Sant Pere de Galligants
The monastery Sant Pere de Galligants is a former abbey of the Benedictine order in the city of Girona ( Catalonia ). The Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya has been housed here since 1857 .
history
The exact date of its establishment is unknown. It was initiated when Ramon Borrell , Count of Barcelona , made the property on the Galligants River (in the Sant Pere district outside the walls of Girona) available in 992 and generously given the monastery a few years later in his will . The monastery became one of the rare examples of a founding close to the city; usually the Benedictines preferred solitude.
In 1117, Count Ramon Berenguer III united . the monastery with the French abbey of Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse ; but it was allowed to keep its own abbot . A short time later, today's church was built. Although the association was retained, a century later it was only formally present and the monastery was basically independent again.
At the time of Peter IV the city walls of Girona were extended. From then on, Sant Pere was within the city.
The abbey wasn't very big. Sometimes only six monks and six brothers lived here in addition to the abbot . Although the church was the parish church in the Sant Pere neighborhood, most services were held in the nearby church of Sant Nicolás; only the baptisms were donated in the monastery church.
The period of decline began in the 15th century. In 1592 the connection to the Abbey of Lagrasse was broken and a little later the monastery was merged with the Abbeys of Sant Miquel de Cruïlles and San Miguel de Fluviá . However, this merger did not help. When the monastery was closed in 1835, only one abbot and four monks lived there.
building
The current church was built on the remains of the previous building in 1130. The octagonal campanile with its pilaster strips and arched friezes has Lombard decorative shapes. In the course of the expansion of the city wall (1362), the tower was rebuilt for defense purposes.
Above the simple portal, reminiscent of older models and decorated with geometrical patterns and figurative ornaments, there is a rose window with a diameter of 3.50 meters, the edge of which is also decorated with artistic stone carvings.
The church is a three-aisled basilica with a staggered choir . The capitals of the columns in the central nave show vegetal motifs. The capitals on the flanks of the main apse differ significantly from these. They are more elaborately worked out and are attributed to the master of Cabestany , a sculptor of the 12th century who is not known by name, by whom works have also been preserved in Lagrasse.
Cloister
The cloister was built between 1154 (northern part) and 1190. It is a fine example of the Catalan Romanesque . The themes of the capitals are similar to those of the nearby cathedral . On some scenes from the life of Jesus can be recognized, on others typical Romanesque motifs such as lions or sirens .
