Sant Pere de Rodes
Sant Pere de Rodes is a former Benedictine monastery that was first mentioned in a document in 878 . It is located in Spain in the Catalan province of Girona , in what is now the Cap de Creus Natural Park , within the municipal boundaries of El Port de la Selva .
history
founding
The circumstances of the establishment are unknown. According to legend, fled in the 6th century monks, given the Germanic threat from Rome on the Catalan coast. They had taken relics of St. Peter with them in order to bring them to safety. Pope Boniface IV (608–615) gave them the task of building a monastery on the spot.
In fact, excavations have uncovered the foundations of a 6th century building, the function of which is unknown. The first documentary mention comes from the year 878, when two abbeys made claims to the local "cella". An independent Benedictine abbey under the direction of an abbot is only recorded for 945 .
Flowering period in the 11th and 12th centuries
The heyday of the monastery was in the 11th and 12th centuries. The present church was built during this time. The only known consecration date comes from 1022, but probably only refers to the choir room . The reputation and wealth of the abbey grew due to the numerous pilgrims and the transfer of lands. Important artists - such as the Master of Cabestany - were commissioned with beautification work. Nevertheless, the small size of the refectory shows that probably never more than 20 monks lived in the abbey.
Decline, today's restoration
The decline began as early as the 14th century. Attacks from outside added to problems within the order. Due to its exposed location high above the sea, the abbey was repeatedly subjected to attacks and looting.
In 1798 the Benedictines finally gave up the monastery and moved to Figueres . In 1835 the monastic community finally came to an end. The monastery fell into disrepair, as did the church of Santa Helena de Rodes, not far from the monastery .
In 1930 it was declared a national monument. The first restoration work began 5 years later and was intensified considerably between 1989 and 1999.
buildings
The monastery church was probably completed in the middle of the 11th century. Today's ruin shows a lot of the original structure. Different style elements come together: the high arch is intended to imitate ancient Roman models. The stacked columns - some of them are spolia - show that the builders were familiar with Arabic architecture in Andalusia . The model can be found in the Mezquita in Cordoba . The excellent capital art also points in this direction.
The ambulatory, on the other hand, imitates French models; it is otherwise unusual in Spanish Romanesque. It enabled pilgrims to approach the relics in the back of the church even during the monks' services.
The cloister is two-story. The lower, more primitive part was only discovered during excavations in 1989. It was filled in and built over in the 12th century when the desire for a more representative complex arose with the increased prosperity of the abbey. The columns and capitals of this younger cloister were stolen in later times. The reconstructions were not completed until 1997.
The towers are Lombard . So the church is not as clearly "Roman" as the slightly older church in Ripoll . It is an expression of your own self-confidence. The well-traveled builders and clients put their church together according to their own ideas.
Today the entire complex, which also includes other chapels , farm buildings and a defense tower , impresses with its good state of preservation and its secluded location high above the sea.
Trivia
The Sant Pere de Rodes monastery is located on the Camino Catalán , the Catalan section of the Camino de Santiago .
gallery
Longship of the basilica
Cloister of the monastery
Lombard tower
Exposed location in the Cap de Creus Natural Park
Floor plan (church and cloister)
literature
- Xavier Barral i Altet (ed.): The history of Spanish art . Cologne 1997, p. 94
- Joan Badia i Homs: The Sant Pere de Rodes Monastery - Historical and Architectural Guide , 144 pages, 2nd revised and expanded edition, Barcelona 2002 (Generalitat de Catalunya, Departement de Cultura), ISBN 84-393-5784-2
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ La Ruta del Port de la Selva - Sant Pere de Rodes i de la Jonquera a Montserrat. In: camidesantjaume.cat ( Memento of the original from August 8, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 42 ° 19 ′ 25 ″ N , 3 ° 10 ′ 0 ″ E