Catedral de San Salvador

The Catedral de San Salvador is the cathedral of Oviedo, the capital of Asturias, and it stands on the site where the kingdom of Asturias first established its royal city. King Alfonso II, known as the Chaste, moved the court to Oviedo at the end of the eighth century and built a group of churches and palaces here, and the first church of San Salvador, the Holy Saviour, was part of that foundation. Little of the original building survives, but one part of it is still preserved and is the greatest treasure of the cathedral: the Cámara Santa, the Holy Chamber, a small chapel from the ninth century that held the relics of the Asturian kings.

The present cathedral is mostly Gothic. Building began in the fourteenth century, was expanded in the fifteenth and sixteenth, and it shows the late Gothic in its tall nave, ribbed vaults, slender columns and large windows with stained glass. A single tall tower, with a spire, rises over the west front, and its unfinished twin gives the façade a lopsided look. Inside, the main chapel has a large carved and gilded altarpiece from the early sixteenth century, which is one of the great works of the late Gothic style in northern Spain, and there are chapels with tombs, sculpture and paintings from later periods, as well as a Gothic cloister.

The Cámara Santa is the reason many visitors come. It is entered from the church, and it contains the Arca Santa, an oak chest covered in silver that holds relics, and a collection of early medieval goldwork. Among the most important pieces are the Cross of the Angels, given in the year 808, and the Cross of Victory, which dates from 908 and is the symbol of Asturias, both decorated with gold and precious stones. The Cámara Santa is also said to house the Sudarium, a cloth venerated as the cloth that covered the face of Christ. The treasure is one of the most important in Spain from the early Middle Ages.

The cathedral was a stopping point for pilgrims on the Camino Primitivo, the oldest route of the Camino de Santiago, which starts in Oviedo, and an old saying holds that whoever goes to Santiago and not to San Salvador visits the servant and forgets the Lord. The cathedral is included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing for the Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias and for the Routes of Santiago de Compostela.

The cathedral stands on a small square at the centre of the old town, a few steps from the Jardín de Pelayo and the Plaza de la Constitución. The pre-Romanesque church of San Julián de los Prados and the Museo de Bellas Artes de Asturias are within a short ride or walk. It suits history, art and architecture lovers. Allow an hour and a half, and check ticket options and opening hours before you go.