Dungeon Room

This is the first of the rooms on the route of the Medieval Towers of the Cathedral. It was originally a prison room that was quite inaccessible from the outside. A doorway was opened in 1614 to allow access to the towers by Cathedral personnel, who converted them into part of their living space.

It includes a ticket office and a small souvenir shop for Ieronimus products and Cathedral publications.

The Dungeon Room was originally used for defensive purposes, in keeping with the function attributed to the two towers of the Cathedral. Both are located at the foot of the Old Cathedral and were built during medieval times; they were inaccessible from outside the enclosure to reinforce their defensive nature.

This lower room of the Flat-topped Tower was only connected to the interior of the Cathedral enclosure by means of a complex route of inner stairways that made this room a truly impregnable dungeon. As ecclesiastic jurisdiction had penitentiary powers at that time, the accused could be temporarily retained in this room.

After the period in which the Flat-topped Tower was the scene of outstanding defensive episodes, houses were built inside it for servants of the cathedral. A Chapter ruling of 1614 illustrates this change as it establishes the closure of the entrance to the Flat-topped Tower from the Old Cathedral and orders the opening of an exit to the outside in its lower section. This made the inside of the Tower independent with direct access from the street.