Palacio de la Merced
The Palacio de la Merced or Ex-Convento de la Merced was the monastery of the Mercedarian order in the Andalusian city of Cordoba . Today it is the seat of the provincial administration.
location
The former monastery is located outside the old town ( medina ) of Córdoba about 1 km north of the Mezquita-Catedral .
history
According to local tradition, the monastery goes back to Pedro Nolasco , the founder of the Mercedarians himself, Ferdinand III. (ruled 1230–1252) is said to have given a plot of land here after the city was retaken from the hands of the Moors ( reconquista ) in 1236. Archaeological investigations in 1973/74 have even discovered Roman or Visigoth traces that could point to a baptistery and a crypt . Today's baroque complex, consisting of a church, monastery buildings and cloister, comes from the first half of the 18th century. After the dissolution of the monasteries in Spain in the 1830s, it served as a hospice for a long time . In 1960 the provincial administration decided to move into the old walls.
architecture
church
The straight facade of the former monastery church, which is strongly emphasized horizontally by cornices, shows only a few details of the curved shapes so typical of the baroque; there is a rich fawn decor on all levels. The two-storey portal zone is framed by side rotated columns ; In a niche above the portal there is a figure of Mary who holds the iron ankle shackles of freed prisoners in her hands ( María de las Mercedes ). The bell gables ending in round windows ( oculi ) on both sides of the central gable field are very unusual . The interior of the three-aisled church houses rich baroque furnishings ( altarpiece , pulpit , murals, etc.).
Cloister
Arcades resting on double columns enclose the four wings of the cloister; whose decorative shapes - especially in the décor of the central pilaster of the upper floor closed by windows - show echoes of the Churrigueresque style . In the middle of the cloister is an octagonal fountain basin made of dark marble with a bowl raised by a baluster column with a rising fountain vase made of white marble.
Web links
Coordinates: 37 ° 53 ′ N , 4 ° 47 ′ W