Iglesia de Santa Maria del Mar

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The most symmetric church in Barcelona and certainly the best example of Mediterranean Gothic structure in town, Santa Maria del Mar Church is located in the Ribera district in Barcelona. Known as the Catedral de la Ribera (or Catedral del Mar), it was built between 1329 and 1383 in Catalan Gothic style, by architect Berenguer of Montagut, in collaboration with Ramon Despuig.

Santa Maria del Mar was built due to a vow made a century ago by Jaume I, to erect a place of worship dedicated to the protector of sailors. Another legend says that the church building funds came from wealthy merchants and was built to celebrate the conquest of Sardinia by Catalonia. It was chosen this specific location because it was considered that it was originally the tomb of Saint Eulalia, the spiritual patron of Barcelona. The church owes its present graceful look to the anti-clerical fury of anarchists in 1936 that destroyed the greatest part of the old building. Basilica, with many wooden chapels and pews, burned for 11 days in a row, nearly collapsing from the heat given off by flames. It was restored after the Spanish Civil War (1939) by several architects belonging to the post-Bauhaus school, who have tried to preserve the purity of its original shape.

Its quick construction (only 54 years) offers it a unity of style which can not be encountered too often. Sobriety as well as grandeur of the edifice is among its main traits that attract equally. This edifice, the temple of ship owners and merchants of the city, is one of the most representative examples of Catalan Gothic architecture, with a sombre interior, but beautiful, with vertical illumination, while the exterior is tough and "rocky." With three naves covered of arches with quatripartite ogives, it presents all of the Catalan Gothic architecture characteristics. Outdoors, notice the predominance of horizontal lines and decorative austerity. Also, denote the absence of balancing arches typical for European Gothic. Abutments are massive and chapels allow intermediaries. Inside, the space is surprising by its airiness. The nave has a height of 26 m and is flanked on either side by columns. Eight arches on the other side of the church form a semicircle that marks the baptistery. The distance between the thinnest pillars is less than 15 m, which is nearly twice the usual distance. The proportions of the basilica follow some kind of mathematical game related to religious symbolism. This church holds also an excellent acoustics, which makes it often be transformed into a concert hall for classical music, as well as jazz and oriental music. The stained glass are of high quality, the most impressive being the rosette one dating from the XVth century, located above the main entrance.

Near the church there is a monument called Fossar de les Moreres, built on the spot where many warriors were buried, after the defeat of Barcelona in 1714.

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