Church of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios (XVII century)

The construction of the Church of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, located in the old lower city of Luanda, was an initiative of local traders and residents to compete with the religious buildings in the upper city.

The works began in 1651 or 1655 and They ended in 1679, the year in which it was solemnly inaugurated by Bishop D.Manuel da Natividade.
The church was built to replace two small chapels previously existing on the site, the Espírito Santo chapel and the Corpo Santo chapel.
The church had a rectangular plan with one nave; at the entrance there were three doors with small pediments and, at the top of the facade, there was a large triangular pediment with volutes at the apexes and an elaborate oculus.

On each side of the facade there were two bell towers with pyramidal spiers. In 1716 the seat of the Diocese of Angola and Congo was transferred from São Salvador do Congo to Luanda, which eventually led to the Church of Remedies becoming a cathedral.

In 1877 it was in ruins, being restored between 1880 and 1900.
At that time it acquired its current appearance, with three doors and a curved pediment on the facade. In 1949 it was declared a Property of Public Interest, when it was still part of the Portuguese Colonial Empire.