During last week some of our students went to our visit to the Cathedral and the Royal Chapel of Granada, accompanied by one of our teachers, Roberto Arias. This visit, which is part of our program of weekly activities is very interesting due to the history surrounding both buildings. Let us tell you a little bit about it.
The Cathedral of Granada
It is one of the oldest cathedrals in the Christian West. It is a temple of Renaissance style, and its construction (1526-1561) coincided with the construction of the Christian palace of the Alhambra, the Chancellery and the University, as during the reign of Carlos I of Spain he wanted to turn Granada into a model city in the XVI century.
The Royal Chapel of Granada
This place, which is next to the Cathedral, was built by order of the Catholic Kings, Isabel and Fernando, when in September 13, of the year 1504, both decided that his remains should be buried in Granada. This is a literal fragment of the letter of privilege of the Catholic Kings:
Primeramente mandamos que en la Iglesia Catedral de la ciudad de Granada se haga una honrada capilla en la cual sean, cuando la voluntad de Nuestro Señor fuere, nuestros cuerpos sepultados.
They wanted to be buried in this new building in Granada, and it was created a new institution with people in charge and endowed financially. And so it is: you will find the tombs of the Catholic Monarchs (D. Fernando de Aragon and Dª. Isabel de Castilla), along with the remains of Dª. Juana I and D. Felipe I, and Prince Michael. This construction is Gothic style and was built between the years 1505 and 1517.
The walk was very interesting thanks to the teacher’s explanations, and our students spent a fantastic afternoon in the center of the city of Granada.