IKER SANTAMARÍA CASADO

History degree (EHU/UPV), 2021-2022

Introduction to Archaeology
26/04/2022

ESSAY: THE VITORIA CATHEDRAL SITE

Last 11th April we went to visit the cathedral of Vitoria-Gasteiz. It is located

in the centre of the city, in the historic centre, next to the Bibat Museum of Vitoria
(composed of the Archaeology Museum and the Playing Cards Museum), which
we went to see for a week before. Along with the visit of the cathedral, we were
also explained the function and history of the medieval wall next to it.

This cathedral was not built at first as we know it today, but it is an

accumulation of buildings, one on top of the other. So with the latter in mind, the
church began to be built in the 13th century (the exact date is not known), until
today, when it is still undergoing minor repairs.

It faces west and is Gothic in style from the middle of the 13th century
onwards (because of the influence of the French, as they covered everything that
had been there before), as it can be seen quite well thanks to the significant
features of this style, for example: the stained glass windows, the pointed arches,
archivolts... It has a Latin cross plan, with three naves (the middle one is higher
than the lateral ones) covered with ribbed vaults. It then has a
large transept; and finally, the chancel, with an ambulatory
made up of three chapels. The triforium and the portico with 3
façades should also be mentioned: the one in the centre
dedicated to the Virgin, the one on the left to St. Giles and the
one on the right to the Last Judgement and St. James.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria is one of the most visited

places in the city and is opened to the public since 2014, as they
had to make several repairs and had to prevent failures so that
visitors could enjoy their visit. Even so, work is still going on.
Some parts of the cathedral's structure have cracks or are not
fully sustainable or have to be renovated for safety reasons, so,
although it may not look like it, that is also nice, because you
can see how they are fixing it. Once the work is finished, all the
necessary conservation and maintenance work will be carried
out to preserve the building.
The works took place mainly between 2000 and 2016 and have made it
possible to restore the damaged parts and also to learn about the origins of the
building and the city thanks to the archaeological excavations carried out in the
cathedral and its surroundings, which have been complementary to the works.

Many of these problems can be seen in the cracks that are found in the
interior walls of the cathedral and also, if we compare photos of the cathedral
today with that of many years ago, several arches have been added joining two
walls, to obtain more strength and sustainability, and vice versa, arches that were
not needed or were very poorly preserved, have been removed to replace them
or not put anything.

In addition, tensioned ropes (tensiometers) are often used, joining various

parts of a column with the wall or whatever is needed, to find out if there are
movements in the structure and thus be able to think of solutions so that there is
no catastrophe.

Under the cathedral is the crypt. It is a room in the underground part of the
cathedral and is dedicated to religious worship. The crypt is quite well preserved
and was one of the most important places in the museum. In order to visit it, we
walked along paths built above ground to observe the crypt from above, and also
from the height of the crypt itself. In addition, it was very well lit with yellow and
other coloured spotlights so that we could see the details of the crypt, no matter
how far away it was.

We were shown two replicas of posts that were used to support the
houses, and sometimes the stones were placed diagonally on the walls, forming
a row of "W”s. This model is Romanesque and had a similar function to the posts
I mentioned before, that is to say, its purpose was to support the weight of the
building in a more efficient way. Then, the access stairs to the cathedral, which
are located in the centre of the crypt, are made of black Markina marble, as are
many other objects found in the building. Finally, a few windows were found that
looked outwards. They were wide on the inside, but as the window opened
outwards, it closed. The function of the windows does not make much sense and
nobody knows why they were made this way. On top of that, in the 13 th century
some of them were covered up, because they decided not to follow a project they
had in mind.

Finally, around the Cathedral of Santa María there are some pieces of the
wall that surrounded the ancient town of Vitoria. First of all, Vitoria was born at
the end of the 7th and beginning of the 8th century. A number of people got
together and built a village on top of a small hill on the plain, so that they could
have a better view of their surroundings and defend themselves better.

The original name of the village is first documented as "Gastehiz", but in

1181, the Navarrese King Sancho VI or Sancho the Wise called the village "Nova
Victoria", after a long conflict with the crown of Castile. With this new name, the
custom of the first name ("Gastehiz") began to be lost, although thanks to
Landázuri, Becerro de Bengoa, Los Apraiz and many more people, in 1979 the
name "Gasteiz" was accepted as the official name of this town.

The village consisted of 3 streets: Fray

Zacarias, Santa Maria and Las Escuelas.
According to the archaeological remains
found, it is believed that the wall began to be
built in the 11th century (in the High Middle
Ages) and had two fundamental functions at
that time. The first was to defend the town;
and the second, economically speaking, was
to control the passage of goods with the
imposition of taxes.
 However, with the settlement of new streets (Correría, Zapatería and
Herrería) next to the wall, a new line of walls was built. Later, in the 13 th century,
three more streets were created: Cuchillería, Pintorería and Judería. Now the
same situation as with the previous three would occur again, I mean a new row
of walls.

Nowadays, only half of the route of the wall is preserved, but thanks to the
reconstructions made during the 21st century, the wall can be preserved for a
longer period of time, and also be a tourist centre.

I liked the visit in general very much. We did several things that were
different from what I expected to do and things I had never done before, for
example: we climbed to the top of a cathedral and went around it more or less. I
didn't know you could do that and I was very impressed. Going up all those stairs
in a spiral reminded me a lot of when I went to the Alcazar in Segovia, and to go
up to the top, we had to go up similar stairs.

And not only did we go upstairs, but we also went under the cathedral. I
knew what a crypt was, but I had never been in one. It is very interesting to be
able to see the whole structure that supports the cathedral and as I said before,
with all the lighting they have put in, we were able to see better all the parts that
formed the crypt and also some of its functions.

The way they showed us around the cathedral was very helpful, it was very
well organised. Entering from a house next to the cathedral and suddenly
appearing in the crypt was quite a shock, as I, at least, did not expect it at all.
Moreover, we saw the cathedral from the bottom to the top, in that order, which
is why I say that it was very well organised, because we followed the same
structure as when building houses and buildings: from the foundations to the roof.

The introduction they gave us with a video that took about 5 minutes,
helped us a lot to understand the history of the building and the reconstruction
they are doing. Also, the 4 models that were exhibited, some replicas of materials
or objects... also helped us to know how it was before.
 Finally, to say something that I didn't like at all, it would be the crypt. I
expected it in a different way, more ornate, with different shapes... But despite
this, the visit to the cathedral of Vitoria is a good experience, especially if you go
with a guide to explain every millimetre of the building, so I recommend it to
anyone who likes archaeology, religious cults or is curious to know the history of
the cathedral.

IKER SANTAMARÍA CASADO

I have been doing this task around 3 days, but 1h and 30 minutes or 2h per day.