Santa Maria (Siurana)
The Romanesque church of Santa Maria stands on the edge of the small village Siurana , which belongs to the Catalan municipality of Cornudella de Montsant in the province of Tarragona .
location
The village of Siurana, which still has around 35 inhabitants, is located on a rocky plateau that slopes steeply on three sides at a height of approx. 737 meters above sea level. d. M .; the church stands just a few meters from the slope high above the Riu Siurana reservoir. The place can only be reached via a winding route about eight and a half kilometers long, which leads from Cornudella de Montsant, about 240 meters below, through a gorge ( Barranc de l'Estopinyà ).
history
While the north of Catalonia was only occupied by the Moors for a short time and was successively recaptured by the Counts of Girona , the Counts of Empúries and the Counts of Barcelona as far as the Riu Llobregat in the 9th century , the Christian reconquest ( reconquista ) lasted southern part until the middle of the 12th century. The rock fortress of Siurana surrendered to the troops of Count Raimund Berengar IV in 1153 as the last bastion of the Waliat of Al-Andalus . It can be assumed that the construction of the Church of Santa Maria began immediately afterwards.
architecture
The church, made of precisely hewn stones, consists of a nave about ten meters long with an adjoining semicircular apse ; the south side of the west facade is stabilized by a bell tower . With the exception of the apse window accompanied by small columns and the round oculus in the west facade, the other windows are only cut into the masonry. The nave is barrel vaulted and has girders ; To the left and right of the domed apse there are two semicircular niches - carved out of the thick walls and therefore not recognizable from the outside - which move the choir solution into the vicinity of a triconcho . The archivolt portal, which is triple stepped back, is accompanied by set monolithic columns and is located in the middle of the north side of the church.
Tympanum
The semicircular tympanum above the lintel shows the crucified Christ in its center. On both sides of his head are the sun and moon as a sign of his universal rule and - as symbols of sovereignty - two lions . Below the outstretched arms of Christ stand in framing arcades two groups of four people who can be identified as apostles by inscriptions that are not completely preserved . The figural decoration of the tympanum is overall very 'primitive' and kept static; the framing serrated arches, however, are precisely executed.
literature
- Antoní Cabré Puig: Siurana. Guia d'excursions per fer a peu. Cossetània Edicions, Valls 2001, ISBN 978-84-89890-67-1 .
Web links
- Church of Santa Maria - Photos + Quick Facts (Catalan)
- Portal of the Church of Santa Maria - photo + info (Catalan)
Coordinates: 41 ° 15 ′ 27.5 ″ N , 0 ° 55 ′ 55.5 ″ E