Santa Maria de Eunate

Location of the church as seen from the west

Interior of the church

Construction detail: door arch of the west portal

Arches of dealing

Santa María de Eunate is a Romanesque church on the Aragonese branch of the Camino de Santiago in Navarre ( Spain ).

Geographical location

The church is located in the open, with no direct reference to a settlement, a few kilometers from the market town of Muruzábal and east of Puente la Reina , where the two St. James' Ways over the Pyrenees passes from Somport ( Aragon ) and Roncesvalles meet.

history

The church was built in the late 12th century or early 13th century in Romanesque style and with Mozarabic influences. From 1940 to 1943 the complex was restored and the capitals of the gallery rearranged on this occasion. Some things were added quite freely. At that time, archaeological excavations took place outside the surrounding wall, with graves with burials in which there were pilgrim clams, probably pilgrims who died here, were also uncovered . There may have been a hospice here that belonged to the Order of St. John .

description

The slightly irregular, octagonal floor plan is similar to the Templars' facilities . Their preference for the central building is based on the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem . There is also a similarity to the nearby Holy Sepulcher Church in Torres del Río . The apse , semicircular on the inside, has a five - eighth end to the outside . The floor plan of the octagon is slightly asymmetrical and the choir is also slightly off axis. Each corner of the building is emphasized by a column .

The octagon has two portals , the small windows have alabaster panes . Capitals and the portals are richly decorated. Mozarabic influences can be read on the bulging ribs, which, starting from the pillars, meet in the dome of the church interior and support the vault. Perhaps the entire building was built by a Mozarab builder.

The church runs around an arcade parallel to the outer wall a few meters away, which probably gave the building its name ( Basque : Eunate - one hundred gates, hundred gates ). There are no traces whatsoever to suggest that there was a canopy between the church and the arcades. Since dealing without a roof makes little sense, a roof was probably between the arcade and the again octagonal wall with slightly irregular sides that surrounds the entire complex.

Legends

The situation of the church, its partly unexplained history and the special atmosphere in the church stimulated many people to speculate. There is a legend in the area that ascribes the similarity of the church portal to that of another nearby church to the work of supernatural powers, while it is probably only evidence of the work of the same (unknown) stonemason. Furthermore, followers of certain esoteric directions believe that Eunate is one of the places of power on earth, alongside Notre Dame de Paris and the Taj Mahal .

Worth knowing

Santa Maria de Eunate is a popular place to get married.

literature

Dietrich Höllhuber and Werner Schäfke: The Spanish Way of St. James. History and art on the way to Santiago de Compostela . DuMont, [Cologne] 1999. ISBN 3-7701-4862-2
Pedro de Palol et al. Max Hirmer: Spain. Art of the early Middle Ages from the Visigoth Empire to the end of the Romanesque period . Hirmer, Munich 1965.
Werner Schäfke: Northwest Spain. Landscape, history and art on the way to Santiago de Compostela . DuMont, Cologne 1987. ISBN 3-7701-1589-9
Pierre Tisné et al: Spain. Pictorial Atlas of Spanish Art . DuMont Schauberg, Cologne 1968. ISBN 3-7701-4461-9

Web links

Commons : Santa María de Eunate - collection of images, videos and audio files

santamariadeeunate.es (Spanish)
Building description

Individual evidence

↑ Höllhuber, p. 79; Schäfke, p. 67.
↑ Palol, p. 106.
↑ Höllhuber, p. 79; Schäfke, p. 67.
↑ Höllhuber, p. 79.
↑ Palol, p. 106.
↑ Tisné, S. 256th
↑ Schäfke, p. 67.
↑ From: Der Jakobsweg, 16: 9, 93 min., Documentary film, Germany 2005, director: André Schäfer, first broadcast by arte, themenabend jakobsweg, January 6, 2006, 10.15 p.m.

Navigation bar St. James " Camino Aragonés "

← Previous location: Enériz 2.5 km | Santa María de Eunate | Next town: Obanos 1.5 km or Puente la Reina 4 km →

Location overview

42.672222222222 -1.7616666666667Coordinates: 42 ° 40 ′ 20 " N , 1 ° 45 ′ 42" W.

[1] Höllhuber, p. 79; Schäfke, p. 67.

[2] Palol, p. 106.

[3] Höllhuber, p. 79; Schäfke, p. 67.

[4] Höllhuber, p. 79.

[5] Palol, p. 106.

[6] Tisné, S. 256th

[7] Schäfke, p. 67.

[8] From: Der Jakobsweg, 16: 9, 93 min., Documentary film, Germany 2005, director: André Schäfer, first broadcast by arte, themenabend jakobsweg, January 6, 2006, 10.15 p.m.