The name comes from Santiago Cathedral existing Jacobean culture predates the founding of Bilbao. Town Charter and in the town's founding in 1300, records the existence of the shrine of Santiago, located in the St. James Coast road. The initial chapel, prior to the eleventh century, is the first religious building predates the founding of Bilbao.
The present church was built in the fourteenth century, but is cited as the reference year 1379 and since that date the data from the cathedral and are more accurate. It is in 1643 when the Holy See confirms the Church. In 1819 he was consecrated as a basilica and in 1950 attained the rank of Cathedral.
Although the Church was to be Gothic, slow in its construction made this Gothic originally was to have a French influence, end up with a mixture of styles.
If we follow the outer perimeter can see three entries with different stylistic features, although framed in the florid Gothic:
- Front door: both the façade and the front door are of Gothic style and are oriented towards the Plaza de Santiago. On the sides of the door are figures of St. Peter and St. Paul and at the top of the usual rosette Gothic churches.
Cathedral of Santiago (Bilbao), Main Entrance
- Second door on the right of the main facade. This gate was built in the second half of XVI century Renaissance and trapezoidal parameters. Within the porch, the door contains a multicolored coat of Bilbao. Inside the door, the eardrum has a size of the Immaculate Conception Francisco Arizmendi, dated 1873.
Cathedral of Santiago (Bilbao), Side Entry
Cathedral of Santiago (Bilbao), coat of Bilbao Detail
- Third door located on the street known as Mail and door or gate Angel of the Pilgrims. The name comes from the Jacobean symbol on the door and greeted the pilgrims who came way to Compostela. The door, a Gothic structure, is decorated Plateresque-Elizabethan and Gothic ornamentation of the last period.
Cathedral of Santiago (Bilbao), Pilgrim Gate
Cathedral of Santiago (Bilbao), Symbol Jacobean
Indeed, the Angel door connects to the cloister, in the early sixteenth century Gothic cloister and only preserved in Biscay, together with the convent of San Francisco de Bermeo. In the cloister of 24 meters, you can see two altarpieces of early twentieth century and three tombs. It has two doors connected with the church: one bound to the north transept and that holds a picture of James, Commander Perez's work, and another near the entrance of the sacristy.
The Cathedral has a total of 15 chapels devoted, according to the custom of the times, to different saints or virgins, according to the preferences of the wealthy parishioners who financed with the goal of placing in them the family graves.
Plan of the Cathedral of Santiago (Bilbao)
The choir also has its own characteristics, and that is not located in the center, as is usual in Gothic churches. In the last restoration in 2002, was installed a new classic style organ of 2,260 pipes Nordic, named Jesus Guridi composer, who was the organist of the church of Santiago between 1918 and 1939.
The liturgical furnishings and original jewelry can be seen in the Museum of Sacred Art.
