The Almudena Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Madrid-Alcala Diocese. As Madrid has been the capital of Spain since the royal court was moved there in 1561 by Philip II, one might expect its principal church to be centuries old, and full of late Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces. But this is not the case, largely because of Catholic politics. In 1561 Madrid was part of the Toledo Archdiocese, and for centuries the Toledo Archbishops opposed any modification to this arrangement. Permission was finally granted to build a large church, but not until late in the 19th Century. Work began on the church in 1879, but was halted in the 1930’s during the Spanish Civil War. Work didn’t recommence until 1950, at which time it was resumed until 1965, when a dearth of funds caused another halt. Sufficient money wasn’t found until 1984, but at that time enough was collected to finally complete the work. By this time the Madrid-Alcala Diocese had been created (by Pope Leo XIII, in 1885), and the church was consecrated as its cathedral by Pope John Paul II in 1993.

Nella and Cathedral from Palacio Real MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD	Nella and Cathedral from Palacio Real Med   Lrg   Xlg
Cathedral from Northwest Med   Lrg   Xlg	Bob and Western Entrance Med   Lrg
Door Featuring Virgin and Child Med   Lrg	Door Commemorating Consecration Med   Lrg

While the outside has a neoclassical-baroque style, in an effort to make it more harmonious with the Palacio Real across the way, the inside of the church was given a neogothic design, with cavernous ceilings and pointed arches.

High Altar, Nave and Organ Med   Lrg   Xlg	Organ Med   Lrg   Xlg
High Altar, Nave and Organ MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD	Painting, Stained Glass and Vaulting MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD
Stained Glass Med   Lrg	Chapel with Nun Med   Lrg   Xlg
The Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) Med   Lrg   Xlg	Stained Glass of Santa Maria de Atocha Med   Lrg

While the vaulting in the interior resembles that of churches hundreds of years older, most of the decorations are very much 20th Century. Some of the stained glass even has a “pop art” style to it.

Ceiling Above Apse Med   Lrg   Xlg	In the Apse Med   Lrg
Ceiling and Stained Glass Med   Lrg	Apse and High Altar MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD
High Altar Med   Lrg   Xlg	Ceiling Above Nave Med   Lrg   Xlg
Honeycombed Stained Glass Med   Lrg	Door Featuring Virgin Med   Lrg   Xlg
Painted Tile of Maria Santisima de las Cruces Med   Lrg   Xlg	Dome and Transept Ceiling MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD

The main exception to the modern embellishments is a shrine to the Virgen de la Almudena, located at the right end of the transept. This consists of a statue of the Virgin and Child, standing atop an elaborate silver platform from the 17th Century and in front of a large altarpiece from the late 15th Century. A stairway leads up to the Virgin, for those who wish to experience her at close range.

Stained Glass and Altar of Santa Maria MP4-Sml   MP4-Med   WMV-HD	Altar of Santa Maria La Real de la Almudena Med   Lrg   Xlg
Altar of Santa Maria La Real de la Almudena Med   Lrg   Xlg	Altar of Santa Maria La Real de la Almudena Med   Lrg   Xlg

Located below the shrine is the simple tomb of Maria de la Mercedes, a Queen Consort of Spain from the 19th Century. Maria was of royal blood (she was actually born in the Palacio Real), and was chosen to marry King Alfonso XII (eventual honoree of the monument at the Parque del Retiro lake), against the wishes of the king’s mother, the exiled Queen Isabella II. Shortly after the wedding it became clear that the young queen had tuberculosis. She attempted to produce an heir anyway, but miscarried. She died from the tuberculosis two days after her eighteenth birthday, less than six months after the marriage. She was buried in the usual burial site for Spanish royalty, El Escorial, a monastery-palace northwest of Madrid. But during her brief tenure as queen she’d been involved in securing the property that was eventually used for the cathedral, so her husband expressed the wish that she be buried there when it became feasible. It took awhile, but she was eventually moved to the new tomb in November of 2000.

From the Cathedral we headed for the Opera Metro station, where we boarded a train that took us to the Paseo del Prado, where we visited the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, a museum with an impressive collection ranging from the medieval to the modern. We’d show you some of it, but they had a no-photography rule in 2005 which they still had in 2010, so you’ll have to go to their website if you want to see it. But here are a couple of pictures of the exterior, featuring promotional material for an exhibition they were having at the time, devoted to Italian painter and frescoist Domenico Ghirlandaio.

Museum and Ghirlandaio Banners Med   Lrg

Nella at Museum Entrance Med   Lrg   Xlg

By this time it was evening, so we searched for food and found it at a McDonald’s not far from the museum.

Bob and Signpost Med   Lrg

Neptune Fountain Med   Lrg

We got back on the Metro and returned to the hotel to rest up for an excursion we’d planned for the next day, a self-guided tour of the town of Ávila.