Nuestra Señora del Azogue (Puebla de Sanabria)

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Nuestra Señora del Azogue Church

The late Romanesque parish church of Nuestra Señora del Azogue in the small town of Puebla de Sanabria in the northwestern Spanish province of Zamora in the region of Castile-León is at the highest point of the place.

history

The place already existed in Visigothic times, but nothing is known about a possibly existing previous building; however, during excavation work in 1995, a large number of grave steles were found below the church floor . The approximately 1000 meters high and only sparsely populated region was in 9./10. Recovered from the hands of the Moors in the 19th century ( reconquista ) and the border between the Christian and Islamic spheres of influence on the Iberian Peninsula pushed up to the height of the Duero . The current church was built around 1170; however, it was slightly changed several times afterwards.

architecture

West facade and tower

The entire church building including the figurative decoration of the portal vestments consists of hewn granite stone , in some places of the nave you can also see simple quarry stone masonry . The lower part of the bell tower is - apart from small round windows ( oculi ) - completely unadorned; the two upper tower floors and the small ornamental obelisks of the triangular gable date from the Renaissance .

West portal

The most important component is the elevated, late Romanesque west portal, which can only be reached via a staircase, with its four preserved vestments , capitals and archivolt arches . During the execution of the figures, which at first glance seem rather clumsy and 'primitive', a lot of emphasis was placed on details (hair, clothing, etc.). The two figures in the right portal wall are characterized by their crown-like headgear as a king and queen; the figures on the left, on the other hand, are bareheaded. Three of the four figures carry vessels or the like in their hands, which can be interpreted as gifts or presents. The six capitals show different motifs - including small figures as well as vegetable shapes or almost geometrical-looking braided ribbons, etc. The archivolts, sharpened at the apex and richly profiled, show spheres lined up in the outer arch. Above the portal there is a bearded head and a round window framed by a jagged arch .

Crossing and apse

South portal

Under a later added portico on the south side there is an older arched portal , the walls of which - in contrast to the west portal - do not show any figurative or other decorative motifs. The archivolts are adorned with strung together abstract geometric ornaments (four-pointed stars and diamond rod ).

Furnishing

The crossing and apse of the single nave interior of the church were provided with a late Gothic reticulated vault in the 16th century . The furnishings include a partially figurative Romanesque baptismal font as well as an altarpiece and an unusual wrought-iron pulpit with a carved canopy from the 18th century.

  • West portal

  • Portal walls (left)

  • Portal walls (right)

  • South portal

literature

Web links

Commons : Nuestra Señora del Azogue (Puebla de Sanabria)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 42 ° 3 '17.6 "  N , 6 ° 38' 3.1"  W.