The Cathedral of Toledo is one of the six largest Christian churches in Europe, a masterpiece of Gothic art. Its construction, begun under Ferdinand III in 1227, was only completed in the 15th century. This is evidenced by the main facade with three high portals. In the centre is the Door of Forgiveness, decorated with numerous statues. Inside, the huge space formed by the five naves and the powerful columns is striking.
The most magnificent part of the cathedral is the altar. Here are the huge image of Christ, the royal sepulchres, and the magnificent zaltar image in the flaming Gothic style. In the choirs stand fine pews of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The organs date from the eighteenth century. The treasury of the cathedral is in the Chapel of St James. A remarkable work of Spanish jewellery is a gift-bearer more than one and a half metres long, which was made with 18 kg of gold and 183 kg of silver.
The white walls of the sacristy of the cathedral are decorated with genuine masterpieces created by such masters as El Greco, Goya, Titian, Velázquez, Morales, Van Dyck, Raphael and Rubens. This is a fourteenth-century statue of the White Madonna.
