Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

This cathedral is in the city of Santiago de Compostela, in Spain.

A cathedral is a large, important church. This one is made of stone and has two tall towers at the front.

The cathedral stands in the old town of Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, in the far northwest of Spain. UNESCO calls it a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture.

Its front, the Obradoiro facade, forms one side of the Obradoiro square. UNESCO says this Baroque front is the true symbol of the city. For centuries, people have walked to Santiago along routes called the Camino de Santiago, and the cathedral is the last stop on their journey.

Santiago de Compostela lies in Galicia, in the far north-west of Spain. UNESCO's statement for the Old Town calls its cathedral a world-renowned masterpiece of Romanesque art, but names the Baroque western facade, which forms one side of the Obradoiro square, as the authentic symbol of the city.

The Spanish tourism office describes the cathedral as the last stop on the pilgrims' journey along the Camino de Santiago. UNESCO adds that, for centuries, thousands of travelers from as far as the shores of the North and Baltic Seas walked here, carrying the scallop shell and a staff as their symbols.

In 1738 builders took down the old front and started a new one.

The new front has big windows and lots of carved stone. A tall tower stands on each side.

In 1738 the architect Fernando de Casas took down the old west front and began the one you see in the photo, with large openings and rich carving. It sits between two towers, known as the Campanas and the Carraca.

The cathedral has other fronts too. The Platerías facade on the south side is the only Romanesque one left. A large cloister, a courtyard with covered walkways, was built from 1521 to 1559.

Fernando de Casas demolished the medieval west facade in 1738 and began the present Obradoiro front, marked by great openings and rich decoration, with work by leading Compostela artists; it is flanked by the Campanas and Carraca towers. In front, Ginés Martínez built a Renaissance staircase early in the 17th century.

The south transept's Platerías facade is the only Romanesque facade left, beside a 14th-century clock tower that Domingo de Andrade topped in the Baroque period. The north Azabachería facade, designed by Lucas Ferro Caaveiro, was finished by Domingo Lois Monteagudo in 1769. The Plateresque cloister by Juan de Álava and Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón dates from 1521 to 1559, and the organs from 1705 to 1709.

In the photo, the sun lights up the cathedral's golden-brown stone.

Look for the two tall towers, the bells and the stairs at the bottom!

The photo was taken on 9 July 2021. It shows the whole west front under a blue sky: two tall towers, with bells in the right one, a middle section with big windows and carved stone, and statues along the top.

At the bottom, a double staircase behind an iron gate leads up to the doors. UNESCO's statement notes that the old town faces the pressure of mass tourism, with crowds around the cathedral.

The photograph (9 July 2021) shows the Obradoiro facade head-on: the two towers, bells hanging in the open arches of the right one, the central body with its large windows, statues and finials along the skyline, the doors, and the double staircase behind a wrought-iron gate, with stone buildings on each side.

UNESCO's statement describes the Old Town as remarkably well conserved, with the Consortium of Santiago de Compostela (created in 1991) responsible for its conservation, but notes the pressure of mass tourism, which brings overcrowding around the cathedral; efforts have been made to spread visitors out, for example to the City of Culture of Galicia, built by the regional government on Mount Gaias.