{"id":2678,"date":"2014-11-11T22:58:07","date_gmt":"2014-11-11T22:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spainexchange.com\/?p=2678"},"modified":"2026-10-09T14:05:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T14:05:10","slug":"iglesia-de-santa-barbara-madrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spainexchange.com\/articles\/iglesia-de-santa-barbara-madrid\/","title":{"rendered":"Iglesia de Santa B\u00e1rbara, Madrid"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Iglesia de Santa B\u00e1rbara is the church of the former Salesas Reales convent in central Madrid. It was founded in the 18th century by Queen B\u00e1rbara de Braganza and King Fernando VI, who are both buried in it. This post covers the history of the church, what to see inside, and the opening hours and transport.<\/p>\n

History of the church and convent<\/h2>\n

The parish’s own history<\/a> explains that the monarchs, who reigned from 1746 to 1759, had two aims. They wanted a burial place, because as they were not the parents of a king they would have no tomb in the royal pantheon of El Escorial. They also wanted to bring the Salesian nuns to Spain to educate the daughters of the nobility. The founding deed was signed on 6 December 1747 and the building work ran from 1750 to 1757.<\/p>\n

The church and convent were designed by the French architect Fran\u00e7ois Carlier. The work was supervised by the Spanish master builder Francisco Moradillo, who changed the original plan slightly. The decoration was entrusted to the Italian sculptor Gian Domenico Olivieri, a native of Carrara. A small palace for the queen was added on the other side of the convent, with a passage to the royal gallery of the church.<\/p>\n

In 1870 the convent and school were turned into the Palace of Justice. The building is now the seat of the Supreme Court<\/a>. The nuns moved to a new convent built on Calle Santa Engracia in 1880. The church stayed open for worship and, according to the Madrid tourist board<\/a>, became a parish church dedicated to Saint Barbara in 1891.<\/p>\n

What to see<\/h2>\n

A flight of steps leads up to the forecourt of the church. The present steps date from 1930 and replaced the original ones when Calle de B\u00e1rbara de Braganza was opened. The fa\u00e7ade has a triple portico under a round relief of the Visitation of the Virgin, with sculptures by Olivieri.<\/p>\n

The church has a single nave in the shape of a Latin cross, with a marble floor in several colours. Marble takes the place of the wooden altarpieces that were usual in Spanish churches of the time. The main points of interest are these:<\/p>\n