New Cathedral of Cuenca

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción (Spanish)
Basic information
Location Cuenca, Ecuador
Geographic coordinates 2°53′51″S 79°00′18″W / 2.89750°S 79.00500°W / -2.89750; -79.00500Coordinates: 2°53′51″S 79°00′18″W / 2.89750°S 79.00500°W / -2.89750; -79.00500
Affiliation Catholic Church
Rite Roman Rite
Architectural description
Architect(s) Juan Bautista Stiehle[1]
Architectural type Church
Architectural style Romanesque Revival, Neo-Gothic, Baroque Revival, Byzantine Revival
Groundbreaking 1885[1]
Completed 1975[1]
Specifications
Direction of façade East

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Spanish: Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción), commonly referred to as the New Cathedral of Cuenca (Spanish: Nueva Catedral de Cuenca), is the cathedral church in Cuenca, Ecuador. It is situated in front of Parque Calderon.

The plan of the Cathedral was drawn up by Juan Bautista Stiehle (1829-1899) — a German-born friar who arrived in Cuenca from Alsace in 1873 — on suggestions made by Bishop León Garrido. The Cathedral took over the function of the nearby Old Cathedral that had become too small. Construction works started in 1885 and lasted for almost a century. This building combines many architecture styles, but Romanesque Revival is predominant. The cathedral is surmounted by three giant domes covered by striking blue and white glazed tile from Czechoslovakia.[1] Its stained glass windows were created by Spanish artist Guillermo Larrazábal.[2]

Its towers are truncated due to a calculation error of the architect. If they had been raised to their planned height, the foundation of this Church to the Immaculate Conception, would not have been able to bear the weight. In spite of the architect's immense mistake, the skyline of its domes has become a symbol for the city. Its facade is made of alabaster and local marble, while the floor is covered with pink marble, brought from Carrara (Italy). When the Cathedral was first constructed 9,000 out of Cuenca's 10,000 inhabitants could fit in the building.

References

Cathedral of Cuenca Cathedral of Cuenca on the Map

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Guia Oficial Cuenca - Iglesias de Cuenca". website. Fundacion Municipal Turismo Para Cuenca. 2006. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  2. ↑ http://www.elcomercio.com/cultura/Guillermo-Larrazabal-artista-hallo-luz_0_412758732.html


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.