Metropolitan Cathedral
"Catedral Metropolitana" Of Mexico City
Travel And Tour Photos And Pictures

George And Audrey DeLange

Metropolitan Cathedral The "Catedral Metropolitana", is located beside the Zocalo or Main Square. It was the first cathedral in La Nueva España and is the oldest one in the Americas. It has a Baroque-style facade and 64-meter high Neoclassical-style towers which hold 18 bells. Having destroyed the Aztec temples on this spot, Hernán Cortés (the conqueror) ordered the construction of a Catholic church on the same spot. The first church was demolished in about 1573 and the Spaniards built a new cathedral with stones from the many local Aztec buildings that the Spanish had destroyed. The cathederal was built to look like those in Spain. It was consecrated in the year 1667, but the final elements -bell towers and central dome- designed by Manuel Tolsá were not finished until 1813. The soft clay subsoil beneath Mexico City and the removal of water from the soil over the past years (due to increased water demand from the increasing population) has caused the irregular sinking of many of the buildings in Mexico City including the cathedral. Restoration work mostly done underground, has prevented the collapse of this largest Catholic church in Latin America! On April 11, 1989, heavy rainfall revealed severe cracks in the cathedral building. This caused a great del of concern about its conservation of the cathederal and led to the work that is still being performed.

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