Santa Maria de Ripoll
The monastery church of Santa Maria de Ripoll is a pioneering Romanesque building in the city of Ripoll in Catalonia , of which only the cloister is original. The current church is largely the result of a restoration at the end of the 19th century .
history
The Benedictine monastery was founded in 879 by Wilfried the Hairy , Guifré el Pilós . His intention was, among other things, the settlement of the valley of the "Rio Ripoll" and thus the expansion of his possessions.
The church was consecrated on April 20, 888 under the name "Santa Maria". Wilfried made his son Radulf the first abbot . Santa María de Ripoll grew rapidly and became an important cultural center, especially because of its large collection of ancient writings. When Abbot Oliva died (1046), the library already contained 246 manuscripts. One of the famous Bibles from Ripoll is now in the Vatican Library .
The daughter monasteries of Montserrat and Saint-Martin-du-Canigou were founded under Oliva . The importance of the abbey can also be seen in the fact that Gerbert von Aurillac, who later became Pope Silvester II , received his training here.
Santa Maria remained the cultural center of Catalonia until the 15th century. On February 2, 1428, a severe earthquake destroyed large parts of the abbey , which was then rebuilt in Gothic style.
The monks left the monastery in 1835, after which it fell into severe disrepair. In 1886 Josep Morgades, the Bishop of Vic , ordered the rebuilding, which largely restored the original condition and was completed with the consecration of the church in 1893.
architecture
The appearance of the church was largely determined by the two outstanding abbots Arnulf and Oliva (abbot from 1008 to 1046). Arnulf had the - probably originally in Mozarabic style built - Church on five ships with as many apses can be extended, provided with a wooden roof. When the work was completed, the church was 60 m long and 40 m wide. In 977 the expansion was completed.
In 1032, after a trip to Rome, Abbot Oliva - impressed by the predecessor building of today's St. Peter's Basilica - made the changes that were decisive for the future of Catalan architecture: he had a transept with 7 apses built based on the model of Old Saint Peter . The entrance was provided with a portico , flanked by two bell towers in the Lombard style . With Ripoll "a new trend was set" in Christian Spain. After this building, the Mozarabic style was hardly used, the "Roman" style prevailed. The Romanesque period in Spain began with Ripoll .
Inside the church is quite dark: the windows are not made of glass, but of alabaster . The reconstructions in the 19th century reduced the number of ships from five to three. The remains of several Counts of Besalú and Barcelona lie in the crypt .
The most important work of art in the church is the portal from the 12th century. The shape is strongly reminiscent of Roman triumphal arches . The portal, made of large stone blocks, was badly affected by the decay after the dissolution of the monastery. Still, it is a fine example of Romanesque architecture in Catalonia. The front is provided with a relief from the middle of the 12th century. This consists of 7 levels, so-called "registers". In the middle is Christ as ruler of the world, surrounded by the symbols of the four evangelists . Numerous mythological animals represent the deadly sins . The portal is flanked by two partially destroyed statues of the apostles Peter and Paul . There are also scenes from the life of the apostles and depictions of the 12 months.
The cloister consists of two floors. The lower floor was started after 1180 and was completed at the beginning of the 14th century. The upper floor dates from the 15th and 16th centuries. The Corinthian-influenced capitals of the round arches show scenes from ancient mythology or everyday life.
literature
- Barral I Altet, Xavier (ed.): The history of Spanish art. Cologne 1997, p. 119
- Eduardo Junyent: La Basilica del Monasterio de Santa Maria de Ripoll , Vich 1964.
Web links
- Santa María Monastery with some pictures (Spanish, Catalan)
Coordinates: 42 ° 12 ′ 5.3 " N , 2 ° 11 ′ 27.8" E