The small and beautiful Romanesque church in Bembrive presides this parish of Vigo since the 12th century and is one of the most significant examples of religious architecture in Vigo.
This Romanesque church in Vigo was probably constructed over an ancient monastic temple, since the name of the church’s neighbourhood is Mosteiro (Monastery).
The single nave church's tympanum holds a beautiful Celtic cross. There are also other Celtic symbols inside (spirals and circles), so historians believe that before this Romanesque church stood another Celtic temple of Early Christian origin. Its beautiful apse is decorated with vegetable and anthropomorphic motifs.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.