The monastery of San Salvador , founded by San Rosendo , in 936 , is the main monument in the Galician town of Celanova in the province of Orense ; At present, and being of public property since the confiscation of the XIX century, it serves as City Hall and Institute.
It is located in the center of the Comarca de Tierra de Celanova in the province of Orense , autonomous community of Galicia , in the town of Celanova, its capital, about 25 kilometers from Orense .
It was declared a National Monument in 1931 and was awarded the Europa Nostra Award in 1984 .
The monastery was founded by San Rosendo himself , bishop of Mondoñedo and Santiago, and holder of the titles of Archdeacon of Celanova, count of Bande, Marquis of Sande and chaplain of the Royal House, as well as dominion in more than fifty entities between monasteries, priories and churches, on land that belonged to his own brother, Count Froilan Gutierrez. The primitive monastery, which originally consisted of few buildings, was built between the years 936 and 942 ; was gradually enlarging thanks to the lands and privileges granted by the founder's relatives, as well as by the kings of León and Castilla. According to tradition, the young Rosendo received in dreams a revelation for which he had to found in the place of Vilar, now Celanova, a monastery. According to legend, Saint Rosendo climbed a mountain near Celanova, threw a stone from there, and in the place where the stone fell was where the Saint raised the monastery.
San Rosendo, who had previously erected the Monastery of San Juan de Caaveiro , for the foundation of San Salvador de Celanova brought a group of monks from San Estevo de Ribas de Sil, and named San Frankila abbot , under the rule of San Benito . After its foundation and after the resignation of the Compostela See and organizing the defense of Galicia against the Normans together with Count Gonzalo Sánchez , San Rosendo entered the monastery, becoming abbot at Frankila's death in 959 , until his death. in the year 977 . 6Only the small chapel of San Miguel remains of this primitive monastery, located in what must have previously been a chapel dedicated to San Martín.
In 1506 the monastery joined the Congregation of Castile , thus beginning a new stage, which gives it greater splendor. The importance of the monastery grew over time and in the sixteenth century the same Carlos I toyed with the idea of retiring to the monastery, although he preferred Yuste on the weather more benign. The importance of the monastery during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as its economic and social power, were reflected in the reforms that the monastery carried out over the years, eventually rebuilding the entire monastery.
In the nineteenth century the confiscation took place , and this meant the abandonment of the monastery as happened with many others throughout the Spanish territory. The council became the owner of the facilities and the monastic church became a parish temple honoring San Rosendo. The church was built in the 16th century, beginning in 1653 and ending in 1687 . It can be considered an example of transition from Renaissance to Baroque. 6 The rest of the facilities became property of public institutions, who used them for various duties. In fact, the Piarists , had a school and dedicated themselves to teaching there, until1929 . Then they were in the facilities for brief periods of time: Augustinians, Salesians and even the City of Boys.
During the Spanish Civil War , the monastery was used as a prison by the rebel side. For eight years, it housed 1,300 prisoners, especially from Asturias.
Today, after renovation which won the Europa Nostra award monastic facilities used to house various municipal and regional institutions, such as the council itself, the library, a secondary school, office tourism or the "Galician Collaboration Service".
The monastery that can be visited today is nothing more than the result of the historical evolution that the building underwent and sometimes suffered over time. 3
The primitive monastery, which began in the times of the founder, was made up of a set of small buildings erected in the vicinity of an old chapel dedicated to Saint Martin , among which it is known from the monk Ordoño de Celanova that they were the following documents :
A church with three apses dedicated to Saint Savior , Saint Peter and Saint John the Apostle .
The small temple, which does not exceed 9 meters in length, dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, in Mozarabic style and dated in the year 937 . It is currently considered a national monument.
Houses for monks.
Housing for workers of the monastery .
Homes for pilgrims and guests.
Later these isolated constructions, probably very humble in their initial architectural configuration, gave rise to the erection of a monastery typical of Romanesque architecture , which was still seen and described by Mauro Castellá Ferrer, disciple of the famous poet Fray Luis de León who wrote a work entitled History of the Apostle Santiago, which he printed at the beginning of the 17th century): “The church with the main tower that was old for the past is very large, beautiful, and with a very good vault, all crowned with battlements and arrow slits, which looked like a soldier and a knight. ”.
The monastery, at present, consists of the Church, two cloisters and the monastic dependencies
The current church of the monastery was built on the medieval temple, following the plans of Melchor de Velasco Agüero , a classicist architect with whom other architect monks collaborate, developing the works between 1661 and 1687
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