Santuari de Meritxell
The Santuari de Meritxell (dt .: Shrine of Our Lady of Meritxell ) is located in Meritxell , a district of the Andorran community of Canillo . The Virgin of Meritxell , patron saint of the Principality of Andorra, is venerated in the minor basilica . The building complex is on the list of cultural monuments in Canillo .
history
According to legend, in the 12th century a shepherd found a statue of the Madonna under a blooming rose on a winter's day and took it home. However, the statue returned three times to the same place where he found it. Eventually the local residents decided to build a chapel there and put the painted statue in an altar niche.
In 1873 the General Council of Valleys declared the country's patronage over the chapel. The statue of the Virgin Mary was crowned on September 8, 1921 . Since then, the day of Nossa Senhora de Meritxell has been celebrated as the national holiday of the Principality of Andorra.
The original chapel was built in the Romanesque style and was completely renovated in the 17th century. In 1972, the night after the national holiday, the sanctuary caught fire and was completely devastated. In the fire, the Romanesque carving of the Virgin, the oldest in the principality, was destroyed along with the interior. Today you can see an exhibition about the history of the place in the restored part of the building.
Church building
The construction of a new sanctuary to the south was carried out by the Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill from September 8, 1974. The much larger building with the building materials glass, copper and natural stone forms a mixture of elements such as the Romanesque arches and an Islamic-inspired fountain. It forms an axis over the "concave amphitheater, the giant steps, the bridge over the street, the towers, the Romanesque arches, the promenade, the convex theater, the bubbling fountain and the shaped colonnade." One goal was to merge the church with the surrounding landscape. The new building was on September 8, 1976 inaugurated . A replica of the Romanesque Madonna is shown inside.
The sanctuary was on May 13, 2014. Pope Francis for minor Basilica raised as exactly one hundred years after the papal declaration of the Virgin of Meritxell patron saint of the Valleys of Andorra at times of St. Pius X was celebrated.
Web links
- Sanctuari di Meritxell (Catalan)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sightseeing Andorra. Retrieved September 19, 2017 .
- ↑ Meritxell on andorraweb.de
- ↑ Andorra on derreisefuehrer.com
- ^ Andorra Turisme: Basílica Santuario de Meritxell. Retrieved July 14, 2016 .
- ↑ arch daily
- ↑ Basílica Santuari de la Mare de Déu de Meritxell on gcatholic.org
Coordinates: 42 ° 33 ′ 16.4 " N , 1 ° 35 ′ 26.8" E