Burgo de Osma Cathedral Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary
South façade.
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Prefecture	Roman Catholic Diocese of Osma-Soria
Province	Province of Soria
Region	Castile and León
Year consecrated	1272
Status	Active
Location
Municipality	El Burgo de Osma
Prefecture	Roman Catholic Diocese of Osma-Soria
Architecture
Architectural type	church
Architectural style	Gothic, Baroque, Neoclassic
Groundbreaking	1232
Completed	1784
Specifications
Direction of façade	south
Height (max)	72 m (236 ft)
Website
official website: https://www.catedralburgodeosma.com

The Cathedral of Burgo de Osma is a large Roman Catholic church. You can find it in El Burgo de Osma, a town in central Spain. This amazing building is mostly in the Gothic style. It was built where an older Romanesque church once stood.

Construction of the cathedral began in 1232. It took a very long time to finish, finally being completed in 1784. The beautiful cloister, which is an open courtyard, was added in 1512. The tall tower was built much later, in 1739. This cathedral is one of the best-preserved medieval buildings in Spain. It's also a great example of 13th-century Gothic architecture. The cathedral is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. It is also the main church for the Bishop of Osma.

Cathedral Museum
The Mysterious Shroud of San Pedro de Osma
Images for kids
See also

Cathedral Museum

The Cathedral of Burgo de Osma has its own museum. This museum holds many important pieces of religious art. One very special item is a book called a Commentary on the Apocalypse. This book is incredibly old, dating all the way back to 1086!

The Mysterious Shroud of San Pedro de Osma

Chapel of San Pedro de Osma.

The Shroud of San Pedro de Osma is a truly amazing piece of ancient silk. It measures about 50 by 43 centimeters. A shroud is a cloth used to wrap a body for burial. This particular shroud was found inside the tomb of San Pedro de Osma. He was a bishop who passed away in 1109. The shroud was used to wrap his bones.

This silk cloth is very fancy. It has gold threads woven into it. It's also decorated with special writings, round shapes, and mirrored pictures. You can see lions with harpies on their backs. There are also griffins standing next to kneeling men. The writing on the silk is in Arabic. It uses a special mirrored style called muthanna. The writing says: “This is among the things made at Baghdad, may God protect it!”

Even though the writing says it was made in Baghdad, some experts think it might have been made in southern Spain. They believe this for a few reasons. The way some words are spelled in the Arabic writing suggests a western Islamic origin. Also, the special way the silk was woven and how the gold thread was added points to Spain. The shroud has a specific weaving pattern (a 2-2-4 formation of warps) that is common in Spanish textiles.

So, even if the shroud says it's from Baghdad, its unique features suggest it was made in Spain. Some historians think that during the 11th and 12th centuries, it was common in Spain to copy Islamic designs. They might even have pretended these items were from Islamic lands.

Today, this historic shroud is no longer in the cathedral. It is now part of the collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It was bought by the museum in 1933.