Silves Cathedral

Silves Cathedral (Portuguese: Sé Catedral de Silves) in the city of Silves, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal, was built as a mosque during Moorish rule of Iberia and later converted into cathedral after the Reconquista. It is considered the main Gothic monument in the Algarve. Since 29 June 1922, it is on the register of national monuments of Portugal.

The details about the foundation and building of Silves Cathedral are unclear. In the process of the Reconquista, Moorish Silves was conquered in 1189 by King Sancho I of Portugal, but since the city was retaken by the Moors in 1191, it is unlikely that a cathedral was built at this time. Only in 1242 was Silves definitely reconquered by Christian knights during the reign of King Afonso III, and it is believed that this king was responsible for beginning the construction of Silves Cathedral as the seat of a newly founded Algarve diocese.

The works proceeded with difficulty, and in 1352 the cathedral was damaged by a strong earthquake. In the 1440s, the cathedral workshop was given a great impulse by King Afonso V. This building campaign produced the apse with its three chapels, the transept and the main portal, in Gothic style, dating from the 1470s. The three-aisled nave was only finished in the early 16th century.

When King John II died unexpectedly in Alvor (Portimão), near Silves, in 1495, he was provisionally buried in the main chapel of Silves Cathedral. In 1499, in the presence of King Manuel I, his remains were exhumed and transferred to the Monastery of Batalha, where John II was permanently re-buried; however, his tomb slab with a Gothic inscription is still located on the floor of the main chapel of Silves Cathedral. Many important personalities of Silves were buried in the cathedral during the 15th and 16th centuries, as attested by the many tomb slabs on its floor.

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