Santa Cruz de Castañeda Church

Castañeda, Spain

Because of its location, the collegiate church of Santa Cruz de Castañeda came to be part of the Pilgrim's Road to Santiago de Compostela. The existing building is from the 12th century, although the church, in Romanesque style, and a monastery, previously stood on the site.

Initially its plan had one nave and three apses, but it was later altered, adding 2 naves to the structure. One of them is in the Gothic style and the other later (17th century). They transformed the southern apse into a private chapel and sacristy in the Baroque style. On the capitals of the columns, which are preserved in perfect condition, the animal and vegetable iconography is outstanding. The Gothic Way of the Cross (there are no others like it in all Cantabria) the Baroque reredoses and 2 carvings of the Virgin with Child must not be missed.

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Details

Founded: 12th century
Category: Religious sites in Spain

More Information

www.spain.info

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

ion lizaso (3 years ago)
Awesome. It is difficult to find but it is a very good visit
JOSE BLAZQUEZ (4 years ago)
I just want to denounce a farm that is next door because of the danger it has, it is right next to the collegiate church on the left hand side ...,. It is fenced with an electrified gate and totally without warning of danger and totally exposed at the foot of the ground With the consequent danger that any person and especially children, as they do not have any barrier that prevents children from approaching, and also a person from the farm became a madman because in our case he got a puppy with the consequent electric shock. and instead of helping, his reaction was to insult. I insist on being careful with children and pets there is no barrier or warning of danger. Attached photos of the state of the ELECTRIFIED fence.
Álvaro Menéndez Bartolomé (4 years ago)
It owes its name to the relic of the ‘lignum Crucis’ that it still preserves inside (photo attached). The origin of the place dates back to the IX-X century, with the founding of a Benedictine abbey (documents dated between 1024 and 1073 attest to this). Today there is nothing left of such a monastery-abbey, with an abbey character from the beginning. The monastery, already in the twelfth century, became a collegiate church and was taken over by the order: the Augustinians, its canons being the order of Saint Augustine. From that moment we have the current Romanesque part that is still preserved (not all 100% is Romanesque. Although it is said that it never had a cloister, it is not so clear due to certain preserved arches and columns that are part of the current building and which were typical of Romanesque cloisters It would be strange if an abbey of Benedictine origin had not had a cloister. The collegiate church that at the time had canons (‘colegium’) today only preserves the name, since it is currently a parish in service of the local community, without the canonical title of collegiate church. It is a jewel worth visiting. You must make an appointment by email (photo attached). The guide is quite complete and explained so that even the most lay person in the field can get into the spirituality of Romanesque, at least in the basics.
Toni Rguez (4 years ago)
Magnificent Romanesque church, with a fantastic baroque altarpiece. The best, the guide, which makes the visit very enjoyable and instructive. Totally recommendable You just have to make a voluntary donation (a question that we all had to do to maintain this heritage). I wish other churches and collegiate churches of artistic value in Cantabria or Asturias had guided tours of this quality.
Diego Alonso (7 years ago)
Good example of romanic in the region
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