Church of San Esteban, a photo from Segovia, Castilla y Leon

Photographer's Note

The church of San Esteban is a Romanesque temple, originally built in the 12th century, and stands out for its slender tower, which, before losing the high baroque spire that crowned it, rose to 56 meters high, it was the most Romanesque bell tower. high on the Iberian Peninsula.

However, with the roof that currently covers it, built a few decades ago, it only reaches about 50 meters at its peak, formed by a popular metallic rooster and weather vane. For this reason, it shows a similar height to the tower of the church of Santa María la Antigua in Valladolid and both can be considered "queens of the Romanesque towers of Castile", the highest of this style in Spain and the Iberian Peninsula.

The church, located in the square of the same name in the city, has a portico on the southern façade with ten arches and capitals adorned with medieval engravings. The interior, rebuilt in the 18th century after a fire, is in the Baroque style.

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La iglesia de San Esteban es un templo románico, construido originalmente en el siglo XII. Destaca por su esbelta torre, que antes de perder el alto chapitel barroco que la coronaba, se levantaba hasta los 56 metros de alto, era el campanario románico más alto en la península ibérica.

Sin embargo, con el tejado que la cubre actualmente, obra de hace unas décadas, solo alcanza unos 50 metros en su cúspide, formada por un popular gallo metálico y veleta. Por ello, muestra a una altura similar a la torre de la iglesia de Santa María la Antigua de Valladolid y pueden considerarse ambas, "reinas de las torres románicas de Castilla", las más altas de este estilo en España y la Península ibérica.

La iglesia, situada en la plaza del mismo nombre de la ciudad, posee un pórtico en la fachada meridional con diez arcos y capiteles adornados con grabados medievales. El interior, reconstruido en el siglo XVIII tras un incendio, es de estilo barroco.

jhm, holmertz, Fis2, PaulVDV, mcmtanyel, jemaflor, ikeharel, COSTANTINO heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

lousat (140082) 2021-12-12 11:15

Hi Luis,Six meters less, but the bell tower is really impressive and makes the church seem smaller than it seems. Great example of Romanesque, captured in perfect light, it was not easy to avoid the distortion effect of the lens so well. Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

jhm (211738) 2021-12-12 11:17

Hello Luis,

A very pleasant picture with the church if subject.
I know cars are always a difficult object certainly close the church.
The tower makes your picture very important
Also the arches are a nice architecture.
Excellent composition nice presentation too.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

holmertz (103762) 2021-12-12 11:45

ello Luis,
I think I wouldn't like the interior as much as I love this elegant Romanesque exterior. I understand it was a natural thing for the 18th century builders to add the touch of their days, but I fear I would think they spoiled it. It's a beautiful church as we see it from this point, and the nice light clouds add to the pleasure of watching the photo.
Best regards,
Gert

Fis2 (172115) 2021-12-12 11:56

Witaj Luis!
A very interesting church, curious tower, I love it.
Good framing, colors and composition.
Very well done my friend.
Have a nice new week.
Krzysztof

pajaran (117233) 2021-12-12 12:34

Pozdrav.

Lep pogled i trenutak, dobar tekst ...
Lepa stara arhitektura i detalji na fasadi, dobro pokazano sa lepim boajma, kontrastom i uhvacenim trenutkom sa belim oblacima na plavom nebu.
Dobar rad, lepa fotografija.
Lepa Church of San Esteban.

Zelim vam lepu i mirnu noc, sve najbolje.
Paja

Silvio1953 (223141) 2021-12-12 12:59

Ciao Luis, great view of fantastic church, fine details, splendid light, excellent clarity and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

PaulVDV (63580) 2021-12-12 14:27

Hello Luis,
Very beautiful architecture!
The church is well presented with a background of blue sky dotted by small white clouds.
Too bad there's a large parking space in front but you can't help that.
Brightness, sharpness and composition are excellent.
Best regards, Paul

mcmtanyel (69414) 2021-12-12 20:28

Hello Luis,
It is a charming church with a magnificent steeple.
Regards,
MT

ifege (49653) 2021-12-12 22:19

Hi Luis
A good photo with great detail on the church and some good clouds.
cheers
Ian

jemaflor (148398) 2021-12-12 23:11

Salut Luis,
Une belle architecture avec cette prise photo bien cadrée, bon effet avec ce clocher qui semble si haut, jolie lumière bien capturée avec cet idéal fond de ciel bleu et juste quelques nuages fins pour donner un peu de contraste, Tfs.

abmdsudi (95869) 2021-12-13 4:54

Hi Luis
Lovely detailed architecture of the looming church seen on such a fine day, some clever craftsmen in the past to design and build such wonders. Shown so well here with great colours and contrast
Best regards

jmdias (116663) 2021-12-13 8:21

luis

muito bonitos os arcos na parte baixa e as janelas gêmeas na torre. uma linda amostra de arte românica.

um abraço

jorge

Royaldevon (86598) 2021-12-13 12:33

Hola Luis,

This is a beautiful, Romanesque church, very carefully photographed by you, so that it’s details of design and colours are clearly visible for us, the viewers. You have closely cropped it, fitting it very neatly into the frame, with the tall, slender tower strongly placed.
The sky is an additional, effective feature, the blue making a fine backcloth and the clouds rippling, like a mackerel skin.

My warm regards,
Bev😊

ikeharel (114777) 2021-12-14 1:51

Wonderful sky above, Luis, gave a great backdrop to the exquisite outcome of the church & tower.
A Roman style notable upon this tower.
Buenas dias,
Ike

Tue (93606) 2021-12-14 10:06

Hello Luis,
A great photo of the church and its large square tower. It looks so well in the warm sunlight and even better with the blue sky in the background. Excellent clarity and sharpness.
Lars

mkamionka (75273) 2021-12-15 11:47

Hola Luis,
wow this is such a beautiful photograph. I like the architecture of the church. The tower is well placed off the centre of the frame. The sky was fabulous, the colors so natural and well saturated.
The outcome is really eye catching.
I love it!
M

COSTANTINO (117940) 2021-12-15 22:07

Hello dear Luis
my question here is...hOW HIGH IS THIS TOWER???
this church is really worthseeing and
originally built in the 12th century...
this bell tower is really fantatic
trying to touch the sky and
making this church seem smaller
regards
Costantino