Located in the heart of Bilbao’s historic old town, the Cathedral-Basilica of Santiago is the seat of the Diocese of Bilbao and the city’s most important Catholic church. Dedicated to Saint James the Greater, Bilbao’s patron saint, it has long been associated with the northern branch of the Camino de Santiago.
The present building was begun in the late fourteenth century after a devastating fire destroyed an earlier church in 1374. Over more than a century, builders completed its nave, ambulatory, chapels and cloister, creating the most important Gothic church in Biscay. Although the façade and tower were rebuilt in Neo-Gothic style during the nineteenth century, the interior preserves its original Gothic character.
Its human scale, elegant ribbed vaults, decorative triforium and spacious ambulatory make it one of the most distinctive Gothic churches in northern Spain. Pilgrims following the Camino del Norte still find here an important spiritual landmark before continuing toward Compostela.
The beautiful Angel Gate, decorated with a pilgrim shell, recalls the cathedral’s long association with the Way of St. James and served as a traditional entrance for pilgrims. Beneath the main altar lies a crypt preserving remains of the earliest medieval church and relics connected with the local Christian tradition. Declared a National Historic Monument in 1931, the cathedral remains one of the spiritual and cultural landmarks of the Basque Country.
- Address
Done Jakue Plazatxoa, 1, Ibaiondo, Bilbao, Bizkaia - Web
https://catedralbilbao.com/public-visit/ - Visiting Hours
Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6:30pm, Sunday from 1:00pm to 6:30pm - What to see
The Angel Gate (Pilgrims’ Gate), Gothic Cloister, Crypt-Oratory
