Santo Tomás de las Ollas

The church of Santo Tomás de las Ollas located in the eponymous suburb of Ponferrada in the province of León in the autonomous Spanish region of Castile -Leon. The church dates back to the 10th century and attributed to the Mozarabic architecture. 1931, the Church of the Monumento Nacional, was declared since 1985 Bien of Interest Cultural.

History

The original name of Santo Tomás de las Ollas was Entrambasaguas and refers to its location at the confluence of Boeza and Sil. Its later name of Santo Tomás de las Ollas indicates the pottery, which was formerly operated here. Sautex means pots. On the Origin of Church no records are available. The use of quarry stone as a building material, the horseshoe arches of the apse and other similarities with pre-Romanesque churches around as the adjacent former monastery church of Santiago de Peñalba speak for an assignment of the church of Santo Tomás de las Ollas the Mozarabic architecture of the 10th century. In the Romanesque period, the church was changed and renewed the south portal. 1311 gave the Bishop of Astorga, the church which is nearly 30 km distant monastery of San Pedro de Montes. End of the 17th century, the height of the ship was shortened and built a square chapel in the north. In the 18th century the bell tower ( espadaña ) was added and cultivated the vestry in the 19th century to the apse.

Architecture

The building is constructed of small, irregular rubble. Only at the corners of large blocks of stone have been used. The plan of the church is a rectangle, to the to the east connects the apse. This has on its inside an oval shape, its outer walls forming a square. It has three windows, of which the eastern and northern less and still get original are. The entrance to the church is located on the south side. It was remodeled in the Romanesque period, and provided with two simple round arch Archivolts. Another portal of the Romanesque period was located on the west facade. From him a walled- in wall arch is still preserved. The west door was walled up in the 19th century in the wake of desamortización, as the subsequent land fell into private ownership and was not publicly available.

Interior

The single nave has a Artesonadodecke from the late 17th century. A double horseshoe arches on pilasters with plain, fluted fighters gives access to the apse. In relation to the longhouse it is unusually large with six meters in diameter. At its inner wall a blind arcade runs with nine horseshoe arches. These are slightly bent in the middle, making the transition from the oval ground plan for irregular octagon dome done. The wall finally an throated impost. In the monastery vault of the dome of concrete rises. The interior pillar and arch bricks of granite blocks are worked.