Description of the attraction
The Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of La Serena is the largest church in the city, located on the northeastern side of the Plaza de Armas.
The cathedral was built on the site of the former temple of Matrix El Sagrario, partially burned by the pirate Bartholomew Sharp, which was the first temple erected in La Serena in 1549. In 1840, the old church was completely demolished, and four years later, the construction of the Cathedral began in its place. During the construction of the new building of the temple, most of the building materials were used, which remained after the dismantling of the old one. The construction of a new neoclassical temple, 60 meters long and 20 meters wide, with three naves, was completed in 1856. All 12 years of construction, the project was supervised by the French architect Juan Herbedge.
The walls of the temple are built of limestone, the floor with checkerboard patterns is made of black and white marble. The main highlight of the cathedral are three reinforced vaults supported by columns of wood, concrete and limestone. The vaults are decorated, but the painting has not been completed. The wooden roof is covered with galvanized iron. The magnificent stained glass windows were made in France. The temple has two marble and four wooden altars. The large organ, which is still played in the cathedral, was donated at the end of the 19th century by philanthropist and philanthropist Joanne Ross Edwards. The dome of the tower was erected in 1912 by the French architect Eugenio Giannon. There is a passage to the crypt near the Chapel of the Holy Gifts. The cathedral contains the remains of Francisco de Aguirre (1500-1581), the founder of the city, and other public figures of that time.
In 1981, the Cathedral de La Serena was declared a National Monument in Chile.
