The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá

            The possibility of feeling like a miner and being able to retrace dark adits that are lightened up by a headlamp attached to a construction hat, is an experience that visitors of ‘La Catedral de Sal de Zipaquirá’ (otherwise known as the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá) can experience. In this architectural site, to which visitors can take a train from the city of Bogota, one can reambulate the stations of the Way of the Cross, under the effect of colored lights and visual effects that further emphasize the grandeur of this jewel of Colombian architecture.

In 1932, the miners within the mines of a halite mountain in the town of Zipaquira in Cundinamarca, Colombia, carved a sanctuary within its tunnels. The mountain region is known as the El Cero del Zipa, originally having been exploited by the pre-Columbian Muisca native civilization/culture during the 5th century BCE, who’s communities revolved around the possession of halite crystals. The original miner-carved sanctuary as a place for their daily prayers asking for protection to various saint and biblical figures in Catholicism before beginning a long and harsh work day in the mines. In 1950, a project to expand the original sanctuary began. Eventually, the newly-renovated salt cathedral was inaugurated on August 15, 1954. The new cathedral was originally dedicated to “Our Lady of Rosary”, the Patron saint (in Catholicism) of miners. This first formal cathedral was comprised of 3 naves and a monumental cross that can still be seen today.

 

A nave is the central part of a church that stretches from the main entrance or rear wall of the church, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel of the church and is essentially all areas available for the worshippers and attendees, including the side-aisles and transepts. Transepts are the transverse parts of any building, which goes across the main section of a church. The chancel is the space around the altar, usually where the choir and the sanctuary are, and in the case of the Salt Cathedral it is the area used by the clergy and choir during worship, while the congregation is in the nave behind the large monumental cross illuminated from the base and up. The right-most 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 of Jesus, with a waterfall symbolizing the Jordan River.

 

This original cathedral was shut down in September of 1992, due to structural problems and safety concerns, considering that the cathedral was built in an active mine. The mine was active since the 5th century BCE having been first explored by the Muisca natives.

In 1991, a year before the original cathedral was shut down, The Industrial Investment Institute, alongside the Salinas Concession and the Colombian Society of Architects opened a contest for the design of the new cathedral that would be constructed including statues and artifacts from the original cathedral being transported to another much more stable section of the mine system. The design of the winner of the competition, Roswell Garavito Pearl, included structural changes in the access tunnel and the dome. Construction of the new cathedral (active still today) began back in 1991, and surprisingly enough, its location today is 200 ft below the original cathedral and was finally inaugurated on December 16th, 1995. The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá is constantly being expanded to this day, with new additions including: various corridors and sanctuaries [achieved by making small but significant additions to the caves left behind by previous mining operations]; the Stations of the Cross [near the entrance of the church with a passage consisting of 14 small chapels]; the Dome [located at the end of the main descending entrance ramp and consists of the bas relief cross chambers, the balcony and the Narthex labyrinth]; the three naves; four large cylindrical columns; the Sacred Axis [a square with a halite hand carved cross]; the Brine Museum [a museum of mining, mineralogy, geology, and natural resources]; the Reservoir; the Forests; the Salt auditorium; and the salt mine itself. All these additions, that were made to the new cathedral are part of “el Parque de Sal” (Salt Park), which is essentially a larger complex that revolves around the new cathedral itself.

I was personally able to get the full experience of the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira (Salt Park + the main cathedral) back in August 2018. Having had much knowledge of symbolism in Catholicism and Christianity, I was able to connect even more with the various architectural and artistic representations within the mines including: the events of Jesus’ last journey illustrated by the 14 mini chapels; the birth and death of Christ (alongside copies of the Creation of Adam and Pietá) represented by three naves interconnected by cracks in the tunnels of the system; the Four Evangelists represented by the four cylindrical columns; the Rosary chapel (with the a statue of the Virgin Mary) which celebrates the patron saint of the original miners; and the left-most nave icons of the birth of Jesus and the baptism of Jesus over a waterfall which symbolizes the Jordan river. Much of the art represented by the complex consisted of mainly Catholic symbolism and biblical references, even though it’s a functional church and pilgrimage site without a bishop and therefore no official status as a cathedral according to the Institute for the Works of Religion of the Vatican City. Although the efforts and development of the entire Salt Cathedral complex has been a coalition of the work of many architects and artists whether as groups or individually (Daniel Rodriguez Moreno, Roswell Garavito Pearl, experts from the Industrial Investment Institute, artists from the Salinas Concesion, architects from the Colombian Society of Architects, and most importantly, the Muisca native civilization from the 5th century BCE), I feel that collectively all these groups intended to develop a notable achievement of Colombian architecture and essentially create jewel of modern architecture, whilst still preserving the original notion of a haven of prayer as the original miners of the Zipaquira region intended, preserved under a natural halite mine system.

 

Bibliography

 

Durango, Hernan. “La Catedral De Sal De Zipaquira.” Colombia.travel, ProColombia- EXPORTACIONES TURISMO INVERSIÓN MARCA PAÍS, www.colombia.travel/es/a-donde-ir/andina/bogota/actividades/visita-la-catedral-de-sal-de-zipaquira.

 

“Naves De La Catedral.” Parque De La Sal – Zipaquirá Colombia, DTL Dream TechLogic & the Republic of Colombia, www.catedraldesal.gov.co/.

 

McLaughlin Jr, Donald H. “Evaporite deposits of Bogotá area, cordillera oriental, Colombia.” AAPG Bulletin 56.11 (1972): 2240-2259.

 

Holston, Mark. “Splendor of a salt sanctuary.” Americas 51.4 (1999): 6.

Sebastian Gonzalez-Arboleda – Arts Review Assignment (PDF Download)