halls which contain mosaics, Episcopal symbols and vestments. I also learned that I had missed access to the cathedral’s dome. My understanding of this area of the cathedral is that it is not particularly noteworthy however, I am not one to pass up an opportunity! After further research, I discovered I was visiting on a Saturday afternoon when closing time for these two features was well before my arrival. So my advice to those seeking to visit both the crypt and the cathedral and the entirety of it interior…get there early!
Guess I will have to go back!
And be early!!!
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Almudena Cathedral
- http://www.catedraldelaalmudena.es
- Address: Calle de Bailén, 10 28013, Madrid, Spain
- Hours: Monday to Sunday, 0900-2030. Museum and crypt, Monday to Saturday, 1000-1430.
- Admission: Cathedral, free. Museum and crypt, Adults, €6 (US$ 6.30), Students, groups, and seniors, €4 (US$ 4.20).
- Getting There: Metro, Opera, lines 2 and 5. Bus numbers 3, 25, 39, 148.