Cathedral of Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion
Cuba, Santiago de Cuba

Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion Cathedral is located in the center of Santiago de Cuba, next to Cespedes Park. The first wooden church on this site was built in 1526, but a year later it burned down as a result of a fire. In 1528, work began on the construction of a stone temple, its construction continued until 1555, often interrupted due to attacks on the city of pirates - so in 1553, pirates led by Jacques de Sorez demanded a ransom of 80,000 pesos for not destroying almost completed cathedral. The authorities of Santiago de Cuba had to pay the indicated amount. In 1562, French corsairs destroyed the roof of the temple, which is why worship services in the cathedral were not held for some time. In 1586, the cathedral was looted, and in 1603, another pirate raid ended in a fire in the temple. Only 25 years later, the cathedral was restored, and masses began to serve in it again. In 1662, pirates led by Henry Morgan attacked the city, sacked the cathedral, took off the bells and set fire to the building. Only by 1674 the cathedral recovered from the destruction, the first service in the restored church took place on February 24, 1674. But here the pirates were replaced by natural disasters - as a result of the earthquake of 1678, the chapel was destroyed and much damage was caused to the building, and in 1679 the cathedral was completely destroyed by another earthquake and a hurricane raging over the island. The new (third) cathedral began to be built in 1686, in 1690 the first Mass was celebrated in an unfinished church. Construction work and interior decoration did not stop until 1760, it would seem that the troubles of the Cathedral of Nuestra Senor de la Asuncion ended on this. But on June 11, 1766, a massive earthquake again turned the cathedral into ruins. The first stone of the fourth, now existing cathedral, was laid on August 15, 1810. The construction of the temple took 8 years and was completed on April 24, 1818. The cathedral in its present form has existed since 1922, in which large-scale work was carried out to rebuild the temple. The architectural style of the cathedral is neoclassical, the temple was built in the form of a basilica with a central nave, apse, side aisles and a back narthex. The central facade is decorated with Corinthian columns supporting a triangular pediment, on which a marble statue of an angel is mounted. Two bell towers are located on the sides of the main facade, in the side niches there are statues of Christopher Columbus and the Spanish priest Bartolome de las Casasa. In 1958, the Cathedral of Nuestra Senor de la Asuncion was declared a National Monument of Cuba, in 1963 the Museum of Religious Art (Museo Arquidiocesano de Arte Religioso de Santiago de Cuba) was opened in the temple. The last changes in the appearance of the cathedral took place in 2015, before the visit of Pope Francis to Cuba - the interior of the church was completely renovated, and the ocher facade became light gray, which made the building more elegant and airy.

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