Real Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

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Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe
UNESCO world heritage UNESCO World Heritage Emblem
Monasterio de Guadalupe.jpg
National territory: SpainSpain Spain
Type: Culture
Criteria : iv, vi
Surface: 1.10 ha
Reference No .: 665
UNESCO region : Europe and North America
History of enrollment
Enrollment: 1993  (session 17)

The Real Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Royal Monastery of Our Lady of Guadelupe) is a monastery in the province of Cáceres of the autonomous community of Extremadura , Spain . It was the most important monastery in the country for more than four centuries and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993 .

history

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The monastery has its origins in the late 13th century when a shepherd named Gil Cordero found a statue of the Madonna on the banks of the Guadalupe , which was hidden from the Moorish invaders in 714 - apparently by the inhabitants of the area . A chapel was then built at the site. King Alfonso XI of Castile , who had often visited the chapel, asked Guadelupe for help before the battle of the Salado (1340). After remaining victorious there, he attributed this to their assistance, declared the church a royal sanctuary, and initiated a large-scale renovation program.

In 1389 the Order of the Hieronymites took over the monastery and made it their headquarters. The construction work continued under the direction of the respective first prior of the order . In 1474 Henry IV was buried there at the side of his mother.

The monastery has many connections to the New World, where Santa María de Guadalupe is in high esteem and is venerated in the Mexican Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe , among others . Christopher Columbus made his first pilgrimage here to Extremadura after discovering America.

Even after the monks of Guadelupe founded the famous El Escorial Monastery, closer to Madrid , it retained royal protection. It remained the most important monastery in Spain until secularization in 1835.

In the 20th century, the monastery was revived by the Franciscan Order and in 1955 by Pope Pius XII. raised to the minor basilica .

Art monuments

Mudejar style on the monastery
Santa María de Guadalupe Monastery

The monastery, whose architecture was built over several centuries, is still dominated by the Templo Mayor (main church) built by Alfonso XI and his immediate successors in the 14th and 15th centuries. The rectangular chapel of Santa Catalina also dates from the 15th century. It is known for a number of ornate graves from the 17th century.

The reliquary church connects Santa Catalina with the baroque sacristy (1638–1647). It is richly decorated and houses a number of paintings by Francisco de Zurbarán . Behind the basilica is the Camarín de la Virgen, an octagonal baroque building (1687–1696) with the impressive stucco chamber of the Virgin and nine paintings by Luca Giordano . The showpiece of this richly decorated hall is a throne with the statue of the Madonna who gave the monastery its name.

Other notable buildings are the Mudéjar-style monastery (1389–1405) with its Plateresque portal, the late Gothic monastery (1531–1533) and the New Church (1730) commissioned by a descendant of Columbus.

In 1856 the palace, built between 1487 and 1491 by Isabella I , was demolished.

Web links

Commons : Real Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 39 ° 27 '10.3 "  N , 5 ° 19' 39"  W.