Santa Comba de Bande
Santa Comba de Bande is a pre-Romanesque church from the Visigothic period. It is located in the Parroquia Santa Comba in the municipality of Bande, about 50 km south of Orense , and belongs to the province of the same name in the autonomous Spanish region of Galicia . In 1921 the church was declared a cultural monument ( Bien de Interés Cultural ).
history
Santa Comba de Bande was part of a monastery that was founded in the 7th century. The church of St. Columba of Sens ordained that - the legend According to - during the persecution of Christians under the Emperor Aurelian (ruled 270-275.) In the French city of Sens the martyrdom to have suffered. Saint Kolumba has been venerated in Spain since the 7th century. A cartular of the Abbey of San Salvador de Celanova shows that the Asturian King Alfonso III. (866–910) ordered the repopulation of the areas around Chaves (now Portugal ) around 872 . In this context, lands on the banks of the Río Lima are mentioned with "very old churches, which are dedicated to the Virgin and Martyr Kolumba and which have been abandoned for 200 years and more". It is believed that the monastery was rebuilt in the 9th century, using building materials from the Visigothic period.
In 1932, restoration work was carried out under the direction of the architect Alejandro Ferrant . The foundations of square additions were exposed, which were attached to the church in the north and south. With these extensions, only one of which has been preserved on the northern transept, a rectangle measuring 12 × 16 meters was created, from which only the apse protruded. Presumably pilgrims or travelers were received in the western extensions , in the two eastern extensions , which only had one entrance to the church, there were probably monk cells . The open bell tower ( espadaña ) and part of the atrium are later additions.
architecture
The masonry consists of granite blocks of different sizes , which are strung together in horizontal layers. The plan of the church is a Greek cross , to which an apse has been added to the east and a porch to the west. The vestibule is covered with a monopitch roof, the other parts of the room have a gable roof .
inner space
The four cross arms of the crossing to go out, wear a from bricks brick barrel vault in weakly pronounced horseshoe shape . The shield arches of the crossing dome are also only slightly covered in accordance with the Visigoth form of the horseshoe arch , in contrast to the Mozarabic horseshoe arch, which is much more closed. A frieze of dew ribbons , vines and leaves runs under the vault .
Crossing
The groin vault of the crossing is made of brick using the technique of opus spicatum (herringbone pattern) and is reminiscent of Roman buildings such as the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna . The central part of the room under the crossing is twice as high as it is wide and has narrow window openings in the upper line zone on all four sides .
apse
The apse is square and barrel vaulted. In the middle of the front wall a round arched window with a transenne is cut, which is broken through in the form of superimposed semicircles. A horseshoe arch, which is formed from large, uneven wedge-shaped stones and rests on spars with two capitals each, opens up to the apse . The black marble columns are probably spoils of a Roman building. As in other churches from the Visigothic period or the pre-Romanesque churches of Asturias, there is a small chamber ( cámara oculta ) above the apse , which has a window to the interior of the church as the only opening.
Furnishing
In the church there is a marble tomb in which the bones of St. Torquatus of Acci were once venerated before they were transferred to the monastery of San Salvador de Celanova in 1601. According to tradition, Torquatus was bishop of Guadix and was one of the legendary seven bishops who are said to have been sent to Spain by the apostles Peter and Paul .
See also
literature
- Jaime Cobreros: Guía del Prerrománico en España . Madrid 2006, ISBN 84-9776-215-0 , pp. 75-78.
- Jacques Fontaine: L'Art Préroman Hispanique . Volume 1, 2nd edition, Éditions Zodiaque, Abbaye de la Pierre-Qui-Vire 1973, pp. 168–170.
Web links
Coordinates: 41 ° 59 ′ 15.9 ″ N , 7 ° 58 ′ 20.7 ″ W.