Rosa Planell Grau and Miquel Pujol Muro were following one of our favorite hobbies: discovering places we'd never known before, searching for information about their history, trying to understand what they represented in ancient times, and even taking a few photographs. If we can also walk for a while and get some exercise, even better. One of these opportunities arose when we heard about the Benedictine monastery of El Burgal.
We park our vehicle in the square at the entrance to Escaló, cross the road, and take a track that leads us past the bridge. We turn right and follow the path, which later becomes a simple trail. In about half an hour, it takes us to the monastery, which surprises us with its size and its decay. On the side, before reaching the monastery, there is a path that leads us to some small caves, which, according to the sign, were hermitages and are located near the Noguera Pallaresa River.
San Pedro de Burgal has not had a peaceful existence over the years. Monastery, abbey, and priory have been classified according to the number of monks who inhabited it. Initially male, then female.
As for the toponym, the thesis is defended that it is the contraction of the terms burgo and alto, which would clearly refer to a construction with defensive elements, still visible today despite the magnitude of the plundering that the place has suffered.
Its exact foundation is difficult to know the first documented texts found that mention it are from the year 859 when Rampón de Toulouse granted the abbot Deligat a privilege of immunity . The monastery declined in a short time and was ceded in Gerri de la Sal before 908 and then to Santa María de la Grasa before 948, from this year until the year 960 it was a female monastery. Its properties extended throughout the valleys of Àneu , Cardós and Ferrera, and along the banks of Sort . This double transfer was the cause of long litigation. There were numerous disputes and falsified documentation that lasted until the year 1337, when the assets were divided between the two communities. Finally in 1570 it was secularized and religious activity within its walls disappeared. It survived with a church until the confiscation of the 19th century.
The monastery is currently in almost complete ruin. The only remaining outbuilding is the church. It is a basilica-shaped building consisting of three naves originally covered by a wooden roof. The north facade maintains its original height, as do the dividing arches between the main nave and the side aisle, formed by a row of arches supported by unadorned rectangular pilasters. The holes where the wooden roof structure once rested can be seen in the upper part of the middle wall.
The church stands out for its double apse. Interestingly, the western one is built on two levels: the lower one contained an altar and the upper one a wooden hearth. This layout can only be traced in Romanesque times to the abbey church of Santa María de Arlés de Tec in France and San Cipriano de Mazote or Santiago de Peñalba in Castilian.
The other head has three apses corresponding to each of the naves. Decorated with Lombard arches on the frieze of the semicircular walls and bands, it has simple windows.
Within the remains of the church, in the central apse, there is a small chapel dedicated to Saint Peter. The monastery was declared a national monument in 1951, but it was only recently that it was restored to its current state.
We haven't seen the mural paintings, as access to the apse is blocked off by wooden doors that cover the entire façade. According to reports, the originals are in the MNAC (Spanish National Museum of Contemporary Art), since 1932, when they were purchased by the Barcelona Museum Board. Reproductions are on display in the church. The MNAC also houses a marble oil font that displays figurative decoration.
The mural paintings are dated between 1080 and 1090 and are attributed to the Master of Pedret . They depict the Pantocrator between the archangels Michael and Gabriel and adored by two saints . Between the windows there is the Virgin carrying a chalice, to her right Saint Peter and to the left Saint John the Baptist and Saint Paul. In the lower part there is a painting of a lady who corresponded to Countess Lucia de la Marca, benefactor of the monastery, married to Artal I of Pallars Sobirà in 1085, from which the dating of the paintings arises.
It was a pleasant day despite the state of the monastery. As always, we're looking for something nice to look at, and we have to say that we ate some fabulous blackberries, offered to us from some brambles along the way.
A hiker will give us a pointed reflection, telling us that most of the Romanesque art thieves were from Barcelona, and precisely to prevent their actions, they have taken all their valuables to that city. The result for the residents is the same, those from Barcelona have 'taken' their religious belongings. Religious goods belong to the people, not to the church-business, nor to the state-protector, this explains the reluctance of the good people of these lands, to allow the plundering - now in the name of security - to continue until the last piece.
POSTED BY ANTONIOMORA.VERGES @ BLOGGER.COM
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