BURGOS CATHEDRAL

WIENER, Jacques and Charles: Spain, 1867, Bronze, 59 mm
Obv: View of exterior    CATEDRAL DE BURGOS.
Rev: View of interior
On left:  PRIMERA PIEDRA 20 DE JULIO DE 1221.
On right:  CONCLUSION EN EL SIGLO XV.
Signed: J. WIENER / J. ET CH. WIENER
Ref: Van Hoydonck 220

Burgos is the former capital of Old Castile, which after 1833  became the capital of the Spanish province of Burgos. The oldest quarter of the town, with the older churches, stands on the eastern slope of the Castle Hill. A broad, cobbled and terraced alley descends steeply to the cathedral. The Burgos Cathedral, founded in 1221 by Ferdinand III of Castile and the English bishop Maurice of Burgos, is a fine example of florid Gothic, built of white limestone. It was not completed until 1567. The architects principally responsible for its construction were a Frenchman in the 13th century and a German in the 15th. Its cruciform design is almost hidden by the 15 chapels added at all angles to the aisles and transepts, by the beautiful 14th century cloister on the northeast and by an archiepiscopal palace on the southwest. Over the three central doorways of the main facade rise two lofty and graceful towers. Many of the monuments within the cathedral are of considerable artistic and historical interest. The chapel of Corpus Christi contains the chest which, according to legend, the Cid is said to have filled with sand and subsequently fraudulently sold for a large sum to some of the citizens of Burgos.

LINK to History of  Ecclesiastic Architecture (from World History at KMLA)

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