Santiago de Peñalba

Santiago de Peñalba is a former abbey church from the 10th century. It is located in a remote mountain valley, to almost 1,100 meters, in the small town Peñalba, about 20 km south of Ponferrada, the capital of the comarca of El Bierzo and belongs to the province of León in the autonomous Spanish region of Castile -Leon. The name Peñalba means white rock and refers to a distinctive limestone massif. In addition to San Miguel de Escalada de San Cebrián Mazote, Santa María de Lebeña and San Miguel de Celanova the church of Santiago de Peñalba one of the major Mozarabic structures in northwestern Spain. The construction of the church is dated to 931-937.

History

The Apostle James the monastery was dedicated to the early 10th century by the Saint. Gennadius founded. This 909 was bishop of Astorga in the year. 920 he gave his office again, to retreat to after Peñalba in a remote mountain valley of the Montes de León, where he led the life of a hermit and 936 died. His remains were interred in the west apse of the church until they were moved in the 16th century to Villafranca del Bierzo. In Peñalba there was both a monastic community as deposited living in the area recluse. In the 13th century, the monastery was abandoned and was occupied by the church of the small community that had settled around the monastery as a parish church. It was not until the early 20th century began to take an interest again for the Church. In 1931 she was declared a Monumento Histórico - Artístico Nacional ( Bien de Interès Cultural ). In the 1940s, first restoration measures were initiated.

Architecture

The church is built of rubble stone ( shale and limestone). Four narrow window openings are original. Be fragments of the original Steintransenne ( celosía ) received on the west facade. The roof is covered with slates. Under the umbrella approach are consoles rolls of stone that - refer to Mozarabic builder and the Mezquita de Córdoba as a model - as in San Miguel de Escalada. The open bell tower ( espadaña ), an addition of a later period is, separately, to the west of the church.

There are two entrances to the church. The south porch has a double, typical of the Mozarabic architecture, tightly closed horseshoe arch with Alfizrahmen. As inside these two bows are made from very carefully hewn limestone wedges and the columns have Corinthian Marmorkapitelle and three-tier fighter with Perlstabverzierung.

Interior

The plan of the church is a Latin cross. At the site of the nave are two squares, amateur choir and square to each other, which culminate in an apse, both in the East and in the West. Each end has a horseshoe- shaped plan, the horseshoe arch of the eastern apse is much closer together than the arc of the western apse counter. Outside both vestibules a rectangular enclosure. On both sides of the choir square close, as the arms of the transept, two rooms, which are interpreted as vestries. Over her vaults were discovered as over the apses inaccessible chambers ( cámara oculta ). These chambers without any possibility of access from the outside, there are, among others also in San Baudelio de Berlanga, San Salvador de Valdediós or San Miguel de Escalada. Their significance has not been elucidated.

The four inner regions (East and West apse and the two squares) are connected by horseshoe arches of regular voussoirs. They rest on narrow re-used columns with Corinthian capitals, which - rest three-tier fighter with beading - as in the portico of San Miguel de Escalada. The arch to the east or altar apse framed a Alfiz bar. The apse and the choir square carry eight-part shield domes. Still frescoes from the period of the Church have received on the walls and vaults.