Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Covadonga, Catholic church in La Guindalera district, Madrid, Spain
The Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Covadonga is a Catholic church on Plaza de Manuel Becerra in Madrid. Rebuilt after the Civil War, it has a rationalist exterior and a neo-Romanesque interior, following the plans of the destroyed church. Its tower is inspired by the towers of the Basilica of Covadonga, and inside it keeps a neo-Romanesque altarpiece with the image of the Virgin of Covadonga.
The parish of Covadonga was created in 1913, when the first stone was laid on the Plaza de Manuel Becerra, then a vacant lot known as the glorieta de La Alegría. The land was donated by María de Erice y Cubas, widow of the Marquis of Aldama, and the church, designed by Joaquín María Fernández y Menéndez-Valdés, opened on 14 June 1915. On 19 July 1936 it was looted and burned, and the parish priest Enrique González Mallén was arrested and killed. Rebuilt in phases, it was reopened in 1953 following the plans of the lost church.
The church holds a replica of La Santina, the Virgin of Covadonga, patron saint of Asturias, creating a spiritual connection between Madrid's worshippers and northern Spanish religious traditions.
The church is located at Plaza Manuel Becerra and welcomes visitors during regular service times. An annual procession takes place on September 8th, celebrating the feast of the Virgin of Covadonga and Asturian heritage.
The 1915 church was designed by Joaquín María Fernández y Menéndez-Valdés, not by Manuel Muñoz Monasterio, and its tower drew on the towers of the Basilica of Covadonga. After the 1936 fire, the rebuilt church kept a neo-Romanesque altarpiece with the image of Covadonga and paintings made by Pedro de Varzi Roa in 1947.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,581 contributors worldwide.