GALICIAN CATHEDRALS

There are five Galician cathedrals, the same number as the ecclesiastical provinces into which the community is divided. To travel through them is to discover the ancient Galician medieval political geography in which countless Romanesque churches flourished in the country. The granite and the Romanesque give shape to the five episcopal sees of Galicia.

• Santiago Cathedral:

The most visited today and the most famous is, without a doubt, the Cathedral of Santiago, seat of the Compostela Archbishopric. Although construction began on the old hill of Libredón just after the discovery of the Apostle’s body in 814, work on the current church began in 1075 under the orders of Bernard the Elder. Its old main entrance, the Portico of Glory by Master Mateo, is the most beautiful example of Romanesque sculptural art. The three naves of the Santiago temple, tall and slender, dismantle the prejudice that the architecture of the time was dark, mysterious.

• Mondoñedo Cathedral:

From the beginning of the 12th century, it has a spectacular rose window that illuminates the main nave. Located in this quiet northern town, the former provincial capital of the same name, it is currently located in the province of Lugo. The beginning of its existence was anything but peaceful, in fact, the bishopric had its headquarters for three centuries in San Martiño de Mondoñedo, closer to the coast, in a location that exposed it to frequent pirate attacks. Mondoñedo today shares diocesan capital with Ferrol where a co-cathedral is located.

• Lugo Cathedral:

The Cathedral of Lugo, closely linked to the Jacobean Route and also begun in the 12th century, shows its neoclassical façade oriented towards the Puerta de Santiago. Through this gate pilgrims enter the interior of the Roman wall, the only one with its perimeter intact. It is quite an experience to climb the old bell tower and look out over the city and the forests that surround it from above.

• Tui Cathedral:

Finally, we find the fortified cathedral of Tui on the southern border. Like Mondoñedo, after losing the provincial capital, a co-cathedral was added, in this case Santa María de Vigo. Its location on a hill above the Miño River, overlooking the Valença fortress in Portugal, gave it that special church-castle appearance. Although most of the construction was completed in 1180, a century later it was given an impressive Gothic doorway with a unique appearance in Galicia.