The church of Saint Nicholas of Bari is one of the oldest constructions in Madrid and it is considered as one of the jewels of the city. This church is part of the history of Madrid and together with the Ermita de Santa María la Antigua they are the two oldest religious buildings of the capital. In 1202, the church of Saint Nicholas of Bari was named in the Law of Madrid as one of the parishes of the city. Its archaeological remains, which are still found in its architecture, show that it could have been a Muslim mosque. We do not know for certain when it was built, but there is a guess that it could have been in the XII century because the tower, that is still preserved, has the characteristics of the buildiings of those days, as we will now see.

Whether or not it is the oldest church in Madrid one of the things that strikes us most is its location: the church is located in Plaza de San Nicolás next to Calle Mayor. Together with the church of San Pedro el Viejo, it is the only church which is left standing of Medieval Madrid. A fact that strongly attracts our attention is the way the church emerges in spite of not having much space: when passers-by are in front of it they have the impression that it does not fit in the space as it is squeezed between narrow streets and buildings in the old part of Madrid. This is precisely one of its most charming appeals as it greatly surprises the visitors. The last article we wrote in our section Corners of Madrid was about Plaza de la Paja. Today, we are going to visit the Church of Saint Nicholas of Bari. Do you want to join us?

A CHURCH WITH MUSLIM ROOTS

The most prominent feature of church of Saint Nicholas of Bari is, certainly, its Muslim tower. This tower is set in the southern part of the building and it was declared a National Monument in 1931. It is a typical Mudejar style bell tower the same as many that were contructed in the Middle Ages. Does this mean that a mosque had previously stood in that same place? This is very probable even though this fact has still not been proved. Inside the church we can see some horseshoe arches as well as Mudejar style plasterwork. As the church was in very poor condition, in 1825 it had to be completely restored. Before that, it had been abandoned and thus the damage it had gone through was so great that an integral restoration was necessary. This task was carried out by the Third Order Servites of Saint Nicholas. Previously, in 1805 the Parish of San Salvador, which was located next to it, was pulled down. We want to point out that the Church of Saint Nicholas of Bari is also known by the name of Iglesia de San Nicolás de los Servitas.

CONTINUOUS REMODELLINGS

Throughout the years many remodellings have taken place in the building and this is why one of its characteristics is that it has architectural elements of nearly every period. Proof of this is that in the interior there is a mixture of Gothic and Baroque styles which enriches it greatly. Even though the church dates back to the XV century, the nave and the chapels are of the XVII century and its entrance portico was constructed in granite in the XVIII century. In modern times, new reforms took place and we must highlight, above all, the one that was carried out in 1983, when the stone of the apse was replaced because of its deterioration. In the granite entrance hall, the image of Saint Nicholas sculpted by Luis Carmona, at the beginning of the XVIII century, stands out.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…?

The Church of Saint Nicholas of Bari is the parish of the Italian community in Madrid, and this is why some of the masses that are celebrated there are in Italian.

Picture 01: Mirador Madrid

Picture 02: Barcex

Picture 03: Zarateman