Church of San Juan Bautista, Baños de Cerrato

The San Juan de Baños Church is a Visigothic church in the village of Baños de Cerrato, who belongs to the community of Venta de Baños and about 10 km south of Palencia, the capital of the Spanish province of Palencia in the autonomous community of Castile - León is located in the vicinity the confluence of the Pisuerga and Carrión. Baños means bath and reminiscent of spas that existed there in Roman times.

History

San Juan de Baños is the only Visigothic church, whose work year can be dated securely. From a dedicatory inscription preserved in the church shows that the Visigoth king Rekkeswinth, co-regent from 649, the Church has donated in honor of John the Baptist in 661 AD. The construction of the church is king Rekkeswinth led out of gratitude for the healing of his kidney disease, which he attributed to the healing powers of the local spring water.

1956-1963 were a necropolis with 58 tombs have been found during excavations in the northeast of the church, and three objects from the 7th century, two bronze belt buckles in the shape of a lyre and the handle of a liturgical vessel.

Architecture

In the building there is a basilica with three naves and three apses originally, of which only the middle one is obtained. It is built of limestone blocks, which are joined together without mortar. The open bell tower ( espadaña ) is an addition of the 19th century. The entrance portal has a typical Visigothic horseshoe arch, in which the arch is one third more closed. On the keystone of a Tatzenkreuz with a Clipeus, a medallion in the center is shown. The fighters stones are decorated with a frieze of rosettes and quatrefoil.

Visigoth horseshoe arches are also inside, seen at the window openings on the triumphal arch and the arches between the aisles and the nave. The latter are supported by four re-used columns of gray, beige and pink marble with Corinthian capitals, one of which dates back to Roman times, the others are Visigothic. In the closed rectangular apse there is a window with a restored window grille ( transenna ). On fighters height of the triumphal arch surrounds a frieze similar to the input of rosettes and quatrefoil the apse. Here is shown on the keystone a Tatzenkreuz. It is surrounded by corbels that are decorated with sun gears, palmettes and eagles, the marble plaque with the dedicatory inscription. The translation is: " Forerunner of the Lord, Martyr, St. John the Baptist, take as eternal gift this built for you basilica, which I, Obedient, King Rekkeswinth, even admirers of your name, have appropriated to you, I have built it and fitted at my expense and in the field of my own heritage in the year 699, in the 10th year of the reign of my father Chindaswinth and after three years of my co-regency. " The year 699 refers to the Spanish era, the era in what was then Spain, in Aragon and Castile was in use until the 14th century and used 38 years before the birth of Christ.