San Salvador de los Caballeros (Toro)
The Church of San Salvador de los Caballeros in the small town of Toro in the province of Zamora ( Castile and Leon ) is one of the jewels of medieval Mudejar - religious architecture of the city. The former church now serves as a museum for sacred art.
history
The Knights Templar owned three churches in Toro, but two of them have disappeared. After the forced dissolution of the order in 1312, the Salvator Church, which was probably built in the early 13th century, was converted into a parish church. It was closed in 1896 because of its deplorable state of construction. In 1929 the building was added to the register of national treasures, which saved the church from demolition; however, thorough restoration work was not carried out until the 1960s and 1970s.
architecture
Although the church appears Romanesque as a whole , the vaults inside are slightly pointed, which is most likely due to Cluniac influences.
Exterior construction
The most striking component is the choir section with its three apses in Mudejar style . A total of 21 equally high, slender and capitalless arcade arches made of masonry bricks , which span all three apses equally, rise on a base zone made of precisely hewn natural stone blocks ; the fields inside are plastered - five of them have slender window openings that were very likely originally unglazed. Above the arcade arches, the brickwork alternates between horizontally and vertically laid stones; Above it is a tooth cut frieze and a multi-tiered and outwardly protruding masonry.
The south facade with a natural stone portal, which is crowned by a Templar cross, is - comparable to the Church of Santo Sepulcro - divided into plastered fields and fields with exposed brickwork. A loggia opens below the eaves .
The west facade is built entirely of brick, there are no plastered fields here. The south side of the facade shows the same slender arches as the apse; the north side is occupied by an older building remnant, but its height remains below that of the west gable with a round window - in the 16th century a small bell tower in the style of the Renaissance was added .
inner space
The south side of the three-aisled interior of the church was rebuilt in the 15th century - since then, a high, wide-span arch has supported the slightly pointed vaults, some of which are painted with abstract ornaments. The entrance to the church is now located on the north side, which has largely been preserved in its original form. The three apses have stacked arcades, the lower ones of which are blind, while light enters the apses through the narrow windows on the upper level. Two frescoes from the 17th century in the domes of the central and south apsis are remarkable : The central apse shows God the Father crowned with a tiara , surrounded by putti and the four symbols of the evangelists ; In the south apse there is a coat of arms held by griffins .
Within a plastered arch field in the central nave there are abstract decorative remains of painting; including some badly faded remains of a figural fresco. The red and white grout paintings in the slightly sharpened arch are also interesting .
Central apse
Middle apse - fresco
South apse
South apse - fresco
museum
In 1991 the Junta de Castilla y León , the diocese of Zamora and the municipality of Toro joined forces to establish a museum of sacred art in the former Templar church of San Salvador de los Caballeros . Here you will find exhibits from the churches of the city and the surrounding area, which are better housed in a museum for safety reasons.
dead Christ - part of a descent from the cross (13th century)
Mourning Mary and Apostle John - part of a crucifixion group (14th century)
pregnant (?) Mary - part of an Annunciation (15th century)
Christ as Redeemer and Lord of the World (16th century)
Web links
Coordinates: 41 ° 31 '17.7 " N , 5 ° 23' 49" W.