Sacred art has been one of the dominant art forms in Europe for centuries, and as a result there are many beautiful churches in Madrid. Although the capital is not known for its great icons in this field, it has many architectural gems that are often not well known to the general public.
In addition, Madrid has not seen its cathedral, The Almudena the church was completed in 1883 and is not very popular with the people of Madrid, but there are many other religious sites, not all Catholic, that add to the beauty of the cityscape.
1. Church of San Jerónimo el Real
The Church of San Jerónimo el Real is better known as Los Jerónimos, and could be considered the unofficial cathedral of Madrid, due to its popularity, history and beauty. Little remains of the original monastery that was ordered to be built by Queen Isabella the Catholic and where the heirs to the crown were sworn in as princes of Asturias from Philip II to Isabella II.
It is one of the few late Gothic buildings in Madrid, although several architectural styles converge due to the different changes it has undergone over the centuries. An example is the imposing access staircase that was built for the wedding of Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenia in 1906, and the incorporation of the deteriorated cloister to the Pradro Museum designed by the architect Rafael Moneo, which was completed in 2007.
📍 Moreto Street, 4 (center)
2. Santa Barbara Church
That the church of Santa Barbara, the main parish church of Salesas the building, designed by the Frenchman René Carlier in the 18th century, is not too surprising because the whole neighborhood oozes Parisian flair. So much so that the main square is called Paris and the French Institute of Madrid is located here.
Inception this was the Convent of the Salesas Reales – founded by Queen Barbara de Braganza in 1748. It was created as a school for the daughters of the nobility and a possible residence to retire to in case her husband, Fernando VI, died before her. Although he would never get to fulfill his wish since the Queen died in the Palace of Aranjuez before the King.
In 1870, the convent was used as the Palace of Justice, and today it is the seat of the Judiciary of Spain, while the church remained open for worship. In 1891, it was constituted as a parish under the patronage of Santa Barbara.
📍 Bárbara de Braganza Street, 1 (Salesas)
3. Basilica of St. Francis the Great
It’s not a church, it’s a basilica, but the building that has the largest dome in Spain could not be missing from the list. The Royal Basilica of St. Francis the Great is part of the heart of the city La Latina and its verbenas.
Inside this National Monument, built by Sabatini in 1784, you will find canvases by Goya and Zurbarán surrounded by marble sculptures and frescoes that decorate the 33-meter diameter of the dome. The architectural and artistic value of this neoclassical building is not comparable to almost any other church in the city.
📍 Calle San Buenaventura, 1 (La Latina)
4. San Antonio de los Alemanes
The church of San Antonio de los Alemanes at Malasaña is one of the great exponents of the Madrid baroque, and undoubtedly one of the most aesthetic. It is known as the Sistine Chapel of Madrid, although comparisons are always complicated, especially when it is the work of Michelangelo. But this is the only temple in the city where the walls and dome are completely covered by frescoes, in this case by Luca Giordano, Juan Carreño de Miranda and Francisco Rizi.
In fact, it is inspired by the church of Sant’Anna dei Palafrenieri located in the Vatican, hence the fact of relating it to the Holy See is not misguided.
The beauty of the church has meant that in addition to being a place of worship, events such as the candlelight concerts by Candlelight.
📍 Calle de la Puebla, 22 (Malasaña)
5. German Evangelical Church
Half hidden behind a wall, but in the heart of the Castellana, is the German-speaking evangelical church. It is one of the least known of the list, but this first Lutheran church in Madrid is not recent, construction began in the late nineteenth century and is the work of German architect Oskar Jürgens.
The Friedenskirche was built in the Germanic taste of the time: the neo-Romanesque style that combines Gothic, Visigothic and other styles at will, creating one of the most bucolic spaces in the city. On its plant-covered terrace, events of all kinds are held to finance the temple.
📍 Paseo de la Castellana, 6 (Recoletos)
6. Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida
Goya wasn’t born in Madrid, but the Aragonese was able to endow the capital with the imagery of his time, to such an extent that the regional costume of Madrid is the goyesca -in addition to the popular chulapa. Among the traces of his work left in the city is the hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida, a small temple that keeps the painter’s frescoes. The paintings represent the Adoration of the Trinity and, in the dome, the Miracle of Saint Anthony, to whom the resurrection of a man is attributed, surrounded by a festive and traditional atmosphere typical of the festivities celebrated here in his name on June 13.
It was built between 1792 and 1798, by order of Calos IV, with a neoclassical design by Felipe Fontana. The value of the work inside led to its declaration as a National Monument in 1905 and the construction of an adjoining twin chapel in 1928 to which worship was moved, leaving the original as a museum.
gta. de San Antonio de la Florida, 5 (Príncipe Pío)
7. San Manuel and San Benito parishes
Located at the exit of the subway and in front of the El Retiro Park the parish church of San Manuel and San Benito is one of the most recognizable buildings in the landscape of the salamanca neighborhood.
This peculiar and beautiful church dates from the early 20th century and is the work of the architect Fernando Arbós y Tremanti, who also designed the Pantheon of Illustrious Men both are examples of neo-Byzantine architecture, so decorative and attractive, very much to the taste of the time, but still attracting the attention of today’s eyes, accustomed to the opposite.
📍 Calle de Alcalá, 83 (Salamanca district)
8. Pontifical Basilica of St. Michael
Again we make an exception to include the Pontifical Basilica of San Miguel, one of the great (and rare) examples of Italian Baroque in Madrid. This building next to the Archbishop’s Palace, in the heart of Madrid de los Austrias, is the Apostolic Nunciature, that is, it has the highest rank of the Holy See, which could be translated as an embassy of the Vatican.
In addition to a sinuous convex-shaped facade that deserves attention, inside has frescoes on the dome and pendentives by Bartolomeo Rusca. It is also known because the first procession of the Holy Week in Madrid starts here. The sculpture that walks through the streets of the capital is that of the Holy Christ of Faith and Forgiveness, from the eighteenth century, the work of sculptor Luis Salvador Carmona, who leaves in procession every Palm Sunday taken by the Brotherhood of Students.
📍 San Justo Street, 4 (La Latina)
9. St. Mary Magdalene Russian Orthodox Cathedral
Without leaving Christianity, the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Santa Maria Magdalena stands out for its five golden domes overlooking the landscape of the Hortaleza neighborhood.
The Moscow architect Alexei Vorontsov and the Spaniard Jesús San Vicente were in charge of the design of this neo-Byzantine temple so typical of this religious confession. In 2010 the City Council gave the site to the Nativity of Christ Foundation, which had the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow, for the construction of this church of more than 600 square meters. In 2019 it was given the title of cathedral. The complex also includes an annex building designed for the Casa Rusia residence and cultural center.
📍 Avenida de la Gran Vía de Hortaleza (Hortaleza)
10. Virgen del Puerto Chapel
Although it was totally destroyed during the Civil War this hermitage located on the banks of the Manzanares River was declared a National Monument in 1945. The current building is a reconstruction of the original work designed by Pedro de Ribera and built between 1716 and 1718, one of the first examples of baroque architecture in Spain.
Its special location is due to the fact that for centuries it was the destination of the Madrid pilgrimage in adoration of the image of the Virgen del Puerto that is inside, a custom that gave rise to the verbena de la Melonera, which is still celebrated today.
It was the then Marquis of Vadillo, corregidor of Madrid, who commissioned the construction of the chapel to Ribera. The tomb of the Marquis of Vadillo, built in 1729, also by Pedro de Ribera, is still preserved underneath.
📍 Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto, 4 (Madrid Río)