Page 360 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

358  CENTR AL SP AIN

León Cathedral

The master builders of this Spanish Gothic
cathedral par excellence (see p28) were
inspired by French techniques of vaulting and
buttress ing. The present structure of golden
sandstone, built on the site of King Ordoño II’s
10th-century palace, was begun in the mid-
13th century and completed less than 100
years later. It combines a slender but very Cathedral Museum
high nave with the huge panels of stained Pedro de Campaña’s panel, The
glass which are its most magnificent feature. Adoration of the Magi, is one of
Although the cathedral has survived for 700 the many magnificent treasures
displayed in the museum.
years, today there is concern about air
pollution attacking the soft stone.

KEY
1 The West Rose Window is
largely 14th-century and depicts
the Virgin and Child, surrounded
by 12 trumpet-blowing angels.
2 The silver reliquary is an or nate
chest dating from the 16th century.
3 The 13th- to 14th-century
cloister galleries are decorated with
Gothic frescoes by Nicolás Francés.
4 The altarpiece includes five
original panels created by Gothic
master Nicolás Francés.
5 The choir has two tiers of
15th-century stalls. Behind it is the
carved and gilded retrochoir, in
the shape of a triumphal arch.

Entrance

. 13th-Century Carvings
Among the Gothic carvings on
the front of León’s cathedral,
above the Puerta de la Virgen
Blanca, is one depicting a scene
from the Last Judgment.
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp569–70 and pp594–5

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