Iglesia Mayor de San Pedro y San Pablo facts for kids
The Main Church of St Peter and St Paul is a very important church in the city of San Fernando, Spain. You can find it in the Province of Cádiz, which is in the Andalusia region. People often just call it the "Main Church." It stands right in the middle of the city, on a street called Calle Real.
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Where is the Main Church?
This church is located in the very center of San Fernando. It's right across from the Church Square. You'll find it close to the Salt and Sea Hotel, the Museo Histórico Municipal de San Fernando (which is a history museum), the town hall, and even the bullfighting ring. The church is on the left side of the road if you're heading towards Cádiz. To the north, you can see San Romualdo Castle and the Suazo Bridge. To the south, there's the Carmen Convent.
The Church's Story
Building this church started in 1756. It was meant to replace a smaller church nearby. The church was officially opened in 1764, but it wasn't fully finished until the early 1800s.
A designer named Alejandro Perdia first drew up the plans. But it was Torcuato Benjumeda who gave the church its final look. It was built because San Fernando's population was growing, and they needed a bigger church. Money for building it came from a special tax on wine.
There's a cool story that says an Englishman, who wasn't even Catholic, saw the church wasn't finished. He liked it so much that he gave a lot of money to help complete it!
This church has a very important place in Spanish history. On September 24, 1810, special representatives from all over Spain met here. They swore an oath to create Spain's first ever constitution! This was a huge step for the country. Also, some small rooms inside the church were used as meeting places for different groups of workers, like guilds, a long time ago.
Today, the town celebrates "The Festival of the Patron Saints" (San Servando and San Germán) on a Sunday close to October 23. During "Easter Week" (Semana Santa), there are more than twenty parades. The whole town gets ready for these big events all year!
What Does the Church Look Like?
The church building is shaped like a rectangle. You can see two main styles of architecture here. One is called Late Baroque. You'll notice this style in the fancy decorations around the doors. The other style is Neoclassicism. This can be seen in the upper parts of the towers on the front of the church.
The church has two towers, and in them are four bells. Each bell is named after one of the four Evangelists. The front of the church has a flat section with a slightly curved lintel (which is a beam above a doorway).
Inside, there's a large central area called the nave. On each side of the nave are two smaller walkways called aisles. There's also a part of the church that crosses the main area, called a transept. The room where the priests get ready is called the vestry, and it's a bit higher than the rest of the church. The floor is made of marble, and the lower part of the walls has a special stone covering called a plinth.
Behind the main altar, in an area called the chancel, is the sacristy. A round, half-sphere shaped roof, called a dome, sits above the transept. The ceiling also has ribbed vaults, which are arched supports that look like ribs. These are as high as the roof of the nave. Strong pillars, called Tuscan pillars, hold up curved arches. These arches separate the aisles from the central nave.
Art and Decorations Inside
During some repair work in 1959, the main altar was decorated with paintings. These show Jesus on the cross, with St Peter and St Paul on either side of him.
In the first part of the church, there's a special room for baptisms. This room has paintings of the four Evangelists on its walls, also from 1959. Other paintings you can see in the church include "Nuestra Señora del Rosario" and "San Miguel". There are also various other artworks that show scenes from the Holy Week processions in the city.
Underneath the church, there's a hidden room called the crypt, or sometimes the cellar. This is where the tombs of some monks are located.
See also
In Spanish: Iglesia Mayor de San Pedro y San Pablo para niños
