Ermita de Santa Cristina (Lloret de Mar)

Ermita de Santa Cristina from the seaside

The Ermita de Santa Cristina is a large chapel in Lloret de Mar , about 3.5 kilometers from the city center. It is dedicated to Saint Christina , who is also the patron saint of Lloret. It is located at an altitude directly above the beach of Santa Cristina in a large park and is the nucleus of the district of Lloret of the same name. The chapel is a listed building .

The story of the chapel

The chapel was first mentioned in a document on August 11, 1354. Bishop Berenguer de Cruïlles approved the restoration of a chapel dedicated to St. Jordi (St. George) in this document. So there must have been a chapel at this point before. On May 14th 1422 the chapel was first mentioned under its current name. Through donations and purchases, the entire complex of the church and the surrounding park grew to what is now 10 hectares.

With the economic boom that Lloret experienced in the 18th century, the desire to enlarge the church grew. In 1764 the foundation stone for the current building was laid and construction was completed in 1772.

In 1783 a relic of Saint Christina was acquired: a skull, a rib and a thigh bone attributed to the saint were kept in the church.

Generalitat memorial stone

On August 7, 1934, Santa Cristina was visited by the Catalan President Lluís Companys i Jover and several members of the Generalitat . A memorial stone on the fairground commemorates this event.

As part of the beginning of the Spanish Civil War , the relics were stolen by militants from the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and the church was damaged. The rib and thigh bones have since disappeared, the skull and a small bone have been found again and are still revered today.

The building of the chapel

The chapel consists of a single nave with two side chapels. The splendid marble high altar made in Italy is an outstanding fixture. The altarpiece by an unknown master of the Tuscan School shows the death of Saint Christina. To the right and left of the altar there are several models of ships that are reminiscent of the maritime tradition and the sea procession. Worth mentioning are the model of the "Sebastià Gumà", a ship with 62 cannons that was awarded a silver medal on the island of Cuba, and a small, finely crafted ivory ship. Both date from the 18th century.

The fairground and the Festa Major

Monument to L'Obrera de Santa Cristina

Since the old chapel remained standing during the construction period, the new, classical church is some distance from the cliff. This creates a free, graveled space between church and cliff, in the middle of which is the hundred-year-old pine tree (Pi Centenari).

The square is the fairground for the parish fair , the Festa Major, which the fishermen's cooperative celebrates here on July 24th, the day of Saint Christina.

The highlights of the festival are the sea procession with boats from Lloret to Santa Cristina and the debutante dance , remembered by a monument.

Cliffs and beach

Memorial plaque for Joaquín Sorolla

The view from the cliffs to the steep hills on the beach of the Costa Brava inspired various artists. A picture by the impressionist painter Joaquín Sorolla , who captured this landscape, is known. Several memorial plaques in the form of painted tile work in various places in the complex remind of these artists.

Below the chapel there is a fine sandy beach, which is picturesquely framed by cliffs. Due to the distance to the city of Lloret, it is not as crowded as the main beach and is mainly used by residents of the Santa Cristina district and the Martha hotel above the beach.

Park

In front of the church there is a large park on gently sloping terrain. To the right of the entrance to the site is the Oratori de Santa Cristina, a small semicircular chapel, which is also a listed building. The white chapel contains a terracotta figure of St. Cristina, which is shielded by a wrought iron grille for protection.

The area to the right of the street that leads to the actual church is loosely planted with various indigenous and foreign plants, each of which is described with information boards.

In front of the church there is a boathouse on the left and in front of it the dancer monument. There is a well system on the right.

A building attached to the side corner of the church, together with the church front and the fountain, forms a forecourt of the church.

settlement

Above the area of the Ermita de Santa Cristina, a district of Lloret has formed, which mainly includes holiday homes. The Pinya de rosa gardens form the end of this district .