Carboeiro Monastery

The Monastery of San Lorenzo de Carboeiro is one of the most outstanding architectural works of the late Romanesque, the transition to the Gothic, in Galicia.

Its gestation was founded in the year 939 AD. When the construction was completed, the priest Felix was chosen as the first abbot of the community.

Its moments of greatest splendor were between 11th and 13th centuries. Abbot Fernando, from 1162 to 1192, expanded the church. At this stage the monastery belonged to the 'Cluny' order, and for a long period has a rich estate.

During the 15th century lawsuits, neglect and mismanagement, lead to the community’s ruin, and in 1500 by order of Ferdinand and Isabella, it is relegated to the status of priory, a farm for San Martiño Pinario in Santiago, prolonging its decline, including a prison built for monks in 1794  and  until 1836, coinciding with tits confiscation by  Mendizabal, and its total abandonment.

The church and some other buildings are still in good condition, after the works of restoration and recovery made during the second half of the twentieth century.

References:

• Silleda Tourism

Address

Estrada ó Mosteiro de Carboeiro, Silleda, Spain

Details

Founded: 936 AD
Category: Religious sites in Spain