Sobrado Abbey
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Sobrado Abbey (Galician: Mosteiro de Santa María de Sobrado dos Monxes or Spanish: Monasterio de Santa María de Sobrado de los Monjes) is a former Cistercian monastery, now a Trappist monastery, in the province of A Coruña in Galicia in Spain. It is situated in the municipality of Sobrado, about 9 km east of Corredoiras and about 46 km south-east of Betanzos, at an altitude of 540 m above sea level.
History
A monastery is believed to have been founded on the site in the 10th century by the Benedictines. By the beginning of the 12th century it had been abandoned.
In 1142, it was re-founded as a Cistercian monastery from Clairvaux. During the 12th and 13th centuries it flourished and was able to undertake the foundations of its own daughter house, Valdedios Abbey in Asturia. Sobrado was also given the supervision of Monfero Abbey after it joined the Cistercian Order.
After a period of decline Sobrado was the first abbey in Galicia, in 1498, 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 Trappist monks of Viaceli Abbey in Cóbreces, west of Santander, began reconstruction, having already refounded and restored Huerta Abbey in 1929, and were able to resettle the monastery with a new Trappist 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 (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.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sobrado Abbey.
- Website of Sobrado Abbey (Spanish)
- Website of the Municipio de Sobrado, with information on and pictures of the abbey (Spanish)
Coordinates: 43°03′00″N 8°02′00″W / 43.05°N 8.03333°W