Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia

The Gothic cathedral of Catalan capital, seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona and declared a National Historical-Artistic Monument, dominates the Gothic Quarter with its majesty. It is dedicated to the Holy Cross and to Santa Eulalia, co-patron saint of the city. The exterior has a great simplicity of lines, except the facade.

The cathedral ensemble consists in the temple and the cloister perfectly united. The basilica is formed by three naves of the same height with a single apse and is 90 meters long by 40 meters wide.

Highlights

✔ The impressive choir of the cathedral stands out for the 14th - 15th century carved stalls, with the coats-of-arms of the knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece painted on backrests.
✔ The crypt, located under the presbytery, is presided by the sepulcher of the Santa Eulalia carved in the 14th century.
✔ The Neogothic main façade, the most recent part of the building, built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the architect José Oriol Mestres.With a width of 40 meters, the facade has a central door with a large Gothic arch with archivolts presided over by the great 70 meter high dome and flanked by two towers with high pinnacles. The ornamentation is Gothic in style, with a multitude of sculpted angels and saints.
✔ The cloister, built during the 14th and 15th centuries. It has 25 meters of length per side and each of the four galleries that surround it has the width of 6 meters. In the middle we find an fine garden.
✔ The stained glass windows, made in the 14th, 15th and 20th centuries.
✔ The high altar, consecrated in the year 1337.
✔ The 27 interior chapels, with altarpieces of gothic, baroque and modernist styles.
✔ The royal tombs that hold the remains of some soberanes of the Barcelona County and the Kingdom of Aragon, such as Ramon Berenguer and Alfons III.
✔ The Old Chapter House, rectangular shaped, built in 1407, also serving as mausoleum for the Saint Olegario, former bishop of Barcelona.
✔ Sant Ivo Portal, the oldest gateway. Until the end of the 19th century was the main entrance to the cathedral.
✔ The two bell towers, from the end of the 13th century.
✔ The New Chapter House, 17th century. Houses the Cathedral Museum.
✔ The organ, built in 1538.