Construction of the church of St. Nicolas

The construction of the Church of San Nicolás belongs to the group of parishes erected by the bull of Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza in 1501. The works were completed in 1525 and throughout history, this temple has had to resist multiple incidents.

Would you like to know how the construction of the Church of San Nicolás developed? Stay and read this post, we'll show you everything you need to know below!

Location and authorship

The authorship and the idea of its construction is attributed to Rodrigo Hernández, master overseer of the Diocese of Granada between 1505 and 1537. Thus, he became the master builder of a key piece in the organisation of the work and the fulfilment of the planned deadlines.

The Parish Church of San Nicolás must have been located in some pre-existing building until the construction of the definitive church, as a document found in the Diocesan Archives describes the sale of a house next to the Alcazaba to the parish church.

The church is located on the Albaicín hill, in the vicinity of what must have been the Hispanic-Roman and Christian nucleus, the origin of the first urban centre of Granada.

Style and layout

The ground plan of the church consists of a large central nave with five side chapels on each side and a main chapel at the back. It has a west-east orientation, with the tower located at the foot.

Likewise, next to the closing wall of the side chapels located towards the viewpoint, there are a series of outbuildings that were added at a later date.

Structurally, the church has four large pointed arches transversal to the main axis of the church. The first two are made of brick, while the third is of stonework.

The whole building is built with exposed brickwork, with a rigging of ropes and shingles and walled caissons. In addition, at the back of the building there was an adjoining shed where the sacristy and a small cemetery were located.

Conservation and restoration

Over the years, the Church of San Nicolás has undergone several conservation and restoration works.

Thus, between 1584 and 1585, the first works began to be carried out to repair damage and make improvements to the church. Subsequently, in 1613, a series of works were carried out to reinforce the roofs, which were very badly damaged, especially due to a strong earthquake that the city suffered that year.

Also noteworthy are the works carried out in 1787 to repair the cistern located next to the west façade, the construction of the interior chapel in 1790 and the enlargement and construction of the current entrance in 1830.

The suppression of the parish church in 1842 and the collapse of the sacristy in 1924 should also be mentioned.

Another incident that caused damage to the church and, consequently, the need for repairs, was the lightning strike on the tower in 1828. The same happened with the fires and social disturbances that took place in 1932.

From that moment on, a large number of repairs were carried out, such as the consolidation of the transversal arches, the reconstruction of the roofs of the main chapel, the transversal naves and the vaults of the side chapels, and even several restoration projects were carried out on the building.

Finally, the most current restoration work was carried out in 2011, where they did foundation work, strengthening of exterior cladding and improvements to the tower and façades, among other actions.

Why climb the tower of the Church of San Nicolás?

As you have seen throughout this article on the construction of the Church of San Nicolás, this temple has a great history, as well as being spectacular due to its location and architectural features.

If you would like to catch a glimpse of the most amazing views of Granada, you can buy tickets to the Tower of the Church of San Nicolás on our official website of the Archdiocese of Granada.

Let yourself be amazed by the beauty of this location and its impressive viewpoint!