SANTIAGO CATHEDRAL

Dedicated to Santiago, patron saint of Bilbao, this cathedral is an important stop on the "Camino del Norte" for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela. Classified as "Historical and Artistic Heritage of Spain" since 1931, it is considered one of the most beautiful examples of Gothic in the Basque Country. It forms a Latin cross divided into three naves, surmounted by ribbed vaults.

Santiago Cathedral has its origins before the birth of the city in 1300. It was then a small church, which was destroyed in a fire in 1374. Thanks to the intervention of Pope Gregory XI, work on the construction of a new temple began shortly afterwards, towards the end of the 14th century, with the erection of a Gothic-style building, in accordance with the taste of the time. They continued for more than a century, first with the construction of the ambulatory and chapels in the 15th century, and then with the addition of the cloister and the beautiful portico of the Puerta del Ángel (also known as the "Pilgrims' Gate") in the 16th century. The whole part overlooking the Plaza de Santiago, that is to say the façade and the tower, was built later in a neo-Gothic style.

During the visit, the originality of its ambulatory, which is divided into rectangular and triangular spaces, and the triforium (a passageway on the aisle sides) are particularly noteworthy, establishing a link with other churches in the Basque Country: Gernika, Lekeitio, Portugalete, San Antón de Bilbao, etc.