Towers of the churches of San Salvador and Santa Cruz (Madrid)

Last updated
Detail of the famous Plan of Madrid by Pedro Teixeira, can be seen how the Church of San Salvador and its Atalaya de la Villa was in 1656. It had a Herrerian aspect, result of the reforms carried out during the 16th century, which blurred the original medieval traces. Parroquia Salvador Teixeira.jpg
Detail of the famous Plan of Madrid by Pedro Teixeira, can be seen how the Church of San Salvador and its Atalaya de la Villa was in 1656. It had a Herrerian aspect, result of the reforms carried out during the 16th century, which blurred the original medieval traces.
The Atalaya de la Corte in 1868 lopped in the middle of its demolition. Santacruz madrid.jpg
The Atalaya de la Corte in 1868 lopped in the middle of its demolition.

The Towers of the churches of San Salvador and Santa Cruz were the towers of the destroyed churches of San Salvador and Santa Cruz located in Madrid.

Contents

It was highlighted the remarkable height of these towers and, above all, that these towers were different from the others in Madrid.

These towers were known among the Madrilenians as Atalaya de la Villa and Atalaya de la Corte. These nicknames arose in the first third of the 17th century.

Atalaya de la Villa or tower of the church of San Salvador

The Atalaya de la Villa was the tower of the church of San Salvador, one of the ten that are cited in the Fuero of 1202, which was located on the Calle Mayor, facing the Plaza de la Villa.

Function and description

Not only these play a religious activity but also had entrusted civil functions, the result of linking the temples of San Salvador and Santa Cruz with the City Hall of Madrid.

Among its missions it was alert in case of emergencies such as fires and disasters, and warn of the celebration of different municipal acts. Both towers excelled in its front two separate municipal coats of arms, which reported that direct link with the Council.

In this temple it took place the meetings of the Council of Madrid until the construction of the Casa de la Villa in the 17th century.

The call for municipal meetings was done through the bell tower, which also had the task of marking the curfew (at nine in winter and an hour later in summer), when the situation required it. The other highlight element of the Atalaya de la Villa was its clock, the oldest that was in the city.

Atalaya de la Corte or tower of the church of Santa Cruz

The Atalaya de la Corte was one of the tallest towers in the Madrid of the Habsburgs with 144 feet (about 40 meters).

The Atalaya de la Corte was located on the site now occupied by the Plaza de Santa Cruz. It belonged to the church of that name, built in the 13th century, and transformed during the 17th century after catching fire in 1620.

The tower, in particular, rose between 1627 and 1680 from a design by the architect Francisco del Castillo, who devised a solution of four bodies, quadrangular and Herrerian spire with roof lantern, as can be seen in the detail of the plan of Teixeira.

Like the Atalaya de la Villa, it have installed a clock and its bell served to summon the council, because in the church of Santa Cruz it occasionally met the Chamber of Mayors to celebrate their festivals. [1]

Demolitions

The two temples were destroyed in 1868 and with it disappeared the Atalayas.

See also

Related Research Articles

León, Nicaragua Municipality in Nicaragua

León is the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. Founded by the Spanish as Santiago de los Caballeros de León, it is the capital and largest city of León Department. As of 2019, the municipality of León has an estimated population of 210,041.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Municipality in Canary Islands, Spain

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a major city, capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its administrative limits. The urban zone of Santa Cruz extends beyond the city limits with a population of 507,306 and 538,000 within urban area. It is the second largest city in the Canary Islands and the main city on the island of Tenerife, with nearly half of the island's population living in or around it.

Cuenca, Spain Municipality in Castile–La Mancha, Spain

Cuenca is a city in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha in central Spain. It is the capital of the province of Cuenca.

Santa María de Guía de Gran Canaria Municipality in Canary Islands, Spain

Santa María de Guía de Gran Canaria is a town and a municipality in Las Palmas province of the Canary Islands. It is located on the north side of Gran Canaria island. Its population is 13,811 (2013), and the area is 42.59 km2 (16.44 sq mi).

Santa Tecla, El Salvador Place in La Libertad Department, El Salvador

Santa Tecla is a municipality in the La Libertad department of El Salvador. It is the capital of the department of La Libertad.

Caspe Municipality in Aragon, Spain

Caspe is a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, part of the autonomous community of Aragon (Spain), seat of the comarca Bajo Aragón-Caspe. As of 2018 it had a population of 9,525 inhabitants and its municipality, of 503.33 km², is the fourth largest in Aragon.

Centro (Madrid) District of Madrid in Spain

Centro is the central district of the city of Madrid, Spain. It is approximately 5.23 km² in size. It has a population of 149,718 people and a population density of 28,587/km².

El Madrid de los Austrias

El Madrid de los Austrias is a name used for the old centre of Madrid, built during the reign of the Habsburg Dynasty (1516–1700), known in Spain as Casa de Austria. The area is located south of the Calle Mayor, in between the Metro stations Sol and Ópera.

Remedios, Cuba Municipality in Villa Clara, Cuba

Remedios, also known as San Juan de los Remedios, is a city and municipality located 3 miles (4.8 km) from the northern coast of Cuba, in the center of the island. It is the oldest Spanish settlement in the former Las Villas province. It is now part of the province of Villa Clara.

Arévalo municipality in Castile and León, Spain

Arévalo is a municipality in Spain, it is situated in the province of Ávila and is part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. The name came from the Celtic word arevalon, meaning "place near the wall."

Historic center of Mexico City Place in Mexico City, Mexico

The historic center of Mexico City, also known as the Centro or Centro Histórico, is the central neighborhood in Mexico City, Mexico, focused on Zócalo or main plaza and extending in all directions for a number of blocks, with its farthest extent being west to the Alameda Central. The Zocalo is the largest plaza in Latin America. It can hold up to nearly 100,000 people.

Villanueva de la Jara, popularly called La Jara, is a town and municipality in the Manchuela Conquense cormarca, this in turn is part of the La Manchuela comarca, province of Cuenca, in Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is known for the cultivation of portobellos which is the main economic activity of the locality and other edible fungis.

Navas de San Juan Place in Jaén, Spain

Navas de San Juan is a Spanish village of the province of province of Jaén, Spain. According to the 2005 census (INE), the city has a population of 5,030 inhabitants. It is the biggest village in the region of El Condado. The river called Guadalimar runs for its municipal area.

Colmenar de Oreja Municipality in Madrid, Spain

Colmenar de Oreja is a town and municipality of the Las Vegas comarca, in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It was subject to a seven-month siege in 1139.

St Nicholas Church, Madrid

The Church of San Nicolás also known as the church of Church of San Nicolas de Bari, or the Church of San Nicolas de los Servitas, is a Catholic parish church in central Madrid, Spain.

Church of San Dionisio (Jerez de la Frontera)

The Church of San Dionisio is a church located in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain. It was built in the late 15th century in Gothic-Mudéjar style, although its interior was later renovated in Baroque style by architects Diego Antonio Díaz and Pedro de Silva. It was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1964.

Cathedral of Angra do Heroísmo Church in Azores, Portugal

The Cathedral of Angra do Heroísmo is a Portuguese 16th-century cathedral located in the civil parish of Sé, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, on the island of Terceira in the archipelago of the Azores.

Convento de San Norberto

The Convento de Premonstratenses de San Norberto, also known as Convento de Mostenses or Convento de San Norberto, in reference to the founder of the Premonstratensian Order, for who was dedicated, is a religious building disappeared it was located on the ground of the current Plaza de los Mostenses, next to the Gran Vía of Madrid (Spain). It was founded in 1611 by the community of the Fathers Canons Premonstratensians with the permission of Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo Bernardo de Rojas and financed by a benefactor, the Count of Miranda, Juan of Zúñiga, the then president of the Council of Castile. Today the site of the convent is occupied by a market built in the 19th century, known as Mercado de los Mostenses.

Plaza de la Villa Public square in Madrid

The plaza de la Villa is an urban square in central Madrid, Spain. The square, bordering the Calle Mayor, houses some of the oldest buildings still around in the city.

Casa de la Villa (Madrid) Building in Madrid

The Casa de la Villa is a building located in Madrid, Spain. It served as city hall from the 17th to the 21st century.

References