Goa Velha - Sé Cathedral of Santa Catarina

Friends,

If you are on the trip of Goa then do not miss to see The Cathedral. Yeah! It's Sé Cathedral of Santa Catarina, Goa Velha. The original building erected in 1510 was enlarged in 1511-12. It was a mud-structure covered with straw. It had only one altar and on it was installed the picture of St. Catherine of Alexandria for it was dedicated to that Saint on whose feast day 25th November 1510 - according to the Old Liturgical Calendar, the City of Goa was conquered by Affonso De Albuquerque from the muslims.

The cathedral has now only one tower on the Southern side; on it there are five bells; the bigger one is called the "Golden Bell", cast in the foundery of the Arsenal in 1652, in the City of Goa itself. It's called "Golden" because it is believed that some gold was mixed when making the bell to produce better sound. The Northern tower came down on 25th July 1775 may be because of the fury of the monsoons; the tower was not plastered for nearly 100 years.

Just grab the opportunity to see the oldest monument of Goa.