San Pedro de Siresa Monastery
The former monastery of San Pedro de Siresa in the Valle de Hecho in the province of Huesca in the autonomous community of Aragon in northern Spain was once an important Benedictine and later Augustinian monastery .
location
The monastery, which was formerly located on an old trade route between Saragossa / Huesca and Béarn , which can be reached via Puerto de Palo or Col de Pau , is located near the present-day village of Siresa on the south side of the Pyrenees about 100 km (driving distance) northwest of the city of Huesca or approx. 45 km northwest of Jaca at an altitude of about 880 m .
history
Some archaeologists suspect a Visigoth foundation, but ultimately conclusive evidence is lacking. The first traditional abbot of the monastery, which was not oppressed by the Moors, was a certain "Zacharias" (816). Documents from the early 9th century mention a donation from the otherwise unknown Count Galindo Garcés in favor of the monastery. In a short account of his visit to the abbey in 852, Eulogius of Córdoba mentions the splendor (esplendor) of the monastery and its library, in which u. a copy of the Aeneid was kept. In the year 864 the place Echo (today Valle de Hecho ) as well as several vineyards came into the possession of the monastery, which after the year 922 even became a temporary bishopric. Almansor's campaign (999), which was mainly directed against Pamplona , may have resulted in destruction and temporarily led to the monastery being abandoned. In 1063 it became part of the Jaca diocese and in 1077 it was taken over by monks of the Augustinian order . The future King Alfonso I of Aragón (ruled 1104–1134) received part of his training here. In 1145 the monastery was finally attached to the Jaca diocese. In the 15th century, the monastery could still afford several important altars. In the 19th century the monastery was dissolved ( Desamortización ) ; the monastery buildings were demolished with the exception of the church.
architecture
The current Romanesque church dates from the years after 1082 and is made of well-hewn stones; in the following centuries, however, later changes were hardly noticeable. The towerless west facade and its stepped portal are largely unadorned; However, a stone monogram of Christ is emblazoned above the portal . A bell gable stands across the actual structure on the south side of the church, where today's main entrance with its Renaissance portal is located. The single-nave approx. 36 m long and approx. 14 m high monastery church, together with the approx. 29 m wide transept, has the floor plan of a Latin cross and is barrel vaulted ; the apse shows the usual dome vault . The crossing was raised in the late Middle Ages, but is unexposed.
Furnishing
The church's furnishings include a Romanesque baptismal font held together by iron brackets , a colored Gothic crucifix in the four-nail type and a late Gothic altarpiece from the workshop of the Aragonese painter Blasco de Grañén . Another altarpiece is attributed to his pupil Pedro García de Benabarre ; others are in the transept.
Gothic crucifix
Blasco de Grañén - Altar retable
Web links
- Siresa Monastery - Photos + Info (Spanish)
- Siresa Monastery - Photos + Info (Spanish)
- Siresa Monastery - Photos + Info (Spanish)
Coordinates: 42 ° 45 ′ 23.5 " N , 0 ° 45 ′ 14.5" W.