retrorocketrick
This is quite a story; read on!
After the old cathedral burnt down in 1596 the Diocese of Seville (who the diocese of Cádiz reported to anyway) took over the spiritual responsibilities of the provinces of Cádiz and Ceuta.
The Bishop of Seville’s seat was physically and spiritually in Seville.
In the eyes of the people of Cadiz this was not only a loss of prestige, it was a loss of spiritual clout!
The idea of a new cathedral in Cádiz finally gained enough support, backing and momentum, so that on July 3 of 1716 it was decided to build a new cathedral.
The first stone was laid on May 3 of 1722, but work was suspended four years later for lack of funds.
Construction of the new cathedral was supervised by the architect Vicente Acero, who had also built the Cathedral de Granada. Acero left the project a few years later and was succeeded by architect Gaspar Cayon, Torcuato Cayon, Miguel de Olivares and Manuel de Machuca.
In the ensuing years there were many stops and interruptions, due to a lack of funds to buy materials and pay workers, as well as other natural (and unnatural) disasters.
A little thing called the Napoleonic Wars interrupted work on the Cathedral when Cadiz was blockaded by the British from 1797 to 1802.
They were blockaded again from 1803 until the outbreak of the Peninsular War in 1808.
In that war Cadiz was one of the few Spanish cities to hold out against the invading French, who sought to install Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleon’s brother) on the throne.
As the cathedral took shape two high towers rose on either side of the front end to form an astronomical observatory.
It is an exceptional fact that the Cathedral of Cadiz was allowed to have towers of such height, since it was outlawed by the ruling Bourbons, because the construction of such structures, constituted an easy target for the enemy cannons.
Unfortunately the Bourbons should have stuck to their guns, so to speak, because it seems that the cathedral became a target, every time there was a war.
Most of the parts of the “original” new construction have been destroyed. Only the vault and part of the main entrance to the original “new” cathedral remain intact.
Here is where we branch off into a little history (just so you know the workers of Cadiz were not just lazy louts).
Cadiz became the seat of "free" Spain's military high command and of the “Cortes” ( the parliament) for the duration of the 1808 war.
It was in Cadiz that the liberal Spanish Constitution of 1812 was proclaimed. It was a groundbreaking event as it was the blueprint of a liberal Spain under a constitutional monarchy.
However, the city's status as capital of free Spain only lasted until 1814 when King Ferdinand VII, against earlier promises, and encouraged by conservatives and the Church hierarchy, rejected the Constitution.
On 4 May he ordered its abolition and on 10 May had the liberal leaders responsible for the Constitution arrested.
He quickly went from being known as "Ferdinand the Desired" to being hated by his own people.
NOTE: The whole story behind Ferdinand VII, as well as Cadiz and Spain itself, during that period, is simply fascinating and makes a wonderful story, if you care to read it. I know this starts to stray from the story of the cathedral itself, but one must understand at least some of the reasons it took 116 years to finally finish it.
Suffice it to say that Ferdinand’s misrule provoked a revolt in 1820 in favor of the Constitution of 1812 which began with a mutiny of his troops.
The king was quickly taken prisoner and moved to the declared capital of Free Spain, Cadiz.
The revolution spread across Spain like wildfire.
Alarmed by these events, the other European powers met, in October 1822, and authorized France to intervene in the conflict and restore the rule of Ferdinand, with only Britain abstaining from that decision.
The people of Spain were incensed and were sure Ferdinand had called on the French, of all people, to rescue him.
On 17 April 1823, French forces crossed the Pyrenees into Spain. They then moved south to besiege the rebels at Cádiz.
The French besieged the fort of Trocadero, which controlled the access to the city.
On 31 August 1823, in what would become know as the Battle of Trocadero, they launched a surprise bayonet attack from the seaside, using the low tide, and took the fort.
There were 400 French casualties and 500 to 600 Spanish, which comprised one-third of the garrison.
Cádiz itself held out for three weeks despite bombardments, but was forced to surrender on 23 September 1823.
King Ferdinand was handed over to the French, and was put back on the Spanish throne.
With the fall of Cadiz, Ferdinand revenged himself with a ferocity which disgusted even his far from liberal allies.
In violation of his oath to grant an amnesty he avenged himself, for three years of imprisonment and coercion, by killing on a scale which left his "rescuers" sickened and horrified.
An estimated 30,000 people were executed and 20,000 imprisoned.
So now it is easy to see the many “distractions” that took place during the building of the Cathedral de Cadiz!
During the work stoppages from 1796 to 1832, the chapels surrounding the construction of the temple around and over the High Altar were used for different purposes such as, shops, factories, warehouses, and even mortuaries during the time of epidemics.
A fire in the chapel of San Signed in 1832, used at the time to store wood, was just one more reasons for delay of the completion. Work stopped again.
The General Military Governor at the time, Don Jose Manso y Sola appealed to the re-appointed Bishop of Cadiz, Dr Fray Domingo de Silos Moreno, and encouraged him to repair the damage to the temple of the high altar, and consecrate that.
The Bishop, with commendable perseverance and will power, invested almost the revenues he had, or could find, but still could not find enough to pay all the workers.
He then turned to the generosity of the trade’s people of Cadiz and convinced them, for lesser or no wages, to overcome every obstacle in their path.
This effort immortalized his name to the people of Cadiz, and within the Catholic Church of Spain.
Before work was finally completed on the overall cathedral, the Temple of the High Altar was, in fact, consecrated in June 1838, by Bishop Domingo de Silos Moreno, and the people of Cadiz again had a cathedral that was recognized by the Catholic Church.
The aftermath to this facinating story is visiible even today.
Because of the extraordinarily long construction time, the materials used to build the Cathedral were quite varied due to different economic crisis that faced the city during the 116 year construction period.
The work delays caused many parts of the temple to be exposed to the rigors weather and time.
This, and the very situation of building by the sea, has started a decay in the cathedral’s stone that causes it to fall apart little by little.
Today nets hang down from the ceiling to prevent falling pieces of material from injuring people.
Cathedral de Cadiz
Cadiz, Spain
This is quite a story; read on!
After the old cathedral burnt down in 1596 the Diocese of Seville (who the diocese of Cádiz reported to anyway) took over the spiritual responsibilities of the provinces of Cádiz and Ceuta.
The Bishop of Seville’s seat was physically and spiritually in Seville.
In the eyes of the people of Cadiz this was not only a loss of prestige, it was a loss of spiritual clout!
The idea of a new cathedral in Cádiz finally gained enough support, backing and momentum, so that on July 3 of 1716 it was decided to build a new cathedral.
The first stone was laid on May 3 of 1722, but work was suspended four years later for lack of funds.
Construction of the new cathedral was supervised by the architect Vicente Acero, who had also built the Cathedral de Granada. Acero left the project a few years later and was succeeded by architect Gaspar Cayon, Torcuato Cayon, Miguel de Olivares and Manuel de Machuca.
In the ensuing years there were many stops and interruptions, due to a lack of funds to buy materials and pay workers, as well as other natural (and unnatural) disasters.
A little thing called the Napoleonic Wars interrupted work on the Cathedral when Cadiz was blockaded by the British from 1797 to 1802.
They were blockaded again from 1803 until the outbreak of the Peninsular War in 1808.
In that war Cadiz was one of the few Spanish cities to hold out against the invading French, who sought to install Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleon’s brother) on the throne.
As the cathedral took shape two high towers rose on either side of the front end to form an astronomical observatory.
It is an exceptional fact that the Cathedral of Cadiz was allowed to have towers of such height, since it was outlawed by the ruling Bourbons, because the construction of such structures, constituted an easy target for the enemy cannons.
Unfortunately the Bourbons should have stuck to their guns, so to speak, because it seems that the cathedral became a target, every time there was a war.
Most of the parts of the “original” new construction have been destroyed. Only the vault and part of the main entrance to the original “new” cathedral remain intact.
Here is where we branch off into a little history (just so you know the workers of Cadiz were not just lazy louts).
Cadiz became the seat of "free" Spain's military high command and of the “Cortes” ( the parliament) for the duration of the 1808 war.
It was in Cadiz that the liberal Spanish Constitution of 1812 was proclaimed. It was a groundbreaking event as it was the blueprint of a liberal Spain under a constitutional monarchy.
However, the city's status as capital of free Spain only lasted until 1814 when King Ferdinand VII, against earlier promises, and encouraged by conservatives and the Church hierarchy, rejected the Constitution.
On 4 May he ordered its abolition and on 10 May had the liberal leaders responsible for the Constitution arrested.
He quickly went from being known as "Ferdinand the Desired" to being hated by his own people.
NOTE: The whole story behind Ferdinand VII, as well as Cadiz and Spain itself, during that period, is simply fascinating and makes a wonderful story, if you care to read it. I know this starts to stray from the story of the cathedral itself, but one must understand at least some of the reasons it took 116 years to finally finish it.
Suffice it to say that Ferdinand’s misrule provoked a revolt in 1820 in favor of the Constitution of 1812 which began with a mutiny of his troops.
The king was quickly taken prisoner and moved to the declared capital of Free Spain, Cadiz.
The revolution spread across Spain like wildfire.
Alarmed by these events, the other European powers met, in October 1822, and authorized France to intervene in the conflict and restore the rule of Ferdinand, with only Britain abstaining from that decision.
The people of Spain were incensed and were sure Ferdinand had called on the French, of all people, to rescue him.
On 17 April 1823, French forces crossed the Pyrenees into Spain. They then moved south to besiege the rebels at Cádiz.
The French besieged the fort of Trocadero, which controlled the access to the city.
On 31 August 1823, in what would become know as the Battle of Trocadero, they launched a surprise bayonet attack from the seaside, using the low tide, and took the fort.
There were 400 French casualties and 500 to 600 Spanish, which comprised one-third of the garrison.
Cádiz itself held out for three weeks despite bombardments, but was forced to surrender on 23 September 1823.
King Ferdinand was handed over to the French, and was put back on the Spanish throne.
With the fall of Cadiz, Ferdinand revenged himself with a ferocity which disgusted even his far from liberal allies.
In violation of his oath to grant an amnesty he avenged himself, for three years of imprisonment and coercion, by killing on a scale which left his "rescuers" sickened and horrified.
An estimated 30,000 people were executed and 20,000 imprisoned.
So now it is easy to see the many “distractions” that took place during the building of the Cathedral de Cadiz!
During the work stoppages from 1796 to 1832, the chapels surrounding the construction of the temple around and over the High Altar were used for different purposes such as, shops, factories, warehouses, and even mortuaries during the time of epidemics.
A fire in the chapel of San Signed in 1832, used at the time to store wood, was just one more reasons for delay of the completion. Work stopped again.
The General Military Governor at the time, Don Jose Manso y Sola appealed to the re-appointed Bishop of Cadiz, Dr Fray Domingo de Silos Moreno, and encouraged him to repair the damage to the temple of the high altar, and consecrate that.
The Bishop, with commendable perseverance and will power, invested almost the revenues he had, or could find, but still could not find enough to pay all the workers.
He then turned to the generosity of the trade’s people of Cadiz and convinced them, for lesser or no wages, to overcome every obstacle in their path.
This effort immortalized his name to the people of Cadiz, and within the Catholic Church of Spain.
Before work was finally completed on the overall cathedral, the Temple of the High Altar was, in fact, consecrated in June 1838, by Bishop Domingo de Silos Moreno, and the people of Cadiz again had a cathedral that was recognized by the Catholic Church.
The aftermath to this facinating story is visiible even today.
Because of the extraordinarily long construction time, the materials used to build the Cathedral were quite varied due to different economic crisis that faced the city during the 116 year construction period.
The work delays caused many parts of the temple to be exposed to the rigors weather and time.
This, and the very situation of building by the sea, has started a decay in the cathedral’s stone that causes it to fall apart little by little.
Today nets hang down from the ceiling to prevent falling pieces of material from injuring people.
Cathedral de Cadiz
Cadiz, Spain