Throughout Spain you can find cathedrals from 1,000 to 500 years old; near Madrid (in Toledo and Segovia) majestic cathedrals were built in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. However Madrid had to wait until the 20th century to see its Cathedral de la Almudena completed and dedicated to the Virgin of Almudena. In the sixteenth century, the first plans were made to build the cathedral for Madrid, but due to other priorities, it wasn’t until 1879 that construction began and then it was necessary to wait 114 years until its inauguration in 1993. The initial project was designed by the architect Francisco de Cubas, applying a Gothic style. During the Civil War and until 1950, work stopped due to lack of finances. Eventually, the architect Fernando Chueca was charged to continue the work and the main façade was completed in 1960. The interior was conceived in the Neo-Gothic style, and the inauguration ceremony was consecrated by Pope John Paul II in June 15th 1993.
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