Almudena Cathedral, Madrid (Where Gumbo was #401)

Congratulations to Professor Abe, George G, and PortMoresby, who recognized that Gumbo was visiting Madrid's Almudena Cathedral, named in honor of one of the city's patron saints, Santa María de la Almudena.

(The Cathedral's altar)

Plans to build a church at this site date to the 16th century, when King Philip II designated Madrid as Spain's capital.  Construction of the building was delayed for many centuries for a variety of reasons, but largely because the archdiocese of (then powerful) Toledo opposed it.  The site on which the Cathedral is built was originally occupied by Madrid's first mosque.

(Almudena Cathedral-- Courtesy Wikimedia and Eric Titcombe)

Madrid finally received permission from Toledo to construct the new church in 1868, but actual building of the Neo-Gothic building did not begin until 1883.  A year later Pope Leo XIII created the Diocese of Madrid and gave the city its own bishop, elevating the status of the church to a cathedral and necessitating some modification of building plans.

As is usually the case with such construction projects, it took a long time to build the cathedral.  Construction came to a complete halt during the civil war of the 1930s and began again in 1944 when the new architect introduced a Neoclassical Baroque style to match the gray and white facade of the Royal Palace next door.

Almudena Cathedral was completed in 1993 and was consecrated by Pope John Paul II that same year. A statue of the pope in front of the cathedral commemorates the momentous occasion.

(Pope John Paul 's visit, with Royal Palace in background.
Courtesy Wikimedia and Fotografías - archimadrid.es)

Almudena Cathedral is an impressive structure, measuring 104m long and 76m wide, with a central dome that's 20m in diameter.  The cathedral was in the spotlight for the grand wedding of Prince Felipe and Doña Letizia in May 2004, helping cement its status as a church of great importance.

Almudena Cathedral has a beautiful interior, including a colorful ceiling...

A colorful dome....

And some interesting stained glass panels, some of which are shown below.....

There a few older icons are present, the significance of which I couldn't decipher.  All in all, well worth visiting, especially if coupled with a stop at the nearby Royal Palace.

A few final photos from our visit to Almudena Cathedral:

(Pipe organ, viewed from the altar)

(The Golden Altar)