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, 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, 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 and Santes Creus.)

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). 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 (1276) * Peter IV (1387), and his first three wives Maria of Navarre, Eleanor of Portugal, and Eleanor of Sicily *

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 and Violant of Bar *

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 * Alfonso V (1458) * John II (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 (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 Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal in 1835 during

Isabella II of Spain Isabella II (, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella wa ...

's rule. The ''Desamortización'' or secularization of the place brought monastic life to an end. On 24 July of the same year the monastery was plundered by representatives of the Mendizábal's government and unruly mobs. During the events all valuable paintings and furniture were removed and dispersed. Also parts of the monastery were destroyed by fire. In the years that followed, the Monastery fell into disrepair and ruin; some of the main roofs caved in. The tombs of the rulers of the Crown of Aragon were desecrated and the remains were transferred and kept for a while in the Cathedral of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

, thanks to the intervention of Rev. Antoni Serret from the neighboring town of L'Espluga. Finally the monastery was refounded in 1940 by Italian monks of the same order and repair and reconstruction began. Close to the entrance of the church one building has been kept in a ruined state as a reminder. Remains of the deceased of the ancient Royal House of Aragon were put back in sepulchres, but are now co-mingled. Poblet belongs to the Cistercian Congregation of the Crown of Aragon, along with Santa Maria de Solius and convents such as Santa Maria de Vallbona and Santa Maria de Valldonzella. The Abbot of Poblet is the ''ex officio'' chairman of the Congregation. Today the monastic community of Poblet is composed of 29 professed monks, 1 regular oblate, 1 novice and 2 familiars. Poblet Monastery has been a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

since 1991. The altar (1527) was sculpted by Damián Forment. In 2010, Spanish architect Mariano Bayón designed the Poblet Monastery Guesthouse.

Abbots

The current abbot is the 105th abbot. * 1954–1966: Edmon Maria Garreta i Olivella * 1966–1970: Robert Saladrigues * 1970–1998: Maurus Esteva Alsina * 1998–2015: Josep Alegre i Vilas * 2015–current: Octavi Vilà i Mayo

Gallery

Image:Plano Poblet224.jpg, Poblet ground plan File:Spain PobletMonastry Entrance.jpg, Gate File:Poblet-Reial Monestir de Poblet 15.JPG, Main

belltower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church (building), church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many ...

File:Tombs of Ferdinand I of Aragon and Eleanor of Albuquerque - Monastery of Poblet - Catalonia 2014.JPG, Tomb of Ferdinand I of Aragon and Eleanor of Albuquerque of Aragon within the Reial Monestir de Poblet File:Tomb of James I of Aragon - Monastery of Poblet - Catalonia 2014.jpg, Tomb of

File:PobletPanteo.jpg, Part of the Royal Pantheon after restoration File:Fuente de Poblet.jpg, Fountain for ablutions in one of the

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

s File:Real Monasterio de Santa Maria de Poblet - Barandilla 3.jpg, Dragon handrail by Ramon Martí i Martí File:MARIANO BAYÓN Nueva Hospedería del Monasterio de Poblet.JPG, Poblet Monastery Guesthouse in Tarragona. Architect Mariano Bayón. 2010

References

External links

The "Montserrat Tarradellas i Macià" Archive
(in Catalan, Spanish and English)
Monestir de Poblet Official website

(Catalan only) {{Authority control Monasteries in Catalonia Cistercian monasteries in the Crown of Aragon Cistercian monasteries in Spain World Heritage Sites in Catalonia 1151 establishments in Europe Catalan symbols Basilica churches in Spain Romanesque architecture in Catalonia Christian monasteries established in the 1150s Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Tarragona Articles containing video clips Burial sites of the House of Barcelona Burial sites of Aragonese royal houses Burial sites of the House of Trastámara Conca de Barberà