Description of the attraction
The Church of Saint Barbara was erected in 1537 over the mine, from where material was extracted for the construction of many residential buildings, monuments and the fortress walls of Santo Domingo. This temple appeared a few years after the construction of the local cathedral, so it can rightfully be called one of the oldest sacral buildings in the city. The first parishioners of the temple were workers who worked in the mine. The original church of St. Barbara was built of wood, but later rebuilt in stone. This temple is characterized by a typical colonial baroque facade, decorated with two towers of different heights and three brick arches (two blind, that is, bricked, and one through). The white plaster of the walls is very favorably set off by the red brick. The church is adjacent to the fort of the same name, which is part of the former defensive system of the city.
The decoration of the temple is also striking. Eight chapels are decorated in a Gothic style, but the attentive traveler will surely notice the details of the decor typical of the Baroque era. In particular, the walls of the church are decorated with ornaments that were fashionable in Spain in the 16th century.
Among the parishioners of the church of St. Barbara were the parents of Juan Pablo Duarte - a politician who in the Dominican Republic is called the Father of the Fatherland. The shrine of the church is the old font, in which the newborn Duarte was baptized. Now every tourist can see it.
There is a cemetery in the courtyard of the church, where some famous church figures are buried.
