A Virtual Tour of Segovia Cathedral: The Last Gothic Masterpiece

The construction of the Cathedral began at the west end, unlike the usual practice of starting at the east end. This was done to make use of the church of the former convent of Santa Clara, located in the area of the east end.

The first stone was laid on June 8, 1525, at the Puerta del Perdón. Construction of the last Spanish Gothic cathedral began, continuing over the course of three building campaigns.

The image shows the area of the retrochoir, the central nave, and the two side naves. On the left is the Gospel side (north); on the right, the Epistle side (south). This part of the Cathedral was built during the first construction campaign, between 1525 and 1558.

Work during this initial phase also focused on the tower and the installation of the cloister on the south side of the Cathedral, which was moved stone by stone from the old cathedral, located opposite the Alcázar.

The niche chapels of the naves were also completed during this first stage, although their interior decoration came later and was gradual. The chapels were acquired by members of civil society and the Church for their own burial and that of their relatives.

One of the characteristics of Segovia Cathedral is the light from its stained glass windows, with a total of 157 that illuminate the building and serve to convey the message of Sacred History.

The choir stalls of Segovia Cathedral were reused from the old cathedral. Created in 1458 by the carvers Pedro de Palencia and master Juan, the work continued until 1463 with the installation of the seats intended for Enrique IV (1425–1474) and Juana of Portugal (1439–1475).

With the naves already completed, the master carvers Juan Gil and Jerónimo de Amberes installed the choir with Gothic stalls: a total of 118 seats in the third and fourth sections of the central nave.

On August 15, 1558, the first mass was celebrated in the completed part of the Cathedral. When the naves were fully enclosed, a large wall was erected to separate the old structure -the naves- from the new construction -the choir and transept- which had yet to be built.

This way, the completed part could be used for worship and the interior decoration could begin. The second stage started in 1558, focusing on the choir, for which the church of Santa Clara, mentioned earlier, was demolished.

The construction of the choir remained faithful to the Gothic style, opting for a polygonal shape with a stepped structure, buttresses, flying buttresses, and parapets, following the design of the exterior structure of the naves.

Work in this area and its interior, the ambulatory, shown in the image, with access to seven radial hexagonal chapels, continued into the third stage, up until 1671, along with the completion of the vaults of the apse and the presbytery of the High Altar Chapel.

The dome of the transept was the main concern during the third stage, as evidenced by the six designs created, from the initial one by Juan Gil de Hontañón to that of Pedro de Brizuela.

Finally, after several master builders, Francisco Viadero was entrusted with leading the execution of the project over a total of twenty-four years, achieving a slightly lower height than Brizuela’s proposal and constructing four Gothic flying buttresses at the angles of the dome’s base.

Do you remember the wall that separated the old construction from the new? Finally, this large wall was demolished in 1686, revealing the great transept dome to the delight of the people of Segovia.

The construction of the Cathedral was completed, but work continued in other areas, such as the office section and the building of the current Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, also known as the Ayala Berganza Chapel. The cathedral was consecrated on July 16, 1768, 243 years after the first stone was laid.