New Cathedral, Cuenca

The plan of the Cathedral was drawn up by Juan Bautista Stiehle, a German Redemptorist monk Brother who landed in Cuenca from Alsace in 1873. Construction works started in 1885 and lasted almost a century. Concluded in 1980, the Cathedral took over the function of the nearby Old Cathedral, which had become too small for the rapidly growing population of Cuenca.
 Inspired by the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome, the New Cathedral combines several architectural styles, such as Romanesque Revival, Neo-Gothic, and Renaissance, whereas the predominant one is  Romanesque Revival, harking back to the architect’s place of origin, the Alsace. 
 Distinctive feature of the cathedral, the three huge domes are covered in blue and white glazed tiles imported from the former Czechoslovakia. Its amazing stained glass windows were created by the Spanish artist Guillermo Larrazábal. While some of the marble of its façade come from local Ecuadorian sources, the rose colored marble stones used for the floors were sourced from Carrara, Italy. The stained glass windows were created by a Spanish artist and made with antique glass from France. All these facts together make the cathedral a monument dedicated to European artistry. 
 From an architectural point of view, the church is still considered unfinished, as the original plans included two taller towers on the façade, which were never raised up to the planned height as the foundation of the church was not strong enough to support them owing to a calculation error of the architect.
 Nevertheless, nowadays the cathedral is the icon of Cuenca and its amazing sky blue domes, which stand out throughout the historic center with a height of almost 60 meters, characterize the skyline of the city in a unique manner.