page_title: Braga Cathedral
section_title: Interior
hierarchical_section_title: Braga Cathedral / Art and architecture / Interior
context_page_description: The Cathedral of Braga is a Roman Catholic church in the northern city of Braga, Portugal. Due to its long history and artistic significance, it is also one of the most important buildings in the country. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Braga and of the Primate Archbishop of Portugal and Spain.
  The cathedral has been classified as National Monument since 1910.
context_section_description: Braga Cathedral has three aisles covered by a wooden roof, a transept and five Eastern chapels in the apse. None of the chapels is original romanesque anymore: the main chapel is manueline, while the others are heavily decorated in baroque style. In the North wall outside of the cathedral there is a small chapel, of early romanesque design, that may be a remnant of the late 11th building. This chapel was left outside of the final cathedral, perhaps due to a change of design in the 12th century.
  The nave is essentially romanesque thanks to a "purifying" reform in the 20th century that suppressed most later additions, although most original capitals of the columns have been lost. D. Afonso, son of King John I, is buried in a 15th-century tomb made of bronze, which can be seen in the nave of the cathedral.
  A high choir was added near the entrance of the cathedral in the baroque period. This choir is beautifully decorated with a painted ceiling and sculptured gilt wood (talha dourada) choir stalls executed around 1737 by Miguel Francisco da Silva. In front of the high choir there are two gilt wood organs, carved by renowned sculptor Marceliano de Araújo in the 1730s, heavily decorated with baroque and fantastic motifs. These are among the most impressive gilt wood works in Portugal.
  The main chapel is roofed with stone rib vaulting and its walls are decorated with a 14th-century statue of the Virgin Mary (Nossa Senhora de Braga). During the remodelling of the chapel, Archbishop Diogo de Sousa also commissioned a stone altar, but most of it has been lost. The part still preserved is used as altar table and has beautiful reliefs of Christ and the Apostles. The choir stalls are neogothic.
  The other chapels of the apse are decorated in baroque or neoclassical styles. The chapel of Saint Peter of Rates is particularly interesting, being decorated with typical blue-white tiles that tell the life of the saint. The author of the tiles is António de Oliveira Bernardes, one of the main 18th century-Portuguese tile painter.
  Several chapels were built adjacent to the cathedral in the Middle Ages. The Chapel of the Kings (Capela dos Reis) was built around 1374 in the place where Count Henrique and Countess Theresa, parents of the first Portuguese King, were buried. Their tombs were substituted in the early 16th century by new ones, with recumbent figures.
  The gothic Chapel of the Glory (Capela da Glória) was built between 1326 and 1348 to be the resting place for Archbishop Gonçalo Pereira. He commissioned a magnificent tomb for himself to sculptors Master Pero, an Aragonese, and Telo Garcia, a Portuguese. The tomb, guarded by six stone lions, has the life-size statue of the archbishop, with his head resting over a pillow held by angels. The sides of the tomb are decorated with images of the apostles and clergymen. In the early 16th century the chapel was painted with interesting geometrical motifs of Moorish influence, very similar to Sevillian tiles.
  Near the cloisters is located the Chapel of Piety (Capela da Piedade) built by Archbishop Diogo de Sousa around 1513. He is buried in the chapel in a beautiful Renaissance tomb.
  The cloisters were rebuilt in the 19th century and are of little artistic interest, but the Cathedral Museum keeps many interesting items. These include the magnificent manueline chalice of Archbishop Diogo de Sousa (early 16th century), the chalice of Saint Gerald (10th century) and an Arab ivory box (11th century), among others.
caption: View of the South side of Braga Cathedral. The portal in the lateral façade is original Romanesque.
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