The Cathedral of La Plata, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception

Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...

, is the largest Roman Catholic sanctuary in the city of La Plata

La Plata

La Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and of La Plata partido. According to the , the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its metropolitan area has 694,253 inhabitants....

 in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, and one of the largest in Latin America. This Neogothic edifice is located in the geographical center of the city, facing the central square, Plaza Moreno, and the City Hall.

Inspired by the European cathedrals of Amiens

Amiens Cathedral

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens , or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and seat of the Bishop of Amiens...

 and Cologne

Cologne Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site...

, its plans were drawn by architect Ernesto Meyer under the direction of city planner Pedro Benoit. The cornerstone was laid in 1884, and it was consecrated as the Parroquia Nuestra Señora de los Dolores in 1902. The parish church, which continued undergoing works, was designated a cathedral in 1932.

Restoration and completion

In the 1930s, fearing that the foundation had been underestimated, workers halted construction. The spires were left unfinished and the exterior brick work was left undressed. In the mid 1990s, an ambitious plan of restoration and completion was carried out. The 1990s plan included the following:

• Strengthening the foundation.

• Reversing the damage in the bricks
  Brick
  A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
  
   and joints.

• Completing two spires
  Spire
  A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
  
  , six turrets
  Turret
  In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
  
  , 200 pinnacles
  Pinnacle
  A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
  
  , and 800 needles.

• Installing a 25-bell carillon
  Carillon
  A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
  
  .

Once the bricks were restored, the decision was made to leave them undressed. The building's exposed-brick exterior is thus unusual to some extent, and it makes La Plata Cathedral resemble the brick Gothic

Brick Gothic

Brick Gothic is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northern Europe, especially in Northern Germany and the regions around the Baltic Sea that do not have natural rock resources. The buildings are essentially built from bricks...

 style of many churches in northern Europe, such as Uppsala Cathedral

Uppsala Cathedral

Uppsala Cathedral is a cathedral located centrally in the city of Uppsala, Sweden. It dates back to the late 13th century and at a height of 118.7 m is the tallest church building in Scandinavia. Originally built under Roman Catholicism and used for coronations of the Swedish monarch, since the...

 in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and Roskilde Cathedral

Roskilde Cathedral

Roskilde Cathedral , in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Denmark. The first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick, it encouraged the spread of the Brick Gothic style throughout Northern Europe...

 in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. The refurbishment was inaugurated to the public in the year 2000.

With its towers rising 367 feet, it is among the four tallest churches in the Americas.

External links

Excursión a la Catedral de La Plata

Videos

• Catedral de La Plata (YouTube.com video)
• Catedral de La Plata (YouTube.com video)