MONUMENTS
Cádiz’s history is marked by its strategic location, commercial as well as military, between Mediterranean sea and Atlantic ocean. It was founded more than 3000 years ago, by the Phoenicians. They gave the city the name of “Gadir”, it is the most ancient city in Western Europe and it has an important role during the roman era. Aníbal left it for conquering Italy. Julio César himself gave the city, the title of federate town in the Roman Empire, making it the second most populous city in the empire. Due to the fall of the Roman Empire and the different Visigothic conquests, the city started an important decline which lasted a few centuries, until it was reconquered by the tropes of Alfonso X, king of Spain. Lately, in the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, it recover its splendour, becoming and important output port for America’s expeditions.
In the XIX Century, it was besieged by Napoleon’s tropes. That happened during the writing of the first Spanish constitution, which was finally enacted in 1812, during the Spanish independence war. It was then when Cádiz become a shelter for Spanish politics leaders from that period. All of these historical eras, as well as the sociopolitical changes which followed, built the city as we know it today.
Then, you will find the most prominent monuments in Cádiz
SANTA CRUZ CATHEDRAL
This is the principal monument you’ll have to visit during your trip. Santa Cruz Cathedral in Cádiz is located in the city historic centre, almost next to the sea and you can see it from every spot of the city. Its construction started in 1722 and it finished in 1838.
Although people from Cádiz call it Nueva Cathedral, unlike Vieja Cathedral, it is called Santa Cruz del Mar Cathedral or Santa Cruz de las Aguas Cathedral.
The different styles in this buildings go from baroque to neoclassic. It is in the shape of a Latin cross with three naves, a wide ambulatory and side chapels. Pillars with Corinthian columns sustain the entablature with friezes and classicist decorated arches, which rest over a cornice.
The principal façade is finished with chandeliers and has two bodies, one in marble and the other in limestone. The side covers façades are identical, and made in marble and jasper. They are located in the Corinthian order’s doors, one dedicated to Saint Germán and the other to Saint Servando. Under the presbytery, a flat vault crypt contains the mortal remains of the bishops, as well as the mortal remains of the famous musician Manuel de Falla and the writer José María Permán.
Don’t forget to include this majestic temple among the places to visit in Cádiz when you are in the city.
Prices:
Normal price: €5
Seniors: €4
Discount: €3 (available for groups with a guide, groups with more than 20 people, students between 12 and 25 years old and disabled people up to 65 %)
Scholar groups: €2,5
Diocesan residents or people born in the diocese: free entry
Useful information:
Address: Plaza de la Catedral ,no number
Telephone number: 965286154
Web: www.catedraldecadiz.com
Open from Monday to Saturday, from 10:00 to 19:00
GRAN TEATRO FALLA
This marvellous and mythic theatre was built between 1884 and 1905, on the ashes of the previous Great Theater. Its exterior is built in red bricks, in a Neomudejar style. Its inside is abundant and colourful, according to the typical Arabic Spanish style.
In respect of its structure, it is shaped as a horseshoe, in which the different floors, the stables, the boxes and the mezzanine are adapted. The first floor, formed by an amphitheatre BORRAR: Y PUESTOS and the upper grandstands, which are commonly called “paradise”. Each floor is surrounded by a gallery which communicates with the stairs. The great hall is a waiting room, as well as a starting point for the stairs. It also acts as a connection for the gallery in the first floor. These stage is quite big, these are its proportions: 25,5 metres depth and 18 metres width. The orchestra pit is located just in front of the stage, in the lower level. The theatre is luxuriously decorated, in Mudéjar motifs. The ceiling is covered with a big painting by Felipe Abarzuza, which represents a paradise allegory.
Nowadays, the theatre is used as the headquarters of some cultural events, such as the famous competition of Cádiz’s Carnival, the Ibero-American Theatre, the Scopes Cinema competition and other cultural events which take place in the city.
It is a classic monument to see in Cádiz during your visit.
Useful information
Address: Plaza Fragela, no number
Telephone: 956 22 08 34
Mail: granteatrofalla.cultura@telefonica.net
COURTS OF CÁDIZ MONUMENTS
The monument to the Courts of Cádiz is a commemorative monument to the centenary of the 1812’s Constitution. It is located in Cádiz’s Spain Square.
This majestic monument was built in 1912 and it contains a few allegories to war, peace, agriculture and industry. It also has some embossments which allude to Cádiz resistance during Independence War.
The stately figures, allegoric to Spain and Hercules, as well as the precious group of columns, full of feminine figures (commonly known as Cariátides). They sustain a piece which represents the Constitutional Code from 1812 and, complete the composition with a great sense of palatial and solemn scenographic display. Everything is integrated in the Spain Square gardens and it is also integrated in its shape and structure through its colour.
Useful information:
Address: Plaza de España
SANTA CATALINA CASTLE
We can say that Santa Catalina castle is the most ancient military construction in Cádiz. The work started in April 1598, by the architect and military engineer, Cristobal de Rojas. It is located in the north extreme of La Caleta beach.
Its work is due to an unfortunate event which took place two years before in Cádiz, when the Anglo-Dutch tropes, commanded by the Essex Count, destroyed the city of Cádiz because of the poverty of its defence. The Spanish king Felipe II, decided to strengthen Cádiz’s beach and implemented the project made by Cristóbal de Rojas in 1598. The works started that year, according to the castle’s door legend, and they finished in September 1621.
The castle is shaped in a three-pointed star in the side which leads to the sea. The side which leads to the land comprise two half strongholds and a pit, with a permanent bridge and a lifting bridge. Generally, is built in pentagonal shape, an image that would lately be copied in countless castles on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1769, the king Carlos III assigned it to a military prison and he continued using it until the Defence Department stopped using it in 1991. Nowadays, the castle can be visited everyday and it is used as a permanent exhibitions room and also for cultural events. It is in a good conservation condition. Don’t forget to include it in the list of places to visit in Cádiz!
Price: free
Useful information
Address: Antonio Burgos street, no number
Telephone number: 956 22 63 33
E-Mail: info.turismo@cadiz.es
Web: www.turismo.cadiz.es
Visiting hours:
Winter: from Monday to Sunday, from 11:00 to 19:30
Summer: from Monday to Sunday, from 11:00 to 20:30. It can vary on concert days.
PUERTA DE TIERRA
Puerta de Tierra Is an architectonic monument which represents a fortification of the ancient remnant which was the entrance to Cádiz.
It was built by the architect Torcuato Cayón in the XVIII century. It is carved in marble and more designed as a religious altarpiece than as a military fortification.
It is, without any doubt, one of the most important monuments in the city of Cádiz. It separates the historic centre and the modern part of the city.
Price: free
Useful information
Address: Puerta de Tierra, no number
Telephone: 956 24 10 01
E-Mail: info.turismo@cadiz.es
Web: www.turismo.cadiz.es
Visiting hours: the inside can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday, from 9:30 to 15:00 and from 17:30 to 20:30
ROMAN THEATRE
Cádiz’s Roman Theatre was built around the year 70 BC, time when Lucio Cornelio Balbús “el Viejo”, personal friend and Julio César’s counsellor, decided together with his nephew Balbús “el Joven”, to expand the urban perimeter in Gades, building the Neápolis. In this new district, an amphitheatre and a theatre were built.
The building was abandoned at the end of the III Century and it was sacked in the following century. It wasn’t until the medieval times when the remains of its powerful structure were used as storages, stables and houses. It also served as the grounding for the Islamic fortress, mentioned in contemporary sources such as the “Castillo del Teatro”, which was lately rebuilt by the king Alfonso X the Wise, after the conquer of the city.
The excavations have revealed theatre part, which can be considered the most ancient and one of the biggest in the Peninsula Iberica.
His structure has very archaic features, with a cave shaped in a horseshoe and also some added terraces. Underneath them, a wide distribution gallery is located, covered by a barrel vault.The Cavea was built over an unevenness of the floor and in order to build the gallery, the natural stone had to be removed. The exterior wall was built with perfectly shaped ashlars.
The most monumental area in the complex is the stage and the porch which was opened just after it. They haven’t been excavated. Their ruins remain hidden under El Pópulo’s quarter.
Useful information
Address: Mesón street, 11-13
Visiting hours
Summer schedule: (from April to September): from Monday to Saturday, (11:00-17:00) and Sundays (10:00-14:00).
Winter schedule: (from October to March): from Monday to Saturday (10:00-16:30) and Sundays (10:00-14:00). It is closed the first Monday in every month.
Cádiz’s history is marked by its strategic location, commercial as well as military, between Mediterranean sea and Atlantic ocean. It was founded more than 3000 years ago, by the Phoenicians. They gave the city the name of “Gadir”, it is the most ancient city in Western Europe and it has an important role during the roman era. Aníbal left it for conquering Italy. Julio César himself gave the city, the title of federate town in the Roman Empire, making it the second most populous city in the empire. Due to the fall of the Roman Empire and the different Visigothic conquests, the city started an important decline which lasted a few centuries, until it was reconquered by the tropes of Alfonso X, king of Spain. Lately, in the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, it recover its splendour, becoming and important output port for America’s expeditions.
In the XIX Century, it was besieged by Napoleon’s tropes. That happened during the writing of the first Spanish constitution, which was finally enacted in 1812, during the Spanish independence war. It was then when Cádiz become a shelter for Spanish politics leaders from that period. All of these historical eras, as well as the sociopolitical changes which followed, built the city as we know it today.
Then, you will find the most prominent monuments in Cádiz
SANTA CRUZ CATHEDRAL
This is the principal monument you’ll have to visit during your trip. Santa Cruz Cathedral in Cádiz is located in the city historic centre, almost next to the sea and you can see it from every spot of the city. Its construction started in 1722 and it finished in 1838.
Although people from Cádiz call it Nueva Cathedral, unlike Vieja Cathedral, it is called Santa Cruz del Mar Cathedral or Santa Cruz de las Aguas Cathedral.
The different styles in this buildings go from baroque to neoclassic. It is in the shape of a Latin cross with three naves, a wide ambulatory and side chapels. Pillars with Corinthian columns sustain the entablature with friezes and classicist decorated arches, which rest over a cornice.
The principal façade is finished with chandeliers and has two bodies, one in marble and the other in limestone. The side covers façades are identical, and made in marble and jasper. They are located in the Corinthian order’s doors, one dedicated to Saint Germán and the other to Saint Servando. Under the presbytery, a flat vault crypt contains the mortal remains of the bishops, as well as the mortal remains of the famous musician Manuel de Falla and the writer José María Permán.
Don’t forget to include this majestic temple among the places to visit in Cádiz when you are in the city.
Prices:
Normal price: €5
Seniors: €4
Discount: €3 (available for groups with a guide, groups with more than 20 people, students between 12 and 25 years old and disabled people up to 65 %)
Scholar groups: €2,5
Diocesan residents or people born in the diocese: free entry
Useful information:
Address: Plaza de la Catedral ,no number
Telephone number: 965286154
Web: www.catedraldecadiz.com
Open from Monday to Saturday, from 10:00 to 19:00
GRAN TEATRO FALLA
This marvellous and mythic theatre was built between 1884 and 1905, on the ashes of the previous Great Theater. Its exterior is built in red bricks, in a Neomudejar style. Its inside is abundant and colourful, according to the typical Arabic Spanish style.
In respect of its structure, it is shaped as a horseshoe, in which the different floors, the stables, the boxes and the mezzanine are adapted. The first floor, formed by an amphitheatre BORRAR: Y PUESTOS and the upper grandstands, which are commonly called “paradise”. Each floor is surrounded by a gallery which communicates with the stairs. The great hall is a waiting room, as well as a starting point for the stairs. It also acts as a connection for the gallery in the first floor. These stage is quite big, these are its proportions: 25,5 metres depth and 18 metres width. The orchestra pit is located just in front of the stage, in the lower level. The theatre is luxuriously decorated, in Mudéjar motifs. The ceiling is covered with a big painting by Felipe Abarzuza, which represents a paradise allegory.
Nowadays, the theatre is used as the headquarters of some cultural events, such as the famous competition of Cádiz’s Carnival, the Ibero-American Theatre, the Scopes Cinema competition and other cultural events which take place in the city.
It is a classic monument to see in Cádiz during your visit.
Useful information
Address: Plaza Fragela, no number
Telephone: 956 22 08 34
Mail: granteatrofalla.cultura@telefonica.net
COURTS OF CÁDIZ MONUMENTS
The monument to the Courts of Cádiz is a commemorative monument to the centenary of the 1812’s Constitution. It is located in Cádiz’s Spain Square.
This majestic monument was built in 1912 and it contains a few allegories to war, peace, agriculture and industry. It also has some embossments which allude to Cádiz resistance during Independence War.
The stately figures, allegoric to Spain and Hercules, as well as the precious group of columns, full of feminine figures (commonly known as Cariátides). They sustain a piece which represents the Constitutional Code from 1812 and, complete the composition with a great sense of palatial and solemn scenographic display. Everything is integrated in the Spain Square gardens and it is also integrated in its shape and structure through its colour.
Useful information:
Address: Plaza de España
SANTA CATALINA CASTLE
We can say that Santa Catalina castle is the most ancient military construction in Cádiz. The work started in April 1598, by the architect and military engineer, Cristobal de Rojas. It is located in the north extreme of La Caleta beach.
Its work is due to an unfortunate event which took place two years before in Cádiz, when the Anglo-Dutch tropes, commanded by the Essex Count, destroyed the city of Cádiz because of the poverty of its defence. The Spanish king Felipe II, decided to strengthen Cádiz’s beach and implemented the project made by Cristóbal de Rojas in 1598. The works started that year, according to the castle’s door legend, and they finished in September 1621.
The castle is shaped in a three-pointed star in the side which leads to the sea. The side which leads to the land comprise two half strongholds and a pit, with a permanent bridge and a lifting bridge. Generally, is built in pentagonal shape, an image that would lately be copied in countless castles on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1769, the king Carlos III assigned it to a military prison and he continued using it until the Defence Department stopped using it in 1991. Nowadays, the castle can be visited everyday and it is used as a permanent exhibitions room and also for cultural events. It is in a good conservation condition. Don’t forget to include it in the list of places to visit in Cádiz!
Price: free
Useful information
Address: Antonio Burgos street, no number
Telephone number: 956 22 63 33
E-Mail: info.turismo@cadiz.es
Web: www.turismo.cadiz.es
Visiting hours:
Winter: from Monday to Sunday, from 11:00 to 19:30
Summer: from Monday to Sunday, from 11:00 to 20:30. It can vary on concert days.
PUERTA DE TIERRA
Puerta de Tierra Is an architectonic monument which represents a fortification of the ancient remnant which was the entrance to Cádiz.
It was built by the architect Torcuato Cayón in the XVIII century. It is carved in marble and more designed as a religious altarpiece than as a military fortification.
It is, without any doubt, one of the most important monuments in the city of Cádiz. It separates the historic centre and the modern part of the city.
Price: free
Useful information
Address: Puerta de Tierra, no number
Telephone: 956 24 10 01
E-Mail: info.turismo@cadiz.es
Web: www.turismo.cadiz.es
Visiting hours: the inside can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday, from 9:30 to 15:00 and from 17:30 to 20:30
ROMAN THEATRE
Cádiz’s Roman Theatre was built around the year 70 BC, time when Lucio Cornelio Balbús “el Viejo”, personal friend and Julio César’s counsellor, decided together with his nephew Balbús “el Joven”, to expand the urban perimeter in Gades, building the Neápolis. In this new district, an amphitheatre and a theatre were built.
The building was abandoned at the end of the III Century and it was sacked in the following century. It wasn’t until the medieval times when the remains of its powerful structure were used as storages, stables and houses. It also served as the grounding for the Islamic fortress, mentioned in contemporary sources such as the “Castillo del Teatro”, which was lately rebuilt by the king Alfonso X the Wise, after the conquer of the city.
The excavations have revealed theatre part, which can be considered the most ancient and one of the biggest in the Peninsula Iberica.
His structure has very archaic features, with a cave shaped in a horseshoe and also some added terraces. Underneath them, a wide distribution gallery is located, covered by a barrel vault.The Cavea was built over an unevenness of the floor and in order to build the gallery, the natural stone had to be removed. The exterior wall was built with perfectly shaped ashlars.
The most monumental area in the complex is the stage and the porch which was opened just after it. They haven’t been excavated. Their ruins remain hidden under El Pópulo’s quarter.
Useful information
Address: Mesón street, 11-13
Visiting hours
Summer schedule: (from April to September): from Monday to Saturday, (11:00-17:00) and Sundays (10:00-14:00).
Winter schedule: (from October to March): from Monday to Saturday (10:00-16:30) and Sundays (10:00-14:00). It is closed the first Monday in every month.
