Sant Pons de Corbera
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The former priory or monastery church of Sant Ponç de Corbera is one of the most impressive buildings of the Catalan Romanesque - along with the churches of Sant Vicenç de Cardona , Sant Cugat del Racó , Sant Pere de Rodes and Sant Jaume de Frontanyà . She is the St. Dedicated Pontius of Cimiez .
location
The church is about 150 meters above sea level. d. M. just outside of the district Corbera of the municipality ( municipi ) Cervelló in the Catalan comarca Baix Llobregat in the province of Barcelona . The next larger city, Barcelona , is about 30 kilometers (driving distance) to the east.
history
The northern parts of Catalonia were recaptured ( reconquista ) by the Counts of Barcelona from the hands of Islam as early as the 9th and 10th centuries , repopulated ( repoblación ) and with castles ( castells ), but also with monasteries ( monestirs ) and churches ( esglésies ) secured. The church was first mentioned in a document in 1068, but it must be assumed that the building was built between 1025 and 1050 at the instigation of the landlord ( senyor ) of Corbera. From the year 1096 an abbot named is Salomó handed, but we know that at this time the priory about the monastery of Sant Pere de Casserres by the Benedictines - Cluny Abbey was dependent. At the beginning of the 14th century, the prior refused to accept an inspection visit from the Bishop of Barcelona , which resulted in his temporary excommunication . At the end of the 14th and 15th centuries, decades of decadence followed, in which the monastery rulers were no longer even monks. In 1590, the priory joined a community of monasteries in the Tarragona area , from which it soon broke away. It can be assumed that monastic life largely came to a standstill as early as the 17th century. In 1835 the former priory fell under the dismortment of church property in Spain and was dissolved. The remaining cloister buildings were demolished; the church remained as a parish church, but was rarely used in the absence of a larger town nearby. Restoration work was carried out in 1929 and 1992; The interior and exterior plaster was removed and the original stonightness was restored - however, some remains of decorative wall paintings from the 15th or 16th century have been preserved.
architecture
terrain
The church is located on the top of a wooded hill and had to be underpinned in the southwest by embankments. The portal can therefore only be reached via a semicircular seven-step staircase.
Stones
As construction material halfway precisely carved stones were used in the layers and in association walled could be. The portal and window arches of the facade show an alternation between lighter and darker stones.
Layout
The floor plan of the church shows a single-nave building oriented towards the northeast with a transept and a three apse choir . Both on the southern arm of the transept and on the north side of the nave there are two walled-up portals that previously led to the priory's closed area .
Exterior construction
The exterior of the church is structured by blind arcades, which end with arched friezes below the eaves . Only the apses , which were probably built first, show a simpler outer wall structure. The windows are not framed by set columns, side profiles, etc.; only the windows of the central apse have a double frame.
inner space
The walls of the barrel-vaulted and - on imposts and pilasters resting - transverse arches subjected nave are broken up by large arcades; the window reveals are bevelled for better light. The transitions to the two arms of the transept are particularly emphasized by bricked half-columns . The corner gussets of the crossing dome rest on trumpets . The otherwise undivided apses show the usual domes .
tower
The bell tower above the crossing appears more open and weightless than the other parts of the church. One therefore suspects a later date of origin in the 12th century. The simple lower window openings are surrounded by a rectangular frame ( alfiz ); the upper biforic windows (or ajimez ) with their small central columns and trapezoidal capitals are similar to the upper west window, which may belong to the same period.
Mary figure
The church's furnishings included a crowned Gothic figure of Mary of the Maria lactans type , which is now in the church of Santa Maria de Corbera .
literature
- Vicenç Buron: Esglésies Romàniques Catalanes. Artestudi Edicions, Barcelona 1977, pp. 106f, ISBN 84-85180-06-2 .
Web links
- Sant Ponç de Corbera - Photos + Info (Catalan)
- Sant Ponç de Corbera - Photos + Info (Catalan)
- Lexicon of saints, Pontius von Cimiez - information
Coordinates: 41 ° 24 ′ 7.2 " N , 1 ° 54 ′ 44.4" E