Nº 066

Parish church

Iglesia de San Pedro (Grao de Castellón).

First stone laid on 16 July 1936, project by Vicente Traver

ChurchArchitecture
Coordinates
39.9715, 0.0123
Address
Calle Churruca 2, 12100 Castellón de la Plana, España
Municipality
Castelló de la Plana

The parish church of San Pedro is a Catholic temple situated at the intersection of Churruca and Monturiol streets, in the urban nucleus of Grao, the maritime district of Castellón de la Plana. Dedicated to San Pedro, patron saint of fishermen, it has been the spiritual centre of this port neighbourhood since its reconstruction in the twentieth century.

The current building resulted from the destruction of the previous temple during the Spanish Civil War. Like most religious buildings in Castellón, the Grao church was assaulted and set on fire at the beginning of the conflict and ordered to be demolished shortly after. The old temple was located approximately at the intersection of San Pedro Avenue with Plaza de la Virgen del Carmen, facing the Clock Building of the Juan Sebastián Elcano school. The foundation stone of the new building was laid on 16 July 1936, in a new location between Monturiol, Churruca and Mosén Lorenzo Cot streets.

The project was designed by diocesan architect and Castellón mayor Vicente Traver. It is a building with a rectangular floor plan featuring a single nave with four sections and a transept developed on only one of its sides, where the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament is located. The main façade features an architrave crowned by exposed brick archvolts, with a notable ceramic panel depicting San Pedro the fisherman in a boat gathering nets, alongside a walled city by the sea in reference to Castellón. In the upper corners of the architrave appears a rooster—a symbol of the Passion of Christ—and chains alluding to the invocation of San Pedro ad Vincula.

The second section of the façade incorporates a pointed arch framing the rose window, flanked by two cubic volumes resembling unfinished towers; the one on the right houses the bell tower topped by a gable with two mechanical clocks facing the main streets and a sundial on its south-facing side. The façade facing Churruca street is dedicated to Castellón's patroness, the Virgin of Lledó, and is articulated through three ceramic panels narrating the Holy Discovery and the offering of the seafarers to the patroness.

The interior preserves part of the decoration and religious elements from the previous temple. The church is integrated into the Castellón Ceramics Route, standing out for the richness of its exterior ceramic panels with maritime and devotional themes.