Santander Cathedral

Santander Cathedral is located in the Spanish city of Santander. Its structure is mainly Gothic, although it has been extended and renovated in later times.HistoryThe cathedral is a historical monumental complex built between the end of the 12th century and the 14th century on top of the former Santander Abbey also known as the "Abbey of the Holy Bodies" (Abadía de los Cuerpos Santos), an old monastery dedicated to Saints Emeterius and Celedonius.The church was built from the 8th century on the hill known as Cerro de Somorrostro, surrounded by water, where the Roman settlement of Portus Victoriae Iuliobrigensium had previously been located, in order to keep safe the relics of the saints martyred in Calahorra five centuries before, when their skulls were brought to Santander by those escaping the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula.The construction of the lower floor dates from the 12th century, shortly after the city was granted its fueros. Initially the abbey church, it was made a collegiate church under the title of the Colegiata de los Cuerpos Santos ("collegiate church of the Holy Bodies") in 1131 by King Alfonso VII, the Emperor. Its reconstruction in its current form was started by Alfonso VIII, after the fuero of Santander was granted in 1187.