Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, Manizales
Neo-Gothic reinforced concrete cathedral of 1939 with a 106-metre tower walk over the coffee region.
Manizales lost its earlier timber churches to fire, and in 1928 the city began a cathedral of reinforced concrete to a design by the French architect Julien Polti, chief architect of historic monuments in Paris. Work stopped during the world economic crisis of the early 1930s, resumed in February 1935 and finished with the inauguration on 29 September 1939. The result is one of the tallest churches in Colombia, rising about 119 metres, and among the earliest large Neo-Gothic buildings anywhere to be built entirely in concrete.
The interior seats a congregation of around 5,000 beneath ribbed vaults, with stained glass and a marble high altar. Its best known feature for visitors is the Corredor Polaco, a route through the structure of the central tower that climbs by lift and helical steel stairs to a gallery some 96 metres above the Plaza de Bolívar, giving views over Manizales and the surrounding coffee country. The cathedral was declared a national cultural heritage asset in 1984.
Highlights
- Neo-Gothic cathedral built entirely in reinforced concrete
- Central tower rising to about 106 metres
- Corredor Polaco tower walk with 360-degree views
- Interior seating roughly 5,000 worshippers
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