Cathedral of Santa María de Vitoria

Welcome to the Cathedral of Santa María de Vitoria, a magnificent Gothic fortress church perched majestically atop the historic hill of Gasteiz. This remarkable monument is recognized as an integral part of the UNESCO World…

Welcome to Spot 1, the Tripartite Portico of Santa María. Remarkably, this fourteenth-century Gothic portal, widely acclaimed as one of the most brilliant masterworks of plastic arts across the Iberian Peninsula, uses advanced…

Welcome to Spot 2, the Sixty-Meter Bell Tower. Surprisingly, the elegant wooden spire crowning this magnificent sixty-meter tower was completely reduced to ashes on January twentieth, eighteen fifty-six, by a celebratory firework…

Welcome to Spot 3, the Main Nave and Subsoil Excavations. Surprisingly, replacing the original lightweight timber roof with heavy stone cross-ribbed vaults during the sixteenth century caused the cathedral's outer walls to bow…

Welcome to Spot 4, the Chapel of Santiago, also known as the Parish of Santa María. Remarkably, this space operates as an independent parish church housed entirely within the grand framework of the cathedral complex, built…

Welcome to Spot 5, the Crypt of the Chapel of Santo Cristo. Surprisingly, the subterranean burial crypt hidden beneath this octagonal chapel is lined entirely with rich ultramarine blue stucco, the sacred pigment reserved in…

Thank you for joining us on this audio guide tour of the Cathedral of Santa María de Vitoria. From a structurally compromised medieval fortress church on the brink of catastrophic ruin to an internationally acclaimed beacon of…