Santa María de Montederramo

Montederramo, Spain

Santa María de Montederramo's origins seem to have been the old Church of San Juan, which grew into a monastery. It was founded as a Cistercian monastery by Doña Teresa, Alfonso VII´s daughter, in 1142, bringing French nuns from Claraval. Other writers refer to it as Cistercian in the year 1153, when it adopted the worship of St. Mary.

In the year 1528, it joined the Cistercian Congregation, in Spain, with the building´s reconstruction beginning at that time, including the church, with most of the work taking place during the 16th century. The slender church stands on a Latin-cross ground plan, with three aisles in five sections along the main arm; side arms marked on the ground floor, five rectangular chapels, the central the main one. The aisles have Ogival, ribbed vaults, with lunettes and coffering. In the transept, there is a dome over pendentives with cupola. The facade flay and austere. The church was begun in the year 1598, with Juan de Tolosa as master-architect, from the Company of Jesus, and creator of the Hospital of Medina del Campo, in addition to other builders. Construction work ended in the year 1607, inscreibed on the facade.

The monastery has two cloisters, the oldest of which is in evolved Ogival style, square, with five semi-circular arches per side and nine-pointed star-vaults; the upper part has Renaissance and Baroque arches and windows. The second cloister is square, elegant, with four semi-circular arches per side over free-standing Renaissance columns, and sculpted medallions and shields, all dating from the 16th century. It also has a large, monumental stairway down to the church and a fine sacristy.The regular or processional cloister is connected to the church. In the early 1980s this area was rescued from a state of ruin, and once restored it began to be used as a school.

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Details

Founded: 1142
Category: Religious sites in Spain

More Information

www.turismo.gal

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Sergio Fernández Bueno (2 years ago)
Monastery that has suffered stages of abandonment, and deteriorated areas are still observed. A part of the monastery is privately owned. The rooms around one of the cloisters were used as a municipal school during the 20th century. It has a beautiful altarpiece on the main altar and a good choir. The facade is quite simple. The visit is guided.
María (2 years ago)
Monastery affected by the confiscation of Mendizabal which caused part of the architectural complex to pass into private hands. The deterioration suffered by a work of Cistercian art is regrettable.
Laura Premoselli (2 years ago)
12th century. Interesting. How much history! There needs to be more maintenance.
Joan Sala (3 years ago)
A very interesting place. Parts have been restored and these look spectacular. Other corners are more abandoned by the hand of God. The proximity of restaurants and bars have turned it into a somewhat dirty place, typical of a “botellón”, full of piss, cigarette butts, bar tables… I hope they find a solution to this mess, because Montederramo deserves better treatment.
Nel Peñes (3 years ago)
Very peculiar monastery, which is worth visiting. The visit is guided, very interesting, a very good guide, and tickets are obtained at the tourist information office, which is opposite. The church is impressive, with a very interesting altarpiece, choir, stalls. Afterwards, 2 cloisters are visited, one was a schoolyard until recently, and in the other there are numerous private homes, inhabited until recent times, and you can see the result of the chaotic and aberrant reforms made by the owners: aluminum windows, stairs of all kinds, doors with bars, a balcony covering part of a niche,... Today there is a restaurant open occupying part of the building. In short, a site worth visiting.
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