15/10/2009
Vitoria-Gasteiz, October 15, 2009 - Architects from the Fundación Catedral Santa María are currently in Germany presenting the restoration works being carried out on the tower. Once again, Vitoria is attending workshops on conserving European cathedrals, which this time is being held in the town of Aachen, to disseminate a singular project such as Santa María´s.
The palatine chapel in Aachen Cathedral, an emblematic site constructed in the eighth century during Charlemagne´s time, is the place experts in cathedral conservation have chosen to share their work methods. The European Cathedral Conservators-Restorers Workshop is being organised by the European association of Cathedral and Church Architects, of which the Cathedral in Vitoria is a member along with other organisations, almost all of which are from Germany. There is also a sizeable representation of cathedrals in Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, France and Great Britain. Vitoria is the only Spanish city that belongs to this group, although Toledo, Aachen´s sister city, is also participating on this occasion. For a week, this group will be studying the rehabilitation project for the host cathedral, among others, as well as the way in which European cathedrals working on restoration as well as mere conservation are being organised and managed.
This is the fourth time that Vitoria has attended these workshops. Last year in Bern (Switzerland), representatives of Fundación Catedral Santa María offered a lecture on the consolidation of the Cathedral´s pillars through lime injections. On this occasion, their lecture will address the restoration of the tower, in which one of the major measures has been the rehabilitation of the spire and octagonal body. The entire upper crowning is being consolidated, which will allow all the scaffolding to be removed. Furthermore, the spectacularity of the tower is also one of the finest manifestations of the project´s philosophy, thanks to the
way in which it has overcome architectural barriers, incorporated spaces for exhibitions and touristic, cultural and historical uses and in general, put a religious space to secular uses.