01/05/2003
01/05/2003 The history of the Santa Maria Cathedral of Vitoria-Gasteiz has been marked by structural problems. Since its origins in the 13th century, the citizens of Vitoria have maintained a constant struggle to preserve a monument of such singular historic and artistic value.
Restoration work, which started in the year 2000, is now entering a decisive stage with the strengthening work of the building´s pillars. After becoming aware of the state of the pillars by means of archaeological excavations, stone masons started to play a leading role in undertaking work in a fundamental phase in the recovery of the church.
This is one of the main attractions of the fourth programme of guided tours of the Old Cathedral. Thanks to this pioneering initiative in cultural tourism due to its approach and its content, visitors may view archaeological and restoration work actually being carried out on a Gothic building which is complex in terms of its structure and rich in terms of its testimonies to the past.
This edition of guided tours is presented as the most appealing one of those that have been held so far. The evolution of the restoration work will be constant and areas of the cathedral will be opened to the public which have hitherto remained closed to visitors. Santa Maria is revealing its secrets more than ever before.
The strengthening of the pillars this year constitutes the key point in restoration work, although the cathedral has many other attractions.
STRENGTHENING WORK OF THE PILLARS
Following archaeological work carried out on the central and side naves,
the project tackles the reinforcement of the pillars, some of which have
become very dilapidated, and construction of the arches in order to reinforce
the foundations and lay the new floor structure.
Strengthening work started at the beginning of March. The archaeological
excavations have enabled serious anomalies to be discovered, which have
already been prevented from spreading. After proceeding to case them with
masonry walls or reinforcement rings, hydraulic lime is injected in order
to strengthen them.
Previously, the pillars are strutted with metal structures in order to
free the foundations of weight while the lime solidifies. Once the foundations
have been strengthened, the pillars are frozen with stone arches upon
which the definitive floor will be shaped.
NEW PLATFORM ON THE CROSSING
Joined to the platform located above the central nave of the church is
a similar structure above the crossing. This is a new preventive reinforcement
to allow for the archaeological excavation of that area of the building
and to repair the foundations. Its installation results in the removal
of the scaffolding of the south wing of the church.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS IN THE PLAZA DE SANTA MARIA
The results of the archaeological excavations on the inside and the immediate
vicinity of the cathedral encourage one to continue with this work. Prior
to commencing work on the crossing, the excavation of the rest of the
Plaza de Santa Maria will be carried out. The activity carried out in
the year 2000 is being continued in this area.
WORK ON THE FRONT OF THE PORTICO
The portico of the cathedral is a major example of Gothic art in the peninsula.
After analyzing its current state of preservation and the amount of work
carried out over the centuries, restorers are now absorbed in a second
stage in order to determine the correspondence between the different work
undertaken since it was built until the present time, prior to proceeding
with restoration work.
CRYPT FOR DEPOSITING THE BISHOPS´ REMAINS
Archaeological excavations carried out on the crossing involve the transfer
of the bishops´ remains buried in the presbytery. These will be
deposited in the crypt located beneath the Chapel of Christ.