An Homage To Toledo Cathedral’s One Lonely Steeple…

I took a handful of shots of Toledo Cathedral’s steeple from a number of different angles. I was really surprised how well they turned out! It’s worth clicking on the images to get a larger view.

But why does Toledo Cathedral only have one steeple?! More on this shortly…

Shot through a narrow sunny street, with the steeple towering gloomily in the background

Against a dramatic sky

This perspective gives it a somewhat gritty, urban feel

Taken at dusk, with the top third bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun

Why does there have to be a bloody cable ruining my shot?!

So, if you’re wondering about this one-steeple business, you’re not alone. People have been scratching their heads over this for hundreds of years. We know that the construction of the Cathedral started in 1226, and that twin steeples were planned, but the second one never quite made it, as you can tell from the picture below.

There are two dominant theories: Either they ran out of money and couldn’t afford to make the right-hand steeple quite as fancy as the one on the left, or they realised at some point during construction that the foundations wouldn’t be able to support the weight, so they were forced to compromise.

A frontal view of Toledo Cathedral, so you can see the runty ‘stumple’ on the left, wistfully looking up to its majestic big brother