Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos

The Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos is a Benedictine monastery in the same place and is located south of the northern Spanish province of Burgos. The abbey is known especially for its cloister, considered the masterpiece of Romanesque architecture in Europe.

History

Santo Domingo de Silos was founded in the year 929 After several plundering by the Moors, the monastery then ( Domingo Manso originally ) came in the tenure of Dominic of Silos to new heights, who presided as abbot of the community from 1041 until his death in 1073. In 1076, the Priory of San Frutos was transferred to the monastery silos. The Abbey was an important center of the humanities and their library and the scriptorium gained European fame. Important works are, inter alia, the Beatus manuscript, which is now kept in the British Library in London, several medieval maps of the Mediterranean and the Missale de Silos, the oldest surviving Christian Book ( 1151 ) paper, which to this day to the library the monastery belongs.

The Cloister

The Cloister ( claustro ) is the art historically significant part of the monastery complex. Its beginnings date back about from the Abtszeit St. Domingo - he received its present shape in the late 11th and early 12th century. The capitals and the relief panels of the cornerstones of the basement impress with their variety and expressiveness. Noteworthy in this area of the cenotaph of the Holy Sepulchre, which is supported by three lions, and the polychrome representations of Nuestra Señora de Marzo and the Santa Ana Santa María y con El Niño Jesús.

One of the three lions that carry the cenotaph of the Holy

Capital with mythical creatures

Capital with mythical creatures in detail

St. Anne with Two Others

Cornerstones: Ascension and Pentecost

Capital: Death of the Virgin

Nuestra Señora del Marzo

The bells

The bells were designed according to the artistic requirements of the Order and poured on 16 April 1999 by the bell foundry Bachert to Heilbronn.

Gregorian Chant

Gained international recognition, the monastery also by his care of Gregorian chant. Several produced since the 1960s recordings were released on LP and CD and sold with great success. The CD Chant sold at the beginning of 1994 so well that it for 53 weeks in the U.S. charts Billboard Hot remained 100 and a top position No. 3 reached - much to the amazement of music experts, as well as the monks themselves, especially since it is re-releases older recordings from 1973 acted. The album went three times platinum, which means a circulation of at least three million copies, and is considered the best-selling Gregorian chant album in recording history. In 1995, the record company had the follow-up album Chant II follow. In Europe, the recordings Choralschola entitled Canto Gregorian were released as a double CD.