Ciudad Real Cathedral

The Holy Priory Church Cathedral Basilica of the Military Order of Our Lady Saint Mary of the Prado of Ciudad Real is located in Ciudad Real, Autonomous region of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. Construction began in the 15th century in Gothic style, although it has elements of late Romanesque, Renaissance and Baroque styles; it has undergone many restorations with the first remodelling credited to Alfonso X (23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) since the Romanesque period. It was completed in the mid 16th century after construction of the roof vaults. The tower was built in the early 19th century. The structure is a monument indexed in the Spanish heritage register of Bien de Interés Cultural under the reference RI-51-0000514.History and architectureThe oldest part of the cathedral is the Door of Forgiveness from the late 13th or early 14th century, which may have been reassembled later. It was probably the door of the primitive chapel which stood on the site of today's cathedral church. The cathedral was built in stages, combining the Gothic and Renaissance styles. The apse dates to the early 15th century, the eastern section of the nave is from 1514 while the remainder was completed c. 1580. The cathedral consists principally of a huge nave, 34m high, 53m long and 18m wide, the second largest in Spain after that of Girona Cathedral. The Chapel of the Virgin and the sacristy are in the 17th-century Baroque style. The tower, rebuilt in 1825, has recently been restored. During the Spanish civil war, the cathedral was used as a military garage. As a result, many of its treasures were stolen or destroyed.