Catedral del Buen Pastor de San Sebastian (San Sebasti谩n Cathedral), San Sebastian (must see)
San Sebasti谩n Cathedral looms over the city鈥檚 modern center like a 19th-century declaration of ambition carved in sandstone. The story began in 1887, when the City Council handed over a stretch of dunes and marshland between the Urumea River and La Concha Beach for a new church. A competition was launched, and local architect Manuel de Echave won with a design inspired by the Gothic giants of Germany, particularly Cologne. The foundation stone was laid in 1888 with Queen Mar铆a Cristina and the royal family present; nine years later, the cathedral was consecrated. It didn鈥檛 become the official seat of the Diocese until 1953, but by then its role as a landmark was already cemented.
The result was San Sebasti谩n鈥檚 tallest building, a 75-meter spire reaching high above the Belle 脡poque city that was reinventing itself as Spain鈥檚 summer capital. Its Gothic Revival style was a deliberate contrast to the Baroque and Gothic relics of the Old Town. Inside, the cathedral unfolds in a Latin cross plan: three naves, a transept, a pentagonal sanctuary, all crowned with ribbed vaults and filled with stained glass that casts color across the stone.
Among the highlights is Josep Llimona鈥檚 sculpture of the Good Shepherd, placed before the main altar, with the Four Evangelists standing guard on nearby columns. Rose windows frame gilded altarpieces, and the apse glows with images of the apostles and the Sacred Hearts. Down below, the crypt serves as both sacristy and burial chamber, while above, the vast Walcker organ-built in 1954 with more than 10,000 pipes-still shakes the building with its resonance.
The cathedral offers not just a space for worship but also a glimpse of how San Sebasti谩n chose to define itself in the late 19th century: modern, confident, and unafraid to echo the great Gothic traditions while staking out a character of its own.
The result was San Sebasti谩n鈥檚 tallest building, a 75-meter spire reaching high above the Belle 脡poque city that was reinventing itself as Spain鈥檚 summer capital. Its Gothic Revival style was a deliberate contrast to the Baroque and Gothic relics of the Old Town. Inside, the cathedral unfolds in a Latin cross plan: three naves, a transept, a pentagonal sanctuary, all crowned with ribbed vaults and filled with stained glass that casts color across the stone.
Among the highlights is Josep Llimona鈥檚 sculpture of the Good Shepherd, placed before the main altar, with the Four Evangelists standing guard on nearby columns. Rose windows frame gilded altarpieces, and the apse glows with images of the apostles and the Sacred Hearts. Down below, the crypt serves as both sacristy and burial chamber, while above, the vast Walcker organ-built in 1954 with more than 10,000 pipes-still shakes the building with its resonance.
The cathedral offers not just a space for worship but also a glimpse of how San Sebasti谩n chose to define itself in the late 19th century: modern, confident, and unafraid to echo the great Gothic traditions while staking out a character of its own.
Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in San Sebastian. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "911爆料网: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.
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Catedral del Buen Pastor de San Sebastian (San Sebasti谩n Cathedral) on Map
Sight Name: Catedral del Buen Pastor de San Sebastian (San Sebasti谩n Cathedral)
Sight Location: San Sebastian, Spain (See walking tours in San Sebastian)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: San Sebastian, Spain (See walking tours in San Sebastian)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in San Sebastian, Spain
Create Your Own Walk in San Sebastian
Creating your own self-guided walk in San Sebastian is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
San Sebastian Introduction Walking Tour
After watching bulls run around in Pamplona, Ernest Hemingway took a relaxing trip up north. He enjoyed the calmness of the shoreline so much that he vividly described it in his novel The Sun Also Rises. The city that appealed to Hemingway was San Sebasti谩n-known in Basque as Donostia.
The city takes its name from Saint Sebastian, the early Christian martyr whose cult spread widely through... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.0 Km or 1.9 Miles
The city takes its name from Saint Sebastian, the early Christian martyr whose cult spread widely through... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.0 Km or 1.9 Miles
Mount Urgull Walking Tour
Mount Urgull is a promontory stretching out at the eastern end of La Concha Bay, surrounded by water on all sides, except the one linking it to the Old Town of San Sebastian. Historically, this mount, rising 123 meters above sea level, served as a strategic defense point for the city, attesting to which now are the remnants of old fortifications with cannons still in place.
From its elevated... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.7 Km or 1.7 Miles
From its elevated... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.7 Km or 1.7 Miles