Sobrado Abbey

Sobrado Abbey
Sobrado Abbey
Mosteiro de Santa María de Sobrado dos Monxes
	Trappist
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Monastery
Patron	St Mary
Location
Location	Sobrado (A Coruña), Spain
Architecture
Style	Cistercian, Baroque
	Europe and North America
	Spanish Cultural Heritage
Type	Non-movable
Criteria	Monument
Designated	3 June 1931
Reference no.	RI-51-0000547

Sobrado Abbey, (

Cistercian monastery in the province of La Coruña, Galicia, Spain. It is situated in the municipality of Sobrado, about 9 km east of Corredoiras and about 46 km southeast of Betanzos

, at an altitude of 540 m above sea level.

History

The abbey was founded around 951 by Bishop

Cistercian monks ^[3] from Clairvaux. The abbey flourished during the 12th and 13th centuries and was able to undertake the foundations of its own daughter house, Valdedios Abbey in Asturias. Sobrado was also given the supervision of Monfero Abbey

after it joined the Cistercian Order.

After a period of decline, in 1498 Sobrado was the first abbey in Galicia to join the Castilian Cistercian Congregation.

The monumental new Baroque abbey church was dedicated in 1708. Most of the conventual buildings were also rebuilt at this time.

The dissolution of the monasteries enforced by the government of Mendizábal in 1835 put an end to the abbey, and the abandoned buildings fell into decay.

In 1954 the Cistercian (

Santander, began reconstruction, having already refounded and restored Huerta Abbey

in 1929, and were able to resettle the monastery with a new community in 1966.

Buildings

The present abbey church, now roofed with a number of domes and cupolas, was built at the end of the 17th century, although the Magdalene Chapel (Capela da Madalena or Capilla de la Magdalena) dates from the 14th century. The sacristy was built by Juan de Herrera. The monastery has three cloisters. The kitchen and the chapter house remain of the medieval monastic buildings.