Sant Esteve d'en Bas (church)
Sant Esteve d'en Bas is an originally single-nave Romanesque church from the 12th century and the main church in the main town of the same name of the municipality of La Vall d'en Bas near the city of Olot in the Catalan province of Girona in Spain . The construction of this church under the name "Sancti Stephani e occulo" dates back to 1119. A previous building is first mentioned in 894 under the name "Sancti Stephani in valle que dicunt Basso". In the 15th century the church was renamed "San Esteve de Sallul". The toponyms used all relate to the hydrographic characteristics of this zone. The Olot earthquake in the 15th century caused severe damage to the church, which led to appropriate renovations and restorations.
The building
The church was originally built on a cross-shaped floor plan with three apses as a single-nave basilica. The central apse is polygonal. The outer facade of this central apse is structured and decorated by blind, arched twin windows. The earthquakes in Olot in the first third of the 15th century severely damaged the church in the south and west. The bell tower was also badly affected. The Romanesque roof vault sank in the earthquake. The church was secured and restored in two stages in the 15th century. In 1432 a reinforced south wall was built with an entrance portal in the form of three arched arches. The arches are supported by pillars with capitals. The portal was decorated with a tympanum. This tympanum disappeared in the 18th century when the church was expanded to include a south and north aisle. In 1442 the second phase of rebuilding the church began. The central nave - based on the floor plan cross - as well as the western walls and the bell tower were structurally restored. The bell tower has two window openings on each of the four sides and ends in a balustrade, which indicates the later renovations. The current entrance door in the west and the door in the south were later added to the building.
The interior
The central apse is divided into five volumes by columns with capitals. The capitals are decorated with scenic figures. The apse was restored in 1947 because the baroque altar was lost in the iconoclastic turmoil of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The chapels on the sides of the building cross with their altars were originally dedicated to Saints John and Mary. On the capitals on the south side there is a Mother of God on the throne. On the wall on the upper floor there is an art-historically very interesting stone sculpture with an enthroned Christ. This is framed by Saint John and a mother of God. This group of figures dates to before the 12th century. In 1980 the interior of the church was completely renovated. The room with its three apses, the side chapels and the nave with its columns and arches was given its simple inner beauty.
literature
- Josep Murlà i Giralt; Nicolau Gironès i Casanovas: Guia del romanic de La Garrotxa . Alzamora, Olot 1983, OCLC 434851504 . Page 60 f., There the article "Sant Esteve d'en Bas"
Web links
Coordinates: 42 ° 7 '6.4 " N , 2 ° 27" 32.4 " E