Monfero Abbey ( gl, Mosteiro de San Fiz de Monfero; es, Monasterio de Santa María de Monfero) is a former

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, 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 Sain ...

monastery dedicated to Mary, Mother of Jesus, in the province of

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and ...

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

, Spain. It is located in

Monfero Monfero is a municipality in the comarca of Eume in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. It has a population of 2,178 inhabitants (INE, 2011). Main sights * The "Fragas" of the River Eume Nat ...

Ferrolterra Ferrol is a coastal ''comarca'' in the northwest of the province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. It is also known as Ferrolterra. The area is 613.4 km2, and the overall population of this ''comarca'' was 161,154 at the 2011 Census; the latest offic ...

in the ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) 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 " ...

'' of

Eume O Eume is a comarca in the province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. Its capital is the municipality of Pontedeume. It contains five municipalities and 24,629 inhabitantsINE 2018 in an area of 538.7 km2. Municipalities The five municipalities w ...

, about 22 km to the north-east of

Betanzos Betanzos () is a municipality in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain in the province of A Coruña. It belongs to the comarca of Betanzos. In Roman times Betanzos was called Flauvium Brigantium or ''Brigantium''. During the ...

History

In the 10th century on the site of an earlier hermitage a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

monastery was founded, dedicated to

Saint Mark Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Accor ...

, and supported by king

Bermudo II Bermudo or Vermudo, from Latin Veremundus, is a given name of Germanic origin. It may refer to: * Veremund (fl. c. 500), Suevic king of Galicia * Bermudo I of Asturias (r. 788–91), king, called "the Deacon" (''el Diácono'') * Bermudo II of León ...

. It was destroyed by

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

raids, but later reconstructed under

Alfonso VII Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

in 1134 in collaboration with several nobles, including Alfonso Bermúdez, Count Pedro Osório and the Counts of Traba, who endowed it. The abbey joined the Cistercian order in 1147 as a daughter house of

Sobrado Abbey Sobrado Abbey, ( es, Monasterio de Santa María de Sobrado de los Monjes or gl, Mosteiro de Santa María de Sobrado dos Monxes) is a Cistercian monastery in the province of La Coruña, Galicia, Spain. It is situated in the municipality of Sobra ...

, of the filiation of Clairvaux. In the 16th century Monfero became part of the Castilian Cistercian Congregation. In the 17th century the Romanesque monastery was struck by lightning and destroyed. It was rebuilt between 1620 and 1658 in the Baroque style. In 1805 the church was again struck by lightning and damaged. The dissolution of the monasteries carried out by the government of

Mendizábal Mendizabal or Mendizábal is a Basque surname meaning 'wide mountain'. It may refer to: *Concepción Mendizábal Mendoza (1893–1985), first female civil engineer in Mexico *Enrique Mendizabal (1918–2017), Olympic Shooter for Peru at the 1948 Lo ...

brought the abbey to an end in 1835.

Buildings

The present building complex, a landmark of Monfero, is essentially that of the 17th century, constructed mostly of granite and slate on a site of outstanding natural beautyWebsite on the surrounding landscape
]. The church, which continues in operation, is built on the plan of a Latin cross with a single nave and two side aisles, and has a distinctive and well-known Baroque west front with four enormous half-pillars and two half-pilasters with a chequered design of inlaid tiles. The Baroque main altar was made in 1666. The church contains four Gothic architecture, Gothic tombs of the de

Andrade Andrade is a surname of Galician origin, which emerged in the 12th century as the family name of the knights and lords of the small parish of ''San Martiño de Andrade'' ( St. Martin of Andrade), in the municipality of Pontedeume. The first men ...

family. The former conventual buildings lie to the south of the church. Of the three cloisters that were once here, only a fragment remains of the Romanesque one.

Gallery

Mosteiro de Santa María de Monfero 5.jpg, Calvary in front of the abbey Mosteiro de Santa María de Monfero 9.jpg, Church front view Mosteiro de Santa María de Monfero 10.jpg, Church front view Mosteiro de Santa María de Monfero 33.jpg, Church's facade details Mosteiro de Santa María de Monfero 19.jpg, Church's roof Mosteiro de Santa María de Monfero 31.jpg, Abbey's vaults Mosteiro Monfero Interior.jpg, Cloister Monasterio de Santa María de Monfero (186601418).jpg, Cloister Mosteiro de Santa María de Monfero 24.jpg, Abbey seen from the backside Monastery_of_Santa_María_de_Monfero_-_Church_interior_dome_-_22_July_2012.jpg, Dome's interior view MosteiroMonfero_(15).jpg, Dome's interior view Monfero767.jpg, Church interior Monfero-Manasterio_de_Santa_María_16a.jpg, Tomb of lord Nuno Freire de Andrade, ''o Mao'' (died 1431), who ruled

Pontedeume Pontedeume () is a municipality in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. The town was founded ''ex novo'' by the town charter of Alfonso X the Wise in 1270. The town is located on the English Wa ...

Ferrol Ferrol may refer to: Places * Ferrol (comarca), a coastal region in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain * Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia, Spain ** Racing de Ferrol, an association football club * Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in ...

and

Vilalba Vilalba is a municipality in Galicia (Spain), in the province of Lugo, on the left bank of the river Ladra, one of the headstreams of the Miño. Pilgrim route Vilalba is located on the old pilgrim route from western Europe to Santiago de Comp ...

MosteiroMonfero_(23).jpg, Church altarpiece Mosteiro de Santa María de Monfero 30.jpg, Entrance Mosteiro de San Fiz de Monfero. Manancial.jpg, Fountain

Notes

External links

Celiberia.net: Monfero Abbey webpage

Sources

Janauschek, Leopold Leopold Janauschek (13 October 1827 – 23 July 1898) was an Austrian Cistercian historian. Life Janauschek was born at Brünn, Moravia. In 1846 he received the religious habit at the Cistercian Zwettl Abbey, Lower Austria, where he was prof ...

, 1877: ''Originum Cisterciensium Liber Primus'' (repr. 1964). Vienna {{Commonscat, Monastery of Santa María de Monfero, Monfero Abbey Cistercian monasteries in Spain Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Benedictine monasteries in Spain Monasteries in Galicia (Spain) 1835 disestablishments Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of A Coruña