- Address: St Mary's Rd, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia;
- Website: stmaryscathedral.org.au;
- Phone: +61 2 9220 0400;
- Admission: free
Perhaps the most beautiful and most spacious temple in Australia can be considered the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is located in the heart of the business part of Sydney and not the first ten years is not just a landmark of this country, but its national shrine.
What to see in the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary?
In 1930, he received the status of a "small basilica," and says that if the Pope visits the country, he will be able to stay in this cathedral.
It is worth noting that the history of this landmark has about two decades. The first stone on the site of the future Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Mary was laid October 29, 1821. A few years later the building was completed. The church, created in a non-gothic style, had the form of a Latin cross. Unfortunately, in 1865 there was a fire in the cathedral, which almost completely destroyed this building.
The construction of the new church began in 1868 under the project of William Wardell, the pen of which belongs the project of the construction of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne. The size of the new church is impressive: the length is 110 m, the width of the nave is 24.5 m.
To date, the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a striking example of the English Gothic period of the 19th century revival. The building is built of sandstone, which eventually acquired a brownish shade.
Going inside, the first thing that attracts attention is the stained glass windows, which were created more than 50 years ago. It is worth mentioning that in the cathedral there are only 40 stained-glass windows, on which pictures on various subjects are depicted. For example, the altar stained glass is the image of the Virgin Mary, whose head is decorated with a majestic crown. From the front side there are three Gothic windows with the form of a rosette.
Before the fire in the cathedral was Australia's largest organ. Now in the western transept the musical instrument created by the Quebec master Letourno is installed. Another organ is located in the crypt.
On the territory of the cathedral are statues of the fourth Archbishop Michael of Sydney, Kelly, the third Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Patrick Francis Moran, a statue dedicated to Mary McKillop, the nun-founder of Catholicism in Australia, Pope John Paul II, as well as the statue "Madonna and Child" is a copy of the one that burned in the fire of 1865.
How to get there?
Near the landmark is an excellent transport interchange, because here you can get by buses number 71, 83, 91, 96 and 99.
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
