Not long to go ...
Not long to go ...
Capilla de San Fermín 2010.
Imagen del Santo. 2010.
Sources: texts from Juan José Martinena in different publications and a conference given by José Luis Molins, city hall archivist during the cycle of talks "SAN FERMÍN: CULTO, FIESTA and ARQUITECTURA" from the University of Navarra.
San Fermín is a very special saint as both believers and non-believers in the faith approach him, to beg for protection or some similar favor when they participate in the running of the bulls. Ever since the XIV century there has been a special chapel dedicated to this saint. It was originally part of a Gothic church and small in size. During the XVI century, Pamplona city hall, the citizens themselves and people from other parts of Navarra or even from Latin-America, all contributed to the creation of a new chapel and this is the one we still use today. For that reason, the people of Pamplona and Navarra feel it belongs to them in a special way and this belief has been handed down through the generations.
The chapel of San Fermín has been constructed within the parish church of San Lorenzo, located at the very end of Main Street - the Calle mayor - in Pamplona. To enter the chapel it is first necessary to go either through the main door of the church or enter from San Francisco Street which gives access to both temples.
The chapel of San Fermín began to be constructed in 1696 and it was totally completed in 1717. On the seventh of Julio of that same year it was inaugurated. The original architect was Santiago Raón, and his Project was completed by Juan de Alegría and Martín de Zaldúa who kept the baroque style of the original plans. A curious anecdote about the chapel is the lawsuit from the XVIII century involving Pamplona city hall and the members of the church from the parish of San Lorenzo. At one point, the construction of a new temple was being seriously considered by the city hall and it was to be located in what is now the Paseo Sarasate. Plans were drawn up and these can be seen in the Municipal Archives of Pamplona although the Project itself never took off the ground. The architect who drew up the plans was Juan Lorenzo Catalán.
Something which really did take place in the chapel of San Fermín were some urgent repairs, undertaken in 1800. A man called Santos Ochandategui was put in charge of these works by Pamplona city hall and he gave a neoclassic look to the chapel which still remains today. In 1823 after a siege made by the "Cien mil hijos de San Luis" (a rebel army), the lantern of the cupola of the chapel had to be rebuilt after suffering demolition from a bombing made by the rebels.
San Fermín is stored within the chapel at the altar. The original altar was 17 meters high but this was substituted by a smaller one in 1819. The sculptures and reliefs that we can see at present are the work of Anselmo Casanova from a project by Pedro Onofre. The glasswork was made by Mayer in London.
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