Cathedral of Santa Maria d'Urgell
Encyclopedia
La Seu d'Urgell
La Seu d'Urgell is a town located in the Catalan Pyrenees in Spain. La Seu d'Urgell is also the capital of the comarca Alt Urgell, head of the judicial district of la Seu d'Urgell and the seat of Bishop of Urgell, one of the Andorra co-princes...
, (Alt Urgell
Alt Urgell
Alt Urgell is a comarca in Catalonia, Spain, a modern representation of part of the historic County of Urgell , seat of the Counts of Urgell and the historic region of Urgellet.- Municipalities :...
), seat of the Diocese of Urgell
Diocese of Urgell
The Diocese of Urgell is a Roman Catholic diocese in Catalonia, Spain, with origins in the fifth century AD or possibly earlier. It is based in the region of the historical Catalan county of Urgell, though it has different borders...
. This temple is the seat of the diocese and is dedicated to Saint Mary. The Cathedral of Urgell is considered unique within the Catalan Romanesque for the Italianate-style features on the ornaments of its facade. [1]
The cathedral was constructed in the 12th century (year 1116) and is one of the oldest cathedrals of Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
. The cathedral gives the name of the city. Originally referred to as the City of Urgell
La Seu d'Urgell
La Seu d'Urgell is a town located in the Catalan Pyrenees in Spain. La Seu d'Urgell is also the capital of the comarca Alt Urgell, head of the judicial district of la Seu d'Urgell and the seat of Bishop of Urgell, one of the Andorra co-princes...
, it is now called "la Seu d'Urgell," derived from the Latin Sedes Urgelli (Sedes or Seu denotes that the town is the episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of the Bishop of Urgell
Diocese of Urgell
The Diocese of Urgell is a Roman Catholic diocese in Catalonia, Spain, with origins in the fifth century AD or possibly earlier. It is based in the region of the historical Catalan county of Urgell, though it has different borders...
).
The cathedral is dedicated to Mare de Déu d'Urgell (Virgin of Urgell)—patron of the city— a statue of a Virgin Mary from the 13th century. The Virgin of Urgell is also called Virgin of Andorra
Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
.
The 16th Century composer Joan Brudieu
Joan Brudieu
Joan Brudieu was an Catalan Spanish composer. Brudieu was born around 1520 in the diocese of Limoges and died in la Seu d'Urgell in 1591, but can generally be considered as a Spanish, since the few biographical details found him locate him in Catalonia.From 1539 was cantor at the Cathedral of...
was maestro di capilla of the cathedral 1548-1591.