Barcelona Cathedral (La Seu)
Barcelona Cathedral (La Seu) features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Barcelona. Give it roughly ~75 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type religious
- Suggested visit ~75 min
- Barcelona Barcelona guide
About Barcelona Cathedral (La Seu)
The Gothic cathedral of Barcelona, begun in 1298, taking 150 years to build, with a celebrated cloister housing 13 white geese, a soaring interior of Gothic vaulting, and a neo-Gothic facade added in the 19th century, at the heart of the Gothic Quarter.
The Cathedral of Barcelona, properly the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia (Catedral de la Santa Creu i Sant Eulàlia), is the Gothic cathedral of the city, begun in 1298 on the site of an earlier Romanesque church, and substantially completed by the middle of the 15th century. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Eulalia, the co-patron saint of Barcelona, whose relics are kept in the alabaster crypt beneath the high altar. The interior is a classic example of the Catalan Gothic style, broad, spacious, with a wide central nave and flanking aisles, and Gothic vaulting rising to 28 metres. The cloister is one of the most celebrated in Spain, a rectangular Gothic garden with a central fountain, surrounded by Gothic arcades, and populated by 13 white geese that have been kept here since the Middle Ages (one for each year of Eulalia's life). The cathedral's neo-Gothic facade follows a 1408 design by master Carli, redrawn by the architect Josep Oriol Mestres and not actually built until 1887-1913, which is why it has a slightly too-perfect, 19th-century feel. The apse and towers are authentic 14th-15th century Gothic.
Did you know? The 13 white geese in Barcelona Cathedral's cloister represent the 13 years of Saint Eulalia's life, the teenage girl who was martyred by the Romans around 303 AD and is one of Barcelona's patron saints. The geese have been kept in the cloister since medieval times.
How long is a visit to Barcelona Cathedral (La Seu)?
Set aside roughly ~75 min for Barcelona Cathedral (La Seu). That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Barcelona Cathedral (La Seu) worth your time?
Barcelona Cathedral (La Seu) is among the 41 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Barcelona, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Barcelona
Hear the story of Barcelona Cathedral (La Seu)
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