Cathedral of Tui. The Inside. Part 1. The Naves of the Church.

We start here the visit to the Cathedral. We will divide the visit into parts. First we will see the Church, after the Cathedral Museum and last but not least the Cloister.

As regards the Church we will see first the naves, after the transept and last the chapels of the Cathedral (Chapel del Santísimo, Chapel of Santiago, the Main Chapel, Chapel of San Pedro and Chapel of San Telmo).

The Cathedral Museum follows the chapels because the Museum is located in one of them, Chapel of Santa Catalina.

The Cloister also contains important archaeological remains which belong to the Museum. We also will see the Romanesque Chapter Hall and the Tower of Soutomaior.

Today we will see the naves of the Cathedral.

Central nave:

The two organs of the Cathedral are located in the central nave. Both were made in 1714. The larger of the two is dedicated to San Telmo and it has recently been restored. The other is dedicated to the Apostle Santiago. Both have statues of the saints on horseback. They are works of Baroque style and are made in polychrome wood.

Part of the choir stalls is beneath the organs today. The choir was originally located in its entirety in the central nave. It was moved to the Main Chapel behind the high altar in 1954.

The choir is made of walnut wood in 1699. It depicts Galician Saints among which San Telmo can be highlighted.

Transverse arches were built in this nave to reinforce the building between fifteenth and eighteenth centuries.


View of the central nave beside the main entrance door of the Cathedral. We can also see the transverse arches. These were built in the 15^th century.

We see the transversal arches again but also the two organs and the part of the choir stalls that it was not moved to the Main Chapel. The Main Chapel and the other part of the choir stalls (the part moved in 1954) are seen in the lower part of the picture.

These are transversal arches and the vaults. We see in the center of the picture an inscription about the year it was built (1715).

Now we see the central nave from the transept beside the Main Altar. We also see the main entrance of the Cathedral.

The organs are seen from the aisle located to the right.

The choir stalls located beneath one of the two organs.

And this is the choir stalls located beneath the other organ.

Aisle located to the left:

This is the statue of San Fernando. It is located beside the entrance door of the Chapel del Santísimo (also called de San Andrés). This chapel was built between 1419 and 1464. It is Gothic style. We will see the Chapel del Santísimo in the chapter dedicated to the chapels of the Cathedral.

Now we see the statue of San Fernando and a Romanesque window.

The aisle located to the left is of Gothic style. It is the part of the Cathedral which was built from 1170.

We can see from the aisle located to the left the entrance door to the Chapel of Santa Catalina. It houses the Cathedral Museum. It is on the opposite side to the Chapel del Santísimo.

The lower part of the load-bearing walls is Romanesque style as well as the windows we see to the left of the picture placed along the entire wall of the nave. From 1170 construction continues Gothic style as we mentioned.

This is a Romanesque window we will see from the interior of the Chapel del Santísimo. It is located on the Romanesque part of the load-bearing wall. We can also see the original door of the chapel which was walled up in 1767. The present door is situated a little more to the left.

And this is the present entrance door to the Chapel del Santísimo. It was built in 1767.

Aisle located to the right:

The lower part of the load-bearing walls is Romanesque style as well as the windows placed along the entire wall of the nave. From 1170 construction continues Gothic style as we mentioned. The Chapel of Santa Catalina houses the Cathedral Museum. It is located beside this aisle.

The cross carved into the stone we see below the Romanesque window is one of the twelve that were carved at several points of the temple. This happened in 1225 on the occasion of the consecration of the Cathedral.

Lamentación de Cristo Muerto (1520) is a fragment from the old main altarpiece of the Cathedral. It is located in the old entrance to the Chapel of Santa Catalina. We can also see another Romanesque window and another cross of 1225.