Oviedo Cathedral

Oviedo's cathedral is Gothic, built from the fourteenth century with a single asymmetrical tower, but the reason for its status is older and embedded within it: the Camara Santa, a chapel built by Alfonso II around 802 and rebuilt in the twelfth century, holds relics said to have been brought north from Toledo ahead of the Muslim advance, including the Arca Santa, a silver-clad chest, the Cross of the Angels and the Victory Cross, and a cloth venerated as the Sudarium of Oviedo. It was added in 1998 to the UNESCO listing of Asturian pre-Romanesque monuments, first inscribed in 1985. The chamber was blown up in 1934 and its contents smashed; they were reassembled and restored over the following years.

History

King Fruela I of Asturias founded the cathedral in 781, and his son Alfonso II, the Chaste, who made Oviedo the capital of his kingdom, enlarged it in 802 and created the see of Oviedo in 810; nothing more is known of that first pre-Romanesque basilica. It was restored in the 12th century under the chronicler Bishop Pelagius, the cloister was begun early in the 14th century, and Bishop Gutierre de Toledo began the present Gothic church, with work going on through the 15th and 16th centuries: Valerano added the stained glass in 1508-1512, Giralte de Bruselas and Juan de Balmaseda carved the great altarpiece in 1512-1517, and Cardinal Francisco Mendoza de Bobadilla added the tower in 1528 (Wikipedia, Oviedo Cathedral).

The main sights

• The Camara Santa - a ninth-century chapel rebuilt in the twelfth.
• The Arca Santa - a silver-clad relic chest of the eleventh century.
• The Cross of the Angels - a jewelled cross of 808, the city's emblem.
• The Gothic cathedral - a fourteenth-century church around the older core.

When to go

April to June and September to November; the cathedral closes for services and keeps a midday break. Oviedo is wet year-round. The Camara Santa is included in the ticket but has restricted hours.

Good to know

Much of the Camara Santa's contents were destroyed in 1934 and are restorations. Photography is restricted in the chamber. The Sudarium is displayed only on a few days each year.

Nearby

Santa Maria del Naranco is three kilometres above the city; the Camino Primitivo starts here.

Key facts