Iglesia de Santa Cruz - Cadiz
The church is situated on the site of the old Mosque of Muslim Cádiz, on the orders of King Alfonso X “El Sabio”, (the wise) after he re-conquered of the city around 1263.
He gave it the status of a cathedral by obtaining a Bull from Pope Urban IV and transferred the diocese from Asido (present day Medina-Sidonia).
Unfortunately, almost nothing of Alphonsine construction has survived to this day. This is due to both the attacks of costal location from pirates and the damage from gales and storms.
After the notorious sacking of Cadiz city by the Anglo-Dutch troops led by the Earl of Essex in 1596, the church’s reconstruction was carried out thanks to the patronage of Bishops García de Haro and Zapata de Cisneros; with designs attributed to the military engineer Cristóbal de Rojas. Ginés Martín de Aranda was director of the works, completing the vaults in 1605.
Inside the church, the main alter is the work of Alejandro Saavedra from 1647, the most important of the Baroque carvers who worked in this city.
El Sagrario was proposed by Felipe Gálvez in 1689 as a great cubic tower constructed on the old walled defenses of the city. It was finally completed in 1751 by Torcuato Cayón de la Vega.
In 1838, when the Catedral Nueva (new Cathedral) was inaugurated, this church became known as the “Old Cathedral”.
Declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 2002.
Location
Located in Plaza de Fray Félix beteeen the present Cathedral and the Roman Antphitheatre.
