Santa Maria de Vilabertran

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Monestir de Santa Maria de Vilabertran

The Romanesque former Augustinian monastery of Santa Maria de Vilabertran ( Monestir de Santa Maria de Vilabertran ) was founded in the middle of the 11th century in the Catalan community of Vilabertran and is located in the far northeast of mainland Spain in the comarca Alt Empordà . In 1930 it was declared a monument històric (cultural and historical monument) by royal decree and in 1949 the Generalitat de Catalunya placed it as Bé Cultural d'Interès Nacional (cultural heritage of national interest) under the highest level of Catalan monument protection .

history

Stone coffin of the founder of the monastery, Pere Rigald
Romanesque apse from the 11th century

After the monastery was founded in the middle of the 11th century by the local cleric Pere Rigald (also called Pere Rigall , Pere Rigau and Petrus Rigaldi ) - who was previously the clergyman of a nearby small church that is already mentioned in records from 969 - began in In 1080 the construction work to erect the monastery buildings. In 1100 it was consecrated by the Bishop of Girona and the Monestir de Santa Maria de Vilabertran received its official status; Pere Rigald became the first abbot and the monastic community was placed under the Augustine rule.

In the 12th century, the abbots Pere de Tarroja (1147-1152) - the brother of Arnau de Torroja , Grand Master of the Templar Order - and Ramón de Orusall (1162-1177), who were with the military, played an important role for the monastery Orders of knights cooperated and coordinated crossings to the Holy Land .

A grave slab of the King of Aragon , Alfonso II the Chaste (* March 25, 1157 - April 25, 1196 ) is embedded in a church wall, with the inscription: Part of the remains that are most important . Presumably there were buried body parts of the king, who otherwise - according to tradition and his status - was buried in the royal Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet in the family crypt of the monastery church.

On October 29, 1295, King Jacob II and Blanka of Anjou (1280-1310), daughter of King Charles II of Naples , married in Santa Maria de Vilabertran .

As a result of this growing political and religious importance, Vilabertran experienced a considerable increase in the number of monastic buildings.

1592 the monastery was by Pope Clement VIII. - at the request of King Philip II. - secularized ; Santa Maria therefore became a collegiate church with archpriests .

The monastery's final decline began in the late 18th century with the attack and capture by Napoleonic troops in 1794 and the subsequent looting of the archive and library and the destruction of the tombs in the monastery church.

1835 abandoned because of a decree by the regent María Cristina de Borbón decreed disentailment the last remaining priest of the monastery.

The first restoration work began in 1934 and has continued to this day, with interruptions in the war. During the Spanish Civil War , the monastery area was used as an ammunition depot.

The Monestir de Santa Maria de Vilabertran has been owned by the Generalitat de Catalunya since 1980 and is managed by the Historical Museum of the City of Barcelona .

architecture

The monastery ensemble shows style elements of the Romanesque, Gothic, Late Gothic and traditional architecture from the period XI.-XII. Century, XII. – XIII. Century, XIV. –XV. Century and the XVI. and XVIII. Century. The Romanesque church from the 11th century has a square base with barrel vaults and is divided into three naves by two rows of columns . The Romanesque monastery, built in the 12th century, was constructed very simply and with inconsistent galleries and barrel vaults; The various rooms of the monastery are grouped around the cloister, such as the sacristy , the dormitory and the kitchen area. The monastery palace, built in the 15th century to defend itself against pirate attacks , and the protective wall of the monastery complex have Gothic and late Gothic style elements.

Romanesque cloister

The cloister , which was added to the south of the church in the 12th century, is trapezoidal and has four galleries - each with (with one exception) eight arches with pairs of columns and pillars. The simplicity of the construction was presumably inspired by the contemporary Cistercian architecture.

Lombard tower

Of the two originally planned church towers, only one was built in the north-western area of ​​the church. The three-story tower - with open double arches in the Lombard style - was built towards the end of the 11th century.

Gothic palace

Between 1410 and 1424, under Abbot Antoni Girgós (1410–1435), most of the Gothic palace and the defensive walls of the monastery were built; In 1448 work was continued. The monastery palace consists of three building wings, which were added in a U-shape to the existing monastery building to the southeast and thus encompass an inner courtyard that is closed on all sides. The main facade has a large entrance gate with a sculpture of the Virgin , after which the monastery of Santa Maria de Vilabertran was named. On one side of the palace ensemble is a crenellated tower.

Gothic cross

The church houses a glass display case with a richly decorated gold-plated Gothic silver cross from the 14th century, which is considered a masterpiece of Catalan gold and silversmiths. It is located in a small Gothic side chapel belonging to the Rocabertí family, who was important and influential at the time and belongs to this family.

Burial places

Within the convent are - besides the grave plate of the king Alfons II. The Keuschen and the coffin of Kloster founder Pere Rigald - a variety of other grave Insert superscript church and secular personalities; in particular by abbots of the monastery and important local aristocratic families - above all, the Rocabertís, who had one of their family seats in neighboring Peralada in the Castell de Peralada . With Dalmau de Rocabertí , the Rocabertí also provided an abbot of the monastery (1347-1348) and had their own family chapel here.

Todays use

The monastery is managed by the Historical Museum of the City of Barcelona and is the venue for numerous cultural and educational events. The Franz Schubert Festival Schubertíada Vilabertran takes place here every year.

The Monestir Santa Maria de Vilabertran is located on the Camino Catalán , the Catalan section of the Camino de Santiago ; it can be viewed publicly on certain weekdays and public holidays for an entrance fee or free of charge.

See also

literature

  • BADIA I HOMS, Joan: Catalunya romànica. Vol. IX. L'Empodà II. Enciclopèdia Catalana. Barcelona, ​​1990
  • GOLOBARDES VILA, Miguel: El monasterio de Santa María de Vilabertran. Biblioteca del Palacio de Perelada. J. Porter Ed. Barcelona, ​​1949
  • MARQUÈS I PLANAGUMÀ, Josep M: Canònica de Santa Maria de Vilabertran. Curial Edicions Catalanes. Barcelona, ​​1993
  • RIU-BARRERA, Eduard: L'art gòtic a Catalunya. Arquitectura III. Dels palaus a les masies. Enciclopèdia Catalana. Barcelona, ​​2003

Web links

Commons : Monestir de Santa Maria de Vilabertran  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. CANÒNICA DE SANTA MARIA DE VILABERTRAN. In. cultura.gencat.cat (Catalan) ( Memento of the original from November 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / cultura.gencat.cat
  2. CANÒNICA DE SANTA MARIA DE VILABERTRAN. In: cultura.gencat.cat (Catalan) ( Memento of the original from November 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / cultura.gencat.cat
  3. Santa Maria de Vilabertran: el claustre. In: poblesdecatalunya.cat (Catalan)
  4. Santa Maria de Vilabertran: el campanar. In: poblesdecatalunya.cat (Catalan)
  5. Santa Maria de Vilabertran: la creu gòtica . In: poblesdecatalunya.cat (Catalan)
  6. Restauració de Santa Maria de Vilabertran: La Capella dels Rocabertí. In: mgc.es
  7. Canonica de Santa Maria de Vilabertran (Vilabertran). In: mhcat.cat (Catalan) ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mhcat.cat
  8. ^ Monestir de Santa Maria de Vilabertran. In: poblesdecatalunya.cat (Catalan)
  9. ^ Schubertíada Vilabertran . In: schubertiadavilabertran.cat
  10. ^ Tram de la Jonquera a Vilabertran. In: camidesantjaume.cat (Catalan) ( Memento of the original from November 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.camidesantjaume.cat
  11. tariff / Horaris. In: mhcat.cat (Catalan) ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mhcat.cat

Coordinates: 42 ° 16 ′ 55.7 "  N , 2 ° 58 ′ 44.6"  E