San Tirso (Oviedo)

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San Tirso, east facade with triple windows

The Church of San Tirso or San Tirso el Real is located in Oviedo , capital of Spain's Asturias region , near the San Salvador Cathedral . It is dated around the year 800 and belongs to the pre-Romanesque churches of Asturias. Of the original building, most of which burned down in 1521, only the east facade remains, which was declared a Monumento Nacional ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in 1931.

history

Like the no longer preserved Church of San Salvador, the Michael Tower and the Cámara Santa , San Tirso was built as part of a palace complex under the Asturian King Alfonso II the Chaste (783 and 791-842). The beauty of the basilica , which was dedicated to St. Thyrsus , a 3rd century martyr from Apollonia in what is now Turkey , was praised in chronicles of the 9th century - such as the Crónica Albeldense or the Crónica ad Sebastianum (885). From a Schenkungs certificate shows that in the year 896 Alfonso III. (866–910) and his wife Jimena donated the church to Oviedo Cathedral. In 1521 the church burned down, only the east facade was preserved.

architecture

The building is built in regular layers of stone blocks. The corners of the building are reinforced by larger ashlar stones . The top two cuboids have a circular end that protrudes from the wall and on which - like on the corbels - the eaves rests.

Triplet window

Triplet window

In the middle of the facade is a large triple window - later walled up - with a raised central section ( triumphal arch scheme ), which is inscribed in a square about two meters on a side. The border of the three arches is reminiscent of an Alfiz frame typical of Mozarabic architecture . The marble columns are spolia and date from the late Roman period. The slightly stilted round arches are made of brick and rest on ancient capitals with two rows of stylized leaves. Under the capitals, rings with dew band decoration enclose the columns. Above the window, two large stones protrude from the wall, which, together with the no longer present lower stones, served as fishing pans for wooden shutters with which the window could be closed.

literature

  • Achim Arbeiter , Sabine Noack-Haley: Christian monuments of the early Middle Ages from the 8th to the 11th century . Mainz 1999, ISBN 3-8053-2312-3 , pp. 114-116.
  • Lorenzo Arias Páramo: Guía del Arte Prerrománico Asturiano . 2nd edition, Gijón 1999, ISBN 84-95178-20-6 , pp. 32-33.
  • Jaime Cobreros: Guía del Prerrománico en España . Madrid 2006, ISBN 84-9776-215-0 , pp. 95-96.
  • Jacques Fontaine: L'Art Préroman Hispanique . Volume 1, 2nd edition, La Pierre-qui-Vire (Zodiaque) 1973, pp. 272-273.

Web links

Commons : San Tirso (Oviedo)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 43 ° 21 ′ 43.8 "  N , 5 ° 50 ′ 37.6"  W.