Santa Maria de Serrateix is the Romanesque church of a former

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

abbey located on the BV-4235 road in Serrateix 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 ...

Berguedà Berguedà () is an inland Comarques of Catalonia, comarca in the Comarques Centrals, central region of Catalonia, Spain. It lies partly in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, and partly in the Catalan Central Depression. The capital is the city of Berg ...

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 ...

History

The monastery dates to c. 940 when a group of monks settled in the area. From 977, it came under the protection of the Counts of

Cerdanya Cerdanya (; , ; , ) or often La Cerdanya is a natural region, natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the Catalan counties, counties of Catalonia. Cerdanya has a ...

and

Besalú Besalú () is a town in the ''comarca'' of Garrotxa, in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current ''comarc ...

while Froila became the abbot (977-993). Housing 13 monks, it later received donations from

Oliba Cabreta Oliba Cabreta (c. 920 – 990) was the count of Cerdanya from 965 and count of Besalú from 984 until his abdication in 988. Life He was the fourth son of Miró II of Cerdanya, Miró II and Ava of Cerdanya, Ava. He inherited Cerdanya from his e ...

(whose

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

lies here) and his brother Miró. A new church built in 1077 was consecrated in 1126. In the fourteenth century, while only six monks were living there, the bell tower was destroyed but was rebuilt under the abbot Berenguer de Lluçà in 1373. The monastery later came under the authority of the

Bishop of Urgell The Diocese of Urgell (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Catalonia (Spain) and the Principality of Andorra in the historical County of Urgell,Neoclassical style between 1798 and 1827. The monastery was also transformed in the Neoclassical style by the architect Josep Torrevedella, the work being completed in 1793. The buildings suffered considerable damage during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

that destroyed several monastic dependencies. The tomb of Abbot Berenguer de Torigues was declared a

Bien de Interés Cultural (, , , ) is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Colombia and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" ("goods" in the economic sense). It includes not only mater ...

monument in 1982, now preserved in the Museu Diocesà i Comarcal de Solsona. Santa Maria de Serrateix became a Bien de Interés Cultural site in its own right on 1 June 1999.

References

External links

Monasterio de Santa Maria de Serrateix with several photographs
Benedictine monasteries in Catalonia Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Barcelona Christian monasteries established in the 10th century Romanesque architecture in Catalonia 10th-century establishments in Spain 940 establishments Religious buildings and structures completed in the 940s {{Spain-Christian-monastery-stub

History

References

Further reading

External links