Catedral de Santa María la Mayor

The Ciudad Real Cathedral is the Catedral de Santa María la Mayor, most commonly known as Santa María del Prado, Our Lady of the Meadow. It is in the old centre of Ciudad Real, the capital of the province of the same name in La Mancha, close to the Plaza Mayor and the Jardín del Prado. The city was founded in the thirteenth century by King Alfonso X, and its main church grew alongside the settlement.

The building is a Gothic church with elements added over several centuries, and it shows the transition between styles. The oldest feature is the Puerta del Perdón, the Door of Forgiveness, a doorway from the late thirteenth century, which is one of the earliest parts of the church. The body of the church was built mainly in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and the vaults over the nave were finished in the mid-sixteenth century. The tower, built of stone in several stages, is a later addition, from the early nineteenth century, and it rises above the old town. Renaissance and Baroque features were added to the interior, and the whole building is protected as a Bien de Interés Cultural.

Inside, the main altarpiece is the principal work of art, a large carved and painted retable in the Renaissance and Baroque tradition. The sacristy and chapels hold items of religious art, and silverwork and vestments are among the treasures kept in the church. Visitors will find the interior calm, with the atmosphere of a working parish church, and the light through the windows picks out the stonework.

The church has a special historical status. From the late nineteenth century it has been linked with the four Spanish military orders, Calatrava, Santiago, Montesa and Alcántara, which were medieval religious and military organisations that once held much of the land in the region. The church became the Priory Church for these orders, and the connection explains some of the heraldry and the history that appears in the building. It was raised to the rank of cathedral in the twentieth century, when the diocese of Ciudad Real was formed.

Ciudad Real is a quiet city, and the cathedral is a good starting point for a walk through the centre. The Museo de Ciudad Real, the Casa de la Cadena, the Iglesia de San Pedro Apóstol and the medieval Puerta de Toledo are all within reach. The Parque de la Ciudadela is also close by. Check the opening times locally, as they vary, and note that the church is closed during some services.