romanesque churches

8
COME AND DISCOVER IT LA VALL DE BIANYA CONSELL MUNICIPAL DE TURISME Ajuntament de la Vall de Bianya Romanesque Churches www.valldebianya.com ENG Visit us

Upload: david-aulinas

Post on 10-Mar-2016

224 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

DESCRIPTION

La Vall de Bianya is a set of large and small valleys that form a privileged region with meadows, woodlands, brooks and streams.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Romanesque Churches

COME AND DISCOVER IT

LA VALL DE BIANYA

CONSELL MUNICIPAL DE TURISME

Ajuntament de la Vall de Bianya

Romanesque Churches

www.valldebianya.com

ENGVisit us

Page 2: Romanesque Churches

Index

Contents

La Vall de Bianya

9. Santa Magdalena del Coll

10. Santa Margarida de Bianya

11. Santa Maria de Castellar

12. Santa Maria de Sacot

13. Sant Andreu de Porreres

14. Sant Andreu de Socarrats

15. Sant Feliu del Bac

Map of situation

La Vall de Bianya is a set of large and small valleys that form a privileged region with meadows, woodlands, brooks and streams.

This municipality is made up of several little villages spread around the territory, most of which are built by Romanesque churches.

The valley has got a lot of stories to be told about its own history, since there is the well-known Capsacosta Roman Road, which crosses the village. It is considered as a secondary path that joined up with Via Augusta, the main way leading to Rome.

Furthermore, there is around a fortnight of Romanesque churches which enrich the valleys with its wonderful beauty and fi ll in the idyllic landscape with their valvable cultural heritage.

Dossier:

La Vall de BianyaThe romanesque churches

La Vall de Bianya

1. Sant Martí de Capsec

2. Sant Martí del Clot

3. Sant Martí de Solamal

4. Sant Miquel del Mont

5. Sant Miquel de la Torre

6. Sant Pere Despuig

7. Sant Ponç d’Aulina

8. Sant Salvador de Bianya

Page 3: Romanesque Churches

Romanesque churches

in Vall de Bianya

Sant Martí de Capsec

The church of Sant Martí de Capsec, dating from the 12th century, is one of the most pleasant and attractive Roman-esque buildings in the municipal-ity of la Vall de Bianya. Its high belfry tower, built onto the west facade, was modifi ed at later dates and is the feature, which particularly stands out.

The plan of the church is just one big nave, with a slightly pointed barrel vault. On the northern side of the chancel there is an apse, which seems to correspond more to the previous church than to the present one. On the opposite side there is a vestry. Earthquakes in the 15th century caused serious damage to the building, which had to be rebuilt.

In 1994 restoration was under-taken which allowed the removal of a series of objects that con-

cealed original murals. The en-trance door is near noon. The baptismal font, decorated in a very simple fashion, is of a great interest.

Sant Martí del Clot

The old name for this parish church is Sant Martí de Torna-dissa, it has also been known throughout history as Sant Martí del Clot. We have knowledge of its existence since the 13th cen-tury and we also know that it was badly damaged in the earth-quakes in the 15th century. At the entrance door, at noon, there is an inscription on the keystone, which refers to the reconstruc-tion that had to be done for the building.

The oldest part, dating from the 12th century, was modifi ed with the addition of lateral chapels and vestry. The church was also heightened. At the front there is a semi-circular apse with a

central arched window, which at present is blocked.

In 1936 the church was burned fi re. After 1939, to conceal the blackened stone, the whole inte-rior of the church was plastered. The rectangular belfry tower is found at the extreme south-east of the building. The temple still retains its status as parish church.

Sant Martí de Solamal

Sant Martí de Solamal was once an independent parish until the end of the 16th century. In the year 979, the Bishop-Count Miró of Besalú handed the church over to the monastery of Cam-prodon, this possession was later confi rmed in 1169.

The church stands upon a small area of raised land. It consists of one single nave, with a semi-circular apse at the chancel that contains a frieze held by but-tresses decorated with fi gures,

1

2

3

Church of Sant Martí de Solamal

Church of Santa Margarida de Bianya

Page 4: Romanesque Churches

some of which are rather dete-riorated.

At later periods constructions were added to the original build-ing, such as, the house destined to be the belfry, on the south side, and the vestry, to the north. The main facade, with a lintelled entrance door and half-pointed arch, is found to the west. In this part of the build-ing you will fi nd the belfry tower, rebuilt on various occasions, with openings in each side and a four-sided, slanted roof. The baptismal font is of a particular interest, in the form of a cup and decorated on the underside with cable moulding.

Sant Miquel del Mont

Sant Miquel del Mont chapel cor-responds to Romanesque archi-tectural characteristics from the 12th century. It consists of one single nave with a slightly point-ed barrel vault. The chancel, in the east, is formed by a semicir-cular apse that has a one-paned window at the centre, which has been blocked on the outside.

The front door, at noon, has a rectangular form, plain lintel and frontispiece, along with three graded half pointed arches. At its side there is a double sided win-dow, with a half-pointed arch.

Restored in different occasions, in 1933 important building work was undertaken, as it is shown in the “goigs” (local religious song) dedicated to the archangel. The bell gable, with two openings, forms part of the west wall, rein-forced on the inside. The chapel is considered to have been built where there had previously been a Roman watchtower.

The fi rst dated historical ref-erence, in the year 958, cor-responds to the previous

chapel of this present one.

Sant Miquel de la Torre

The old name for this church is Sant Miquel d’Avellaneda, which was maintained up until the be-ginning of the 20th century. It is mentioned in a document from 998, where there is talk of the donation of tenths from the par-ish to the Abbot at the monas-tery of Besalú.

In the 18th century it was sub-ject to the parish of la Vall del Bac. At the moment it is the best preserved church in the area and the one which is used by the reduced number of religious ser-vices that are held there.

4

5

It is a rectangular building, with no differentiation between apse and chancel. In this part of the building the vestry was added but is where it was dispensed with in 1989. The portal open-ing has a half-pointed arch, it is next to noon, where there are two double-sided half-rounded windows.

The western wall, which has a long narrow window, ends in a bell gable with two openings. This church dates from the end of the 12th century or the begin-ning of the 13th century.

Sant Pere Despuig

In the year 964 the church of <Sancti Petri, constructam in territorio de Bianya... in loco qui dicitur Puig> was consecrated. This is one of the fi rst accounts that is found of the temple. Cen-turies later it became known as Sant Pere Espuig or Sant Pere Despuig, with the article inserted into the original name.

In the 18th century the original orientation of the church was turned, giving it a north-south orientation. This suggests that there is little left from the 12th century Romanesque building created after the 10th century disputes. These relics are en-countered at the extreme south-west of the building, where there is a belfry tower constructed, modifi ed at later dates.

The present entrance door, at noon, has a lintel with the date 1782 inscribed. This parish

church contained a seated, Ro-manesque, statue of the Virgin Mary, worshiped under the name Mare de Deú de Gràcia.

Sant Ponç d’Aulina

This has a Romanesque origin, its initial structure has been much changed over the centu-ries, especially, in the 18th cen-tury, when there were important building works undertaken due to the fact that the church was almost in ruins. Because of this, any services were suspended.

It has just one rectangular nave, without a protruding apse. The chancel or presbytery, keeping with Romanesque orientation of buildings, is found in the east. The tower belfry with a four sid-ed slanted roof and is found at north-east of the building.

The entrance door, to the west, has got a simple design, with a plain frontispiece and a lintel decorated with a cross sculpted within a circle.

The church was restored in 1994. The remains of Roman-esque painting, of particular in-terest, are on the half-pointed arched window, open to the wall at noon. The parallelopedic baptism font is decorated with a cable moulding border, an ex-ceptional, unique piece.

Sant Salvador de Bianya

The church of Sant Salvador de Bianya was consecrated in the year 1170. For many years it

was part of the property of the monastery in Sant Joan de les Abadesses.

The church has one single nave, with a slightly pointed barrel vault. The chancel is to the east, formed by a semi-circular apse with a double-sided central win-dow.

The columns, capitals and arch-es that adorn the exterior part of this window are of particular in-terest, as well as the buttresses that decorate the upper part of the apse. The church has had some extensions. The tower bel-fry is on top of the west facade.

In the year 1911, some resto-ration work was inaugurated, which included the columns and capitals of the entrance door and the outer side of the window in the apse.

The immersed baptism font is decorated in high relief. The holy water stoup is of great interest, as it is fully decorated.

Santa Magdalena del Coll

Historical data related to this church is very little.

In the 18th century it lived a glo-rious period, which had a lot to do with the increase in popular-ity and devotion to the patron saint.

According to old tradition, in the mid 19th century, large festivals were held there at Easter and on

6

7

8

9

Church of Sant Martí de Capsec

Page 5: Romanesque Churches

22nd of July, being the Saint’s day.

Currently, the church is in very bad conditions, practically in ru-ins, one side is destroyed and there are large cracks in the walls. It is a straightforward con-struction, dating back to the end of the 12th century, beginning of the 13th century, with some modifi cations undertaken at lat-er periods.

It has one single, rectangular nave, with the chancel to the east, where there is a vestry. The keystones entrance door with a half pointed arch, is in the western wall. Above it there is an original Romanesque win-dow. The rebuilt steeple has just one opening.

Santa Margarida de Bianya

The church of Santa Margarida de Bianya was donated to the monastery of Riudaura in 858 and later in 953 it became under the jurisdiction of Santa Maria de la Grassa.

It was quite badly damaged by the earthquakes in the 15th cen-tury, but it preserves a great deal of its original architecture, which corresponds to the 12th century. There is just one nave but, at a later date, a chapel was added onto each side giving it the form of a cross. The chancel is formed by an apse, where there are three windows with half-pointed arches, a capitol and a frieze held by buttresses.

The existence of a small apse to the north lets people think that the church was initially a basilical plan or with a transverse nave. The vestry, added onto the south side, occupies the space where there is believed to have been another symmetrical apse.

The original entrance door, found next to noon, is blocked up. The tower belfry is built onto the west facade, where there is a neoclassical portal dating from the 19th century.

Santa Maria de Castellar

The initial structure of the church was modifi ed, with extensions built on to it at different periods, above all in the 18th century. Orientated from east to west, the building corresponds to the architectural characteristics of the 12th century.

It has a single rectangular nave, with a barrel vault. The chancel is formed by a semi-circular apse at the centre there is a window which has had its arch modi-fi ed. The keystones entrance door with a half-pointed arch is next to noon. The belfry towers

have two slanted roofs that have openings on each of the four sides. Inside the church there is a straightforward, undecorated, immersion baptismal font.

We have had information on Santa Maria de Castellar de la Muntanya since 1079.

It was subject to the monastery in Sant Joan les Fonts, which was given along with its subject churches to Sant Victor de Mar-sella.

Santa Maria de Sacot

The old name for this church is Santa Maria de Sacot, which has remained right up to the present today. It is also known as Santa Maria de Llongarriu and la Mare de Déu dels Ángels de Llongar-riu.

This building, dating from 12th or beginning of the 13th century, is made up of one single, rectan-gular nave, without a differen-tiated apse. The barrel vault is slightly pointed. The rectangular entrance door is placed in the western facade. There is a text engraved on the lintel, dated 1672. The steepled belfry, which has two openings, rises up from this same facade or western wall.

There are two double-paned windows with half-pointed arch-es built into the wall at noon. It belonged to the monastery from Camprodon. It was quite badly damaged by the earthquakes in the 15th century, making it

10

11

12

Church of Sant Martí de Capsec

Page 6: Romanesque Churches

necessary for restoration work to be done that lasted for many years. It was once a parish church, but in the mid 16th cen-tury it became subject to Sant Andreu de Porreres.

Sant Andreu de Porreres

Sant Andreu de Porreres was once the main place of worship in the parish of the Vall del Bac. Its fi rst documented reference dates back to 946. Nowadays, it is found in rather bad conditions, practically in ruins.

Seriously affected by earth-quakes in the 15th century, the Romanesque edifi ce was ex-tended afterwards by a series of complimentary additions, such as the rectory and the vestry, having been completely demol-ished. Other parts were modifi ed at a later date as the original building.

The semi-circular apse to the east, adorned with a frieze sup-ported by buttresses, is the part which retains most interest.

It had to be reinforced, seeming-ly after the earthquakes, by two thick inclined counter-walls, one of which obstructs the central double-paned window. Another double-paned window is open to the extreme south in the same chancel.

The entrance door is also at the south, beneath a porch. It has a primitive “chair” belfry, which was converted into a tower with a two sided, slanted roof.

Sant Andreu de Socarrats

In January 1117 the consecration of Sant Andreu de Socarrats church came into effect. It was modifi ed at later periods, with the extensions of lateral chapels.

It still preserves a large part of the original fl oor at the extreme western end, and the chancel is formed by a semicircular apse that has a double-paned win-dow, with a half pointed arch as a centre point.

In the year 1983 restoration work was done, during which the vestry was fi nished, being added on to the south side of the semi-circular apse. Inside, the rear of the apse, it was decorated with paintings by the artist J. Casas from Olot in 1948.

The belfry, originally one-walled, was converted into a tower with four slanting roofs. On one of its walls the year 1688 is engraved. The present rectangular en-trance door, marked 1769, and sheltered by a porch, is to be found on the west facade.

Sant Feliu del Bac

Although mentioned in an article written in 946, it was in Janu-ary 996 that the consecration of the church known as <Sancti Felices...in villa que nuncupant Bag> took place. It was consid-ered, right from the beginning, as a parish church but ended up changing to being subject to Sant Andreu de Porreres.

These days the building corre-sponds to the architectural char-acteristics of the 12th century and was therefore based on the original construction. It consists of just one rectangular nave with a pointed vault, reinforced by a transverse arch. The chancel is to the east, where a vestry has been added.

The simple half-pointed arched entrance door is next to noon, where a double sided arched window is also found. On the eastern wall there is a long nar-row window, and a two-eyed belfry, behind which remainders of the construction that trans-formed it into a tower can be observed. You can go up the tower by the stairs made of stone, which are built into the north wall.

13

14

15 121110

13 14 15

7 8 9

4 5 6

1 2 3

Page 7: Romanesque Churches
Page 8: Romanesque Churches

www.valldebianya.com

Consell Municipal de Turisme de la Vall de Bianya - Ctra. Camprodon, 2 - 17813 LA VALL DE BIANYA

E-mail: [email protected] - www.valldebianya.com

Tourist O! ceInterpretation Centre of Vall de Bianya

“La Vall dels Sentits”Antigues escoles de Sant SalvadorTel: 872005008 / 972290933

Ajuntament dela Vall de Bianya

Consell Municipal de TurismeLa Vall de Bianya

Unió EuropeaFons europeude desenvolupament regionalUna manera de fer europa

Generalitat de CatalunyaDepartament de Governaciói Relacions Institucionals

Coming from theNorth, from France:

AP7, exit 3 in FigueresN-260 and A26 exit 84 in OlotN-260 to the Vall de Bianya

Coming from the,South, from Barcelona:

C17 through Vic to ManlleuC37 to OlotN-260 to the Vall de Bianya

Coming from the,West, from Madrid:

A2 through Zaragoza to CerveraC25 to Vic and continue on the C-37 to OlotN-260 to the Vall de Bianya

Coming from the,East, from Girona:

C66 through Banyoles to BesalúA26 exit 84 in OlotN-260 to the Vall de Bianya

Roadaccess