Basilica of the Savior . Catholic heritage property located in the Brasil neighborhood of Santiago . It was the first neo-Gothic style building that was built in Chile , the design of the temple was entrusted to the German architect Teodoro Burchard. Declared a National Monument in 1977 . It is under the patronage of Christ the Savior.
Summary
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- 1 Location
- 2 History
- 3 Arquitectura
- 4 National Monument
- 5 See also
- 6 Image Gallery
- 7 sources
Location
Located at Huérfanos Street No. 1764, Almirante Barroso corner, in the Brasil neighborhood, in the center of the city of Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region , Chile.
History
The construction of the Basilica of El Salvador was ordered by the archbishop of Santiago, Rafael Valdivieso, in 1864 , to replace the temple of the Society of Jesus destroyed in the fire of December 8 , 1863 .
It began to be built in 1870 according to the plans of the German architect Teodoro Burchard. Later, it passed into the hands of the Chilean architect Josué Smith Solar, and the work was completed in 1932 .
In 1938 Pope Pius XI gave it the rank of Basilica. For decades, the temple was the center of devotion for Santiago families, the Virgen del Carmen was the one who gave life to Barrio Brasil between the years 1920 – 1940 . This image remained in the basilica until 1984 .
The earthquake of March 1985 caused serious structural damage to this church and the image of the Virgen del Carmen was transferred to the Chapel of the Tabernacle of the Cathedral of Santiago . Then the basilica remained closed for several years in search of help for its restoration, until the February 2010 earthquake further aggravated the situation of the building.
Subsequently, the Basilica del Salvador Foundation was established, an organization made up of private entities, the Church, the Municipality of Santiago, the Ministry of Public Works and the National Monuments Council, to create a medium-term recovery plan for this monument.
In 2014 , a reconstruction plan for the building was generated, with contributions from the foundation, beginning its first stage. In January 2016 , the Government of Chile announced the contribution of 2 billion pesos to the basilica’s reconstruction plan, in its second stage, which will involve the installation of seismic isolators and the complete restoration of the structure. Finally, it will conclude with the restoration of the art of the building, including the German stained glass windows of the 19th century , to rescue this beautiful building that will generate an urban improvement to the Brasil neighborhood.
Architecture
The Basilica is neo-Gothic in style with Romanesque and Germanic semblances. The main façade is characterized by its exposed brick masonry .
It has an area of 98 m long by 37 wide and an interior height of 30 m, with a capacity of five thousand people, only comparable to the Cathedral of Santiago de Chile.
It has three parallel naves of the same height, a unique architectural feature in Chile. The side naves end in two small chapels on the sides of the main altar. The choir is located in the transept at the height of the triforium. The interior is illuminated through high quality stained glass windows from Belgium . Both the lobed columns and the walls and vaults are profusely decorated, with a predominance of gold, a work carried out by the Italian artist Aristodemo Lattanzi Borghini.
National Monument
The church was declared a National Monument of Chile in the category of Historical Monument, through Supreme Decree No. 933 of November 24, 1977 , due to its historical interest, architectural characteristics and age of construction.
