Santa María (Mixós)
The church of Santa María in Mixós, a town in the municipality of Monterrei in the Spanish province of Ourense in the autonomous region of Galicia , has a choir head from the pre-Romanesque period, which is ascribed to Mozarabic architecture. In 1931 the church was declared a monument (Monumento del patrimonio histórico de España).
history
In 1025 the place Moixelos was first mentioned in writing as the seat of a monastery. The church was probably built by Mozarab builders in the 10th century. The choir head has been preserved from this period. The nave , which after excavations in the 1960s originally had three aisles and a square floor plan, was later changed. The open bell tower ( espadaña ) was added later, as was the pointed arched portal of the south facade.
architecture
Exterior construction
The church is built from regularly hewn granite blocks . The three apses of the choir head are rectangular on the outside. The central apse, which protrudes over the lateral vestibules is provided with a saddle roof covered. The lateral apses have pent roofs . All three apses are broken in the middle by narrow window slits with Mozarabic horseshoe arches.
inner space
In the interior, three horseshoe arches open to the round-arched apses, whose vaults are made of brick . On the vault approach runs a sawtooth frieze of bricks. A stone block in the north wall is decorated with a dew band decoration.
Above the central apse there is a completely closed chamber (Cámara oculta), as it can also be found in other Mozarabic churches such as San Miguel de Escalada , the meaning of which is not clear.
literature
- Achim Arbeiter , Sabine Noack-Haley: Christian monuments of the early Middle Ages from the 8th to the 11th century . Hispania Antiqua, Mainz 1999, ISBN 3-8053-2312-3 , pp. 230-231.
- Jaime Cobreros: Guía del Prerrománico en España . Guía Total, Madrid 2006, ISBN 84-9776-215-0 , p. 74.
- Jacques Fontaine: L'Art Mozarabe. L'Art Préroman Hispanique . Vol. 2, La Pierre-qui-Vire (Zodiaque), 2nd edition 1995, ISBN 2-7369-0215-7 , p. 413.
Web links
Coordinates: 41 ° 57 '44.7 " N , 7 ° 27' 15.9" W.