Story
The story of Toledo Cathedral
You are standing before what some authorities consider the masterpiece of the Gothic style in Spain, the Primatial Cathedral of Saint Mary. Tradition holds that an early church stood here, consecrated a second time in 587. Later that Visigothic church was torn down and the city's main mosque was built in its place.
When Alfonso VI took Toledo in 1085, the surrender terms promised to respect the religion of the Muslim population, and keeping the main mosque was part of that agreement. But on 25 October 1087, while the king was away, Archbishop Bernard and Queen Constance had the mosque seized by force.
Legend tells that Abu Walid, the Muslim community's chief negotiator, helped restore peace, and the Cathedral Chapter placed his effigy on a pillar in the main chapel. The Gothic cathedral was begun in 1226 under Ferdinand III, and its central vaults were finished in 1493. Its five naves follow the space of the former mosque, and it measures 120 metres long.
This story is compiled from Wikipedia and other open sources; dates and numbers are checked against the source. The text is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Source ↗
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