Cathedral de la Almudena is the modern and fascinating attraction of Madrid which is situated near by Royal Palace. The cathedral occupies about 99 by 75 meters of territories that consists of three altars and thirteen chapels with the central dome of 20 diameter.
This is one of the most attractive light cathedrals throughout the Madrid. The interiors and exterior of of the cathedral clearly reflect the true mixture of Madrid architectures. It is the stone-built cathedral with two towers above 70 meters on the both sides of entrance gates. This is only one cathedral in the history of Spain which took more than 100 years for construction.
The construction project was commenced by the King Alfonso XII by putting first foundation stone in 1883 and it is the first cathedral in the history of Madrid which was consecrated by the pope John Paul.
The history of this cathedral discloses that the then King Philip II wanted to build a catholic cathedral when he shifted the capital city of Spain in Madrid from Toledo in 1561. He planned to build a cathedral in 16th century and held discussions but it was not implemented till 1879. The construction project was started by the Maequis of Cubas by following Gothic revival architecture in 1883.
But it was completely destroyed during the Spanish Civil War in 1930s and the project was completely stopped. It was redesigned by the Spanish architects Carlos Sidro and Fernando Chueca Goitia with neo-classical style in 1950. The construction activities were not finished absolutely during the period of 1993, when the Pope John Paul II consecrated it. The history says that first cultural event at the Cathedral is the marriage between the Asturias Prince, Felipe and Litizia Ortiz Rocasolano in 2004.
Cathedral de la Almudena is a wonderful combination of Neo- Gothic and Neo-classical styles. The exterior of the cathedral is based on Neo-classical and interior is Neo-Gothic style. It was given new look by Kiko Arguello by decorating with new paintings in 2004. It has become one of the fascinating attractions for summer visitors, they can enjoy amazing view of sun set from there during the summer season.