Iglesia del Salvador

My husband and I visited only 4 of the sites on the Toledo Bracelet so we didn't buy the pass for them all. Instead we paid €4 per person for each site on our day trip. This was our first and one of the best. The main church is small and similar to nearly every other Spanish Catholic church. What's really cool is the old Visigoth ruins below the main floor. There weren't a lot of information cards but it was still cool to walk around and see the designs. We also went up the narrow stairs to the bell tower. Not the best views of Toledo, other churches and the Alcazar have that, but still fun for a photo op.

Visited in August 2024 The Iglesia de El Salvador is located in Toledo, near the Churches of Santo Tomé and Convento de Santa Úrsula. It is one of the churches mentioned in the Lazarillo de Tormes, and here Joanna of Castile ("the Mad") and the dramatist Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla were baptized. The current church is built on the mosque, so it is oriented southeast in direction toward Mecca. For which construction, different elements of the previous Visigothic building were reused, because of that a horseshoe arcade supported on Visigothic pilasters has been preserved with sculpted decoration of figurative themes, unusual in this type of remains. The Pilaster of El Salvador, shows in one of its faces various Visigothic miraculous scenes from the life of Jesus: the Cure of the Blind, the Resurrection of Lazarus, the Samaritan and the Hemorroísa, as well as other themes of eucharistic hue that alluding to Christ as the salvation. Its crude treatment shows the abandonment in which the work had fallen on the stone. Although it conserves the shape of the minaret, that carries incrustations of borders, in 1159 it made several Christian modifications, and the construction in the end-15th century of the Gothic chapel of Santa Catalina. The tower corresponds to the minaret of the mosque, with a Baroque brick addition at the body of the bells. It is dedicated to St. Savior. The church suffered a fire in the 15th century, which forced an important restoration. Álvarez de Toledo was commissioned to the restoration and he added new chapels highlighting the chapel of Santa Catalina.

I've probably missed the interesting things in this church, and I stopped by only because I had the excellent Pulsera de Toledo Pass (wristband), which I highly recommend. My average rating is just the result of the comparison with the other amazing churches in Toledo.

Every monument included in the Toledo tourist bracelet is interesting in different ways. This church has a Visigoth column with Christian carvings. Like other churches in Toledo, it was formally a mezquita. Archaeological excavations at the site can be seen in a courtyard behind the church, where photos show how the previous buildings were built on top of. The entire nave is a suspended floor over further excavations of Roman remains. There's a tower too.

Ancient religious site with Roman and Visigoth roots! Fascinating! There is also a Visigoth museum in town (we missed it sadly).

Beautiful church but more importantly, a home for God, thanks to the good priests. A beautiful mass with an excellent homily.

Interesting place to visit, BUT things were totally ruined by the ridiculous ticketing system. You can buy a ticket that covers several venues and last for 7 days. But they lash this bracelet with plastic fob and QR code to your wrist and you're not allowed to take it off. If you do take it off like I had to cut it off because it was hurting my wrist, they buy you from entry. . Shocking

Must see, with underground access to two vault-like ruins and a tower you can go up for a rooftop view