UNESCO World Heritage Site – Burgos Cathedral

The soaring towers of Burgos Cathedral; to the upper left, the state name 'ESPAÑA', with the year '2012' and the mint mark to the right.

Burgos Cathedral is one of the most significant Gothic buildings on the Iberian Peninsula. Its foundation stone was laid in 1221 under Bishop Mauricio, with the main structure completed by the 15th century - yet the building did not receive its present form until 1567, with the completion of the lantern dome (cimborrio). Architecturally, the cathedral drew on the Gothic cathedrals of northern France, which explains its closely set buttresses, the finely pierced tracery of its towers, and its many chapels. The two west towers in particular, rising to 84 metres, still define the skyline of the Castilian city today. Inside, Gothic design combines with Renaissance influences - the tomb of the Castilian national hero Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, known as El Cid, has been located at the crossing of the cathedral since 1921.

In the Middle Ages, Burgos was the capital of the Kingdom of Castile and thus one of the political and religious centres of the Iberian Peninsula. The cathedral served not only as the bishop's seat but also as the burial place of Castilian kings and a waypoint on the Camino de Santiago, where pilgrims stopped on their journey to Santiago de Compostela. This combination of power, religious function and pilgrimage tradition makes the building a focal point of Castilian history. In 1984, UNESCO inscribed Burgos Cathedral as one of the first Spanish buildings on the World Heritage list - a recognition that Spain marked in 2012 with the issue of a 2-euro commemorative coin as part of its UNESCO World Heritage series.