The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá ( es, Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá) is an underground

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church built within the tunnels of a

salt mine Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations. History Before the advent of the modern internal combustio ...

underground in a

halite Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, p ...

mountain near the city of

Zipaquirá Zipaquirá () is a municipality and city of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. Its neighboring municipalities are Cogua and Nemocón to the north; Tocancipá to the east; Tabio, Cajicá and Sopó to the south; and Subachoque and ...

, in Cundinamarca, Colombia. It is a

tourist destination A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

and place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

in the country. The temple at the bottom has three sections, representing the birth, life, and death of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

. The

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

s, ornaments and architectural details are hand carved in the halite rock. Some

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

sculptures are included. The cathedral is considered one of the most notable achievements of Colombian architecture, being described as a "Jewel of Modern Architecture". The cathedral represents a valuable cultural,

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

and

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

patrimony for the Colombian people. The cathedral is a functioning church that receives as many as 3,000 visitors on Sundays, but it has no

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

and therefore no official status as a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

in Catholicism.

Geology

Salt deposits in Zipaquirá were formed around 250 million years ago, and were raised above sea level during the late

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

period, when the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

were formed.Cardale de Schrimpff, Marianne, ''Breve informe sobre unas excavaciones arqueológicas realizadas en las salinas de Zipaquirá, Cundinamarca'', in
Boletín Museo del Oro

, No. 1, enero-abril de 1978, p. 39-41

Location

The complex is located in Zipaquirá, in Cundinamarca Department, north of Bogota, at altitude. National highway 45A connects Bogotá and Zipaquirá, as does the

Tren Turistico De La Sabana Tren may mean: *Tris(2-aminoethyl)amine, a coordination chemistry compound *Trenbolone, a veterinary steroid * ''Tren'', a 1978 Yugoslav film See also *train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is ...

(Savanna tourist train). The city is recognized, not only for the cathedral, but for being near one of the oldest human settlements in the Americas,

El Abra El Abra is the name given to an extensive archeological site, located in the valley of the same name. El Abra is situated in the east of the municipality Zipaquirá extending to the westernmost part of Tocancipá in the department of Cundinamar ...

archaeological site.

History

The

mines were exploited already by the

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

Muisca The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...

culture since the 5th century BC. being one of their most important economic activities. The traditional halite mining was described by

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...

during his visit to Zipaquira in 1801. Von Humboldt, Alexander, 2003: "Memoria razonada de las salinas de Zipaquirá", Ed. Epígrafe, con el respaldo de Colciencias, referenciado po
Fundación Editorial Epígrafe
, Colombia He depicts this deposit as bigger than the main halite mines of the time, such as those in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, Switzerland,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and the

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised ...

with a calculated resource estimation of one million cubic meters. Von Humboldt also criticized the excavation techniques as being unpractical for future exploitation, recommending

drift mining Drift mining is either the mining of an ore deposit by underground methods, or the working of coal seams accessed by adits driven into the surface outcrop of the coal bed. A drift mine is an underground mine in which the entry or access is abov ...

instead, since the halite tunnels don't require beams, lowering the costs.

Old cathedral

Years before the underground church was built (around 1932), the miners had carved a sanctuary, as a place for their daily prayers asking for protection to the saints before starting to work. In 1950, the construction of a bigger project had begun: the Salt Cathedral which was inaugurated on August 15, 1954, and dedicated to

Our Lady of the Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October in the General Rom ...

Patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of miners. It was compound of three

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

s and a monumental cross. Part of the galleries were actually carved by the ancient

. However, as the church was carved inside an active mine, structural problems and safety concerns led the authorities to shut it in September 1992. This construction cost of the original church was over 285 million U.S. dollars. The building had 120 m length, 5.500 m² surface and 22 m height. It had six main columns, and a maximum capacity of 8000 people. The main nave included the monumental cross, which was illuminated from the base up, projecting a large cross-shaped shadow in the ceiling. The right nave included the Stations of the Cross icons and the Rosary chapel, with the Virgin of Rosary Icon (sculpted by Daniel Rodriguez Moreno and later transported to the new cathedral). The left nave included the icons of the birth of Jesus and the

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

of Jesus, with a waterfall symbolising the Jordan River.

New cathedral

The ''Industrial Investment Institute'', together with ''Salinas Concession'' and the ''Colombian Society of

Architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s'' opened a contest for the design of the new cathedral, the winner of which was the project presented by Roswell Garavito Pearl which included structural changes in the access

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

and the dome. In 1991 the construction of a new cathedral was undertaken, 200 feet under the older one. This new Cathedral was inaugurated on December 16, 1995. Its various corridors and sanctuaries were achieved by making small but significant additions to the caves left behind by previous mining operations. The main sections of the building are: * The Stations of the Cross: At the entrance of the church, there are 14 small chapels, representing the stations of the cross, which illustrate the events of

' last journey. Each station has a cross and several kneeling platforms carved into the halite structure. * The Dome: Located at the end of the main descending entrance ramp. From here, the visitor descends to the bas relief cross chambers, the balcony and the

Narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

labyrinth. * The three naves: They are interconnected by a crack, symbolising the birth and death of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. Copies of

Creation of Adam Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing * Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it * Creationism, the belief tha ...

and Pietá can be seen. Four large cylindric columns represent the Four Evangelists The cathedral has an

electrical generator In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) or fuel-based power ( chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, g ...

and access for vehicles to the inner space (for emergencies only).

Salt Park

The cathedral is within a larger complex, ''Parque de la Sal'' (Salt Park),Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá
/ref> which also includes a museum of

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

, mineralogy,

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

and

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. ...

. The Salt Park covers an area of . Visitors can observe pieces of art, depictions of the mining process, geology displays, educational exhibitions about environmental friendly mining and sustainable development The main places at the park are: * ''The Sacred Axis'', a

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

with a halite hand carved

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

( height) * ''The Salt Dome'' * ''The mine'' * ''The Brine Museum'', where visitors learn about the extraction process of

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

from the halite. Also, exhibitions of the geological studies, engineering and architecture process in the creation of the cathedral can be seen. * ''The

Reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

'' * ''The Forests'' * ''The Salt

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

''.

References

External links

*
Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá
Official site of the Salt Cathedral *
"Catedral de Sal": An art film by H. Paul Moon
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira Roman Catholic churches in Colombia Roman Catholic churches completed in 1954 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1995 Tourist attractions near Bogotá Buildings and structures in Cundinamarca Department Tourist attractions in Cundinamarca Department Salt museums Salt mines in Colombia Cave churches Buildings and structures in Zipaquirá 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Colombia