The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in the Spanish city of Burgos. Its construction began in 1221, following French Gothic patterns. It went through major changes in the 15th and 16th centuries: the spires of the main facade, the Chapel of the Constable and dome of the transept, elements of the advanced Gothic which give the temple its unmistakable profile. The last works of importance (the Sacristy or the Chapel of Saint Thecla) were constructed in the 18th century, in which the Gothic portals of the main facade were also modified. The style of the cathedral is the Gothic, although it has several decorative Renaissance and Baroque elements as well. The construction and renovations were made with limestone extracted from the quarries of the nearby town of Hontoria de la Cantera.
In the cathedral are preserved works of extraordinary artists, such as architects and sculptors of the Colonia family (Juan, Simón and Francisco), the architect Juan de Vallejo, sculptors Gil de Siloé, Felipe Bigarny, Rodrigo de la Haya, Martín de la Haya, Juan de Ancheta and Juan Pascual de Mena, the sculptor and architect Diego de Siloé, the fencer Cristóbal de Andino, the glazier Arnao de Flandes or painters Alonso de Sedano, Mateo Cerezo, Sebastiano del Piombo or Juan Ricci, among others.
Golden Staircase
The design of the main facade is related to the purest French Gothic style of the great cathedrals of Paris and Reims, with three bodies topped by two lateral square towers. Squelettes by Juan de Colonia were added in the 15th century. There are numerous architectural, sculptural and pictorial treasures inside: The Gothic-Plateresque dome, Chapel del Constable, Spanish-Flemish Gothic altarpiece by Gil de Siloé, stalls of the choir, Gothic reliefs of the girola by Bigarny, numerous tombs, Renaissance Golden staircase by Diego de Siloé, Santísimo Cristo de Burgos, image of great devotional tradition, tomb of El Cid and his wife Doña Jimena, his letter of Down payment and his chest, and the Papamoscas, articulated statue that opens his mouth to give the chiming of the hours.
The cathedral was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on October 31, 1984. It is the only Spanish cathedral that has this distinction independently, without being joined to the historic centre of a city.