The monastery is located in the heart of Ribeira Sacra , in the town of Junquera de Espadañedo , 25 minutes from the capital of the province, Orense , by the regional OU-536
The origins of the Xunqueira de Espadanedo Monastery could be, like most of the Ribeira Sacra monasteries, in a family monastery from the High Middle Ages. This small monastery would continue in a Benedictine foundation under the invocation of San Julián. The kings Fernando II and Alfonso IX endow the monastery with sufficient land for its subsistence and thus Alfonso IX, in the middle of the 12th century, confirmed the jurisdiction of the monastery, the preserve, which “bordered with that of Asadur, with Niñodáguia and with the jurisdictions of Santa Cristina de Ribas de Sil and S. Pedro de Rocas ”. At the end of the 12th century and protected by the neighboring monastery of Montederramo, Xunqueira joined the Cistercian order.
The 12th-13th centuries are prosperous for Xunqueira de Espadanedo because from the privileges that the kings grant to the monastery and thanks, both to donations and to economy, the monks expand their heritage which allows them to build an impressive temple to which they attached the Romanesque monastery
The end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern Age are characterized by the ruin of the monasteries caused, both by the relaxation of the Rule and the misrule of the commendatory abbots, terrible administrations that deplete the monastery's patrimony. During this period, the monastery lost its independence and in 1447 it became the priory of Montederramo until in the middle of the 16th century (1546) it became part of the Order of Castile, regained its independence and began a new period of splendor that was it will be reflected in the construction and reconstruction of the monastic dependencies.
The end of the monastery as a cultural center will come with the Confiscation of 1836, beginning its rebirth on December 12, 1980, the year in which its church is declared a Historic-Artistic Monument (currently BIC) and from which the cultural complex will benefit. important important interventions.
Of the primitive medieval monastery, only the church remains, an interesting example of late Romanesque (13th century) that characterizes much of the Cistercian art of the province.
Xunqueira, although it presents the traits of simplicity that characterize the Cistercian order, does not exactly respond to the so-called “Bernardino Plan”. In front of the Latin cross plan with square headboards, we find a structure inspired by local tradition that, like Xunqueira de Ambía or Santa Mariña de Augas Santas, opts for a basilica plan with three naves topped by three semicircular apses, the largest preceded by a straight stretch.
The traces of the late Romanesque, now almost Gothic, can be seen both in the architecture and in the sculpture of its capitals: regarding the architecture, in the point of the arches and in the pointed vault of the priest; As regards the sculpture, the simplicity and the schematics, characteristic of the Cistercian, preside over capitals, altar and baptismal font. But this ornamental simplicity sometimes disappears, returning the space of the capitals to its original function, to tell stories.
Thus, along with the plant capitals, the masters of Xunqueira surprise us, both with characteristic Romanesque iconographies (Lions versus dragons, hoopoe, dragons and bird mermaids described in the medieval Bestiaries) and with astonishing and surprising scenes among which stands out the curious capital, possibly unique in the world, of the walls of the Celestial / Apocalyptic Jerusalem.
The arrival of the Reformation and the accession to the Order of Castile, in the middle of the 16th century, propitiated the renovation, both of the infrastructures, which were very ruined, and of the interiors that had to adapt to new external, Tridentine and internal sensibilities typical of the Order.
The medieval apse chapels are covered with Modern altarpieces that highlight the origins of the Cistercian with innovative iconographic programs in which, together with the pre-eminence of Mary, the aim is to exalt Western monasticism.
The first of the altarpieces is located in the main apse and has in its center the beautiful Mannerist carving of the Assumption-Coronation. Flanking Mary, in the lower body, Adoration of shepherds and Epiphany (first theophany of Jesus incarnate); in the upper body Presentation in the temple and Circumcision (acceptance of the Mosaic Law). The image of Salvation crowns the central street with the scene of Calvary.
The set would be completed with the Lactatio de San Bernardo. Mary gives her nurturing, protective and healing milk to the Saint, who obtains from this sacred lactation the gifts of knowledge and eloquence. This carving, today in the process of restoration, was removed in the 18th century to be replaced by the current Exhibitor of the Custody, today occupied by the image of San Salvador as a child, from the disappeared church of the same name.
he second group of altarpieces (17th century) is located in the middle of the temple. On the right, Mary visiting her cousin Saint Elizabeth, or the first manifestation of the son of God (according to Saint Luke, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb and Elizabeth felt filled with the Holy Spirit). On the left the Transfiguration of Christ that rises over the Apostles in the company of Moses and Elijah.
Finally, the baroque altarpieces (18th century) that will dress the minor apses seeking the exaltation of western monasticism in its two main actors: St. Benedict of Nursia (drafter of the Rule that will be imposed, from the 11th century, in western monasteries ) and S. Bernardo, reformer and pillar of the Cistercian. Currently the altarpieces are devoid of their original images and to reconstruct the Bernardino iconographic program we must go to the altarpiece, also baroque, on the north wall. In it we find, in the center, the powerful carving of S. Benito escorted, on the right, by Santa Escolástica, his sister, and on the left Santa Humbelina, sister of S. Bernardo.
Medieval housing structures are completely ruined and the community turns to the construction and adaptation of the new facilities to the time (Trento) and the Order of Castile. The Sacristy and the Regular Cloister will be rebuilt at the same time that the Chirola (a kind of chapel for relics), at the feet, the High Choir and at an angle with the church, Hospedería and Portería are added at the head. We do not know who is in charge of the works of the monastery but we think that perhaps Simón de Monasterio will carry out the plans that one of the Sierra will execute.
The Regular cloister, due to its simplicity and elegance, differs from any other Galician cloister, transferring them to Renaissance Tuscany. It is the polished voussoirs of the arches, semicircular and carpanels, which give it that austere and stately air that makes it unique in the Ribeira Sacra. The curious solar system stands out on the parapets, which originally comprised four clocks: two spherical looking at noon and two vertically oriented, one to the rising and the other to the west (now disappeared). The nature of the clocks was to regulate the seven prayers that the strict rule of Saint Benedict required of his monks.
The Hospedería and the Portería will be the last important works of the Modern Age and must begin once the Regular Cloister has been completed, at the beginning of the 17th century. The cloister of the Portería or Hospedería is a structure that is erected ex novo because, in the medieval period, the guest houses were outside the walls of the monastery and the monasteries only had the temple and the Regular Cloister. It will be in the Modern Age when the new facilities, intended for both guests and supplies for the community, are incorporated into the new monastery that is
communicate with the outside through the Portería. In this last space, Portería, its coffered vault stands out, an interesting work that, due to its similarities with Montederramo, seems to have been executed by the same team as the mother monastery. The entrance door closes the monastery where the shield of the Congregation of Castile that presides over the entrance to the monastery stands out on the north wall.
At the beginning of March 1800, perhaps as a result of the Lisbon earthquake, the medieval façade and bell tower fell. Between 1801-1802 the new façade will be erected and although the gable meets the classicist canons of the Neoclassical, the bell tower will be inspired by past Baroque models.
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