Carboeiro Monastery, Silleda, Spain

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

User Reviews

Charo Rey (8 months ago)
Interesting and nice walk around it.

Maria Blanco (2 years ago)
Fillo of caracter

Orestes Carracedo (2 years ago)
Beautiful building surrounded by nature. Truly a nice place to explore una a calm sunny day. Stay for the sunset and make sure you bring a nice camera with you.

Alejandro García Permuy (3 years ago)
AMAZING EXPERIENCE. VISIT THE CRIPT

Andrea Urbán (3 years ago)
So this is the place where you pay 1.5 euros entry fee and you just wander around. First we looked around in the monastery, which is a wonderful building. You can climb up to the towers and down to the crypt. Really nice. Then you walk down to the bridge, which is again a tranquil place, fantastic structure. And it is not finished yet! Take the botanical walk, halfway through you will find a small house with a path leading down to the river bank.... take bathing suit! The water is fresh but clean, sunbathing there and listening to the water flowing. Such a magical and quiet place! Absolute worth to visit!

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German crusaders known as the Livonian Brothers of the Sword began construction of the Cēsis castle (Wenden) near the hill fort in 1209. When the castle was enlarged and fortified, it served as the residence for the Order's Master from 1237 till 1561, with periodic interruptions. Its ruins are some of the most majestic castle ruins in the Baltic states. Once the most important castle of the Livonian Order, it was the official residence for the masters of the order.

In 1577, during the Livonian War, the garrison destroyed the castle to prevent it from falling into the control of Ivan the Terrible, who was decisively defeated in the Battle of Wenden (1578).

In 1598 it was incorporated into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Wenden Voivodship was created here. In 1620 Wenden was conquered by Sweden. It was rebuilt afterwards, but was destroyed again in 1703 during the Great Northern War by the Russian army and left in a ruined state. Already from the end of the 16th century, the premises of the Order's castle were adjusted to the requirements of the Cēsis Castle estate. When in 1777 the Cēsis Castle estate was obtained by Count Carl Sievers, he had his new residence house built on the site of the eastern block of the castle, joining its end wall with the fortification tower.

Since 1949, the Cēsis History Museum has been located in this New Castle of the Cēsis Castle estate. The front yard of the New Castle is enclosed by a granary and a stable-coach house, which now houses the Exhibition Hall of the Museum. Beside the granary there is the oldest brewery in Latvia, Cēsu alus darītava, which was built in 1878 during the later Count Sievers' time, but its origins date back to the period of the Livonian Order. Further on, the Cēsis Castle park is situated, which was laid out in 1812. The park has the romantic characteristic of that time, with its winding footpaths, exotic plants, and the waters of the pond reflecting the castle's ruins. Nowadays also one of the towers is open for tourists.

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