Poblet Abbey, otherwise the Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet (), is a
Cistercian
The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
monastery, founded in 1151, located at the foot of the
Prades Mountains
Prades Mountains, also known as Muntanyes de Prades, is a large calcareous mountain massif straddling the comarcas of Alt Camp, Baix Camp, Conca de Barberà, Garrigues and Priorat, in Catalonia, Spain. They are a Site of Community Importance.
T ...
, in the
comarca
A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...
of
Conca de Barberà
Conca de Barberà () is a comarca (county) in the region of Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Its total area is , and its capital is Montblanc.
At its creation in 1936, it contained 23 municipalities, but in 1990, several of these were amal ...
, in
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
(
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
). It was founded by Cistercian monks from France. The main architect was .
This monastery was the first of three sister monasteries, known as the Cistercian triangle, that helped consolidate power in Catalonia in the 12th century. (The other two are
Vallbona de les Monges
Vallbona de les Monges () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Urgell in Catalonia, Spain. It is located at the southern end of the comarca, north of the Serra del Tallat, Catalan Pre-Coastal Range, where many wind turbines have been inst ...
and
Santes Creus
The Monastery of ''Santa Maria de Santes Creus'', () is a former Cistercian monastery in the municipality of Aiguamúrcia, Catalonia, Spain.
The abbey was erected in the 12th century, in today's municipality of Aiguamúrcia, in the village of ...
.)
Significance
Poblet was one of the two royal pantheons of the kings of the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...
since
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...
(along with
Monastery of San Juan de la Peña
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...
). Some of the most important royal sepulchres have
alabaster
Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...
statues that lie over the tomb. The kings have lion sculptures at their feet, while the queens have dogs.
Peter IV of Aragon
Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...
(1319 – 1387) made it a condition, under solemn oath at the moment of crowning, that all the Aragonese kings be buried there. Only
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...
broke the oath, after his kingdoms had been merged with the
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...
, and was buried in
Granada
Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
.
At the height of its splendor, the monastery was home to more than 300 monks and had numerous "Cistercian farms" run by lay brothers who exploited its agricultural land and forests. The monastery buildings occupy about .
Burials
The following kings and queens of Aragon are buried at Poblet Monastery:
*
Alfonso II (1196)
*
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
* James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
* James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
* James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334� ...
(1276)
*
Peter IV (1387), and his first three wives
Maria of Navarre
Maria of Navarre (; 1329 – 29 April 1347) was Queen of Aragon from 1338 until her death as the first of four wives of Peter IV of Aragon.
Childhood
Maria was the second child of Joan II of Navarre and Philip III of Navarre, born a year ...
,
Eleanor of Portugal, and
Eleanor of Sicily
Eleanor of Sicily (1325–1375) was Queen of Aragon from 1349 until 1375 as the third wife of King Peter IV.
Early life
Eleanor was the daughter of Peter II of Sicily and Elisabeth of Carinthia. She was the second of eight children, six of w ...
*
John I John I may refer to:
People
Religious figures
* John I (bishop of Jerusalem)
* John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople
* John I of Antioch (died 441)
* Pope John I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope from 496 to 505
* Pope John I, P ...
(1396), and his wives,
Martha of Armagnac
Martha of Armagnac (after 18 February 1347 – 23 October 1378) was the youngest child of John I, Count of Armagnac, and his second wife Beatrice of Clermont. She was the first wife of John I of Aragon but never became Queen of Aragon because she ...
and
Violant of Bar
Violant of Bar (c. 1365 – 3 July 1431) was Queen of Aragon by marriage to King John I of Aragon. She was active in matrimonial politics and served as regent of Aragon in the name of her spouse from 1388 until 1395.
Life
Violant was the daughte ...
*
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Europe
* Martin, Croatia, a village
* Martin, Slovakia, a city
* Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain
* M ...
(1410), and his first wife,
Maria de Luna
*
Ferdinand I (1416), and his wife,
Eleanor of Alburquerque
Eleanor of Alburquerque (1374 – 16 December 1435) was a Castilian noblewoman, Countess of Alburquerque, who became List of Aragonese consorts, Queen of Aragon by her marriage to Ferdinand I of Aragon. She was the regent of Aragon during th ...
*
Alfonso V Alfonso V (Spanish), Afonso V (Portuguese), Alfons V (Catalan) or Alphonse V (French) may refer to:
* Alfonso V of León (999–1028)
* Alfonso V of Aragon (1416–1458), The Magnanimous
* Afonso V of Portugal (), The African
* Afonso V of Kongo Af ...
(1458)
*
John II John II may refer to:
People
* John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499)
* John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672)
* John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302)
* John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318)
* John II Komnenos (1087–114 ...
(1479), and his second wife,
Joana Enríquez
Additional notable figures interred here include the Hungarian queen
Beatrice of Naples
Beatrice of Naples (16 November 1457 – 23 September 1508), also known as Beatrice of Aragon (; ), was twice Queen of Hungary and of Bohemia by marriage to Matthias Corvinus and Vladislaus II. She was the daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples ...
(1508),
Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton
Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton Privy Council of Ireland, PC (21 December 1698 – 31 May 1731) was an English peer and Jacobitism, Jacobite politician who was one of the few people in the history of England, and the first since the 15th c ...
(1731) and
Archduke Karl Pius of Austria, Prince of Tuscany
Archduke Karl Pius of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, Prince of Tuscany (4 December 1909 – 24 December 1953), known as Carlos Pío de Habsburgo-Lorena y de Borbón in Spanish, was a member of the Tuscan branch of the Imperial ...
,
Carlist-Carloctavismo pretender as "Carlos VIII" (1953).
The tombs of the royals were restored by the Catalan sculptor Frederic Marés in 1948.
Ruin and rebuilding
The monastery, which had already suffered damage during the
First Carlist War
The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...
, was closed down due to the