Poblet & Santes Creus (with “calçotada”)

Posted by Barcelona Guide Bureau in Travel News, What to do in barcelona on 03 26th, 2009 | one response

On this tour we will visit two medieval monasteries full of peace, tranquility, elegance, serenity, sobriety, simplicity and greatness. There is another quality of space and time, quite different from our daily urban life. The feeling of space seems to enlarge the soul. Monk comes from the Greek, meaning alone; it was used to describe those Christians who spent their life alone with God.

“It is a good thing that there are monks, like yardsticks, that we can have something to measure against when we doubt; we can still see what is a man”. The Cistercians were an offshoot of the Benedictines (obedience, chastity and poverty), they live simply, cultivate the land and write. The peak of the Cistercian movement was in the 12th century, particularly 1120 to 1175.

Both these monasteries were built in the same pattern; a group of buildings around the cloister, a practical design for monastic life, and this became a standard plan of the monasteries, although each one has its own characteristics.

Poblet Monastery: In the 12th Century, 12 monks from the Fontfroide Cistercian Abbey in the south of France founded this religious and cultural centre. In the second half of the 14th Century, Pere the Ceremonious fortified the monastery to protect the Christian dominion in the region, which is why the monastery looks like a fortress.

Within the 1,650m (5,500′) perimeter of 5m (17′).- high wall you can see:

The Chapel of Sant Jordi, the Golden Gate, The Main Square, The Royal Gate, the 12th Century Church, the Hall, the 12th-13th Century Cloister, the Kitchens, the Library, the Chapter House, the Royal Pantheon with the tombs of the Counts of Barcelona and the Kings of Aragon, and the main Altar (renaissance piece in alabaster).

The Cistercians built where there was water and were very good farmers. There is still a community of about 30 monks living here.

This is an ideal tour for combining culture and gastronomy. Allow us to organize a calçotada, a typical Catalan meal in this region. Long, sweet, spring onions nearly the size of leeks, charcoal grilled until the outside is burnt and the inside tender and served with a delicious sauce. The charred outer layer is pulled off and the inside eaten. Traditionally they are served on a curved roof tile. The charcoal is then used to grill lamb, sausages and toast. Red wine and cava usually accompany a calçotada, typically drunk directly from a “porró” so you do not have to use a glass. Catalan custard completes this feast.

Santes Creus: This beautiful monastery has many outstanding features: the Royal Gate in discreet Baroque style; Sant Bernat Square named after one of the abbots of Santes Creus and bishop of Vic; Abbatial Palace with a very pretty courtyard; and particularly the 14th century cloister, with high galleries that let in lots of light, and columns with carved capitals, work of many master craftsman, and with a surprising variety of themes including humans, animals and monsters, contrary to custom.

In the 14th century there was a change of mentality and more liberal decoration was allowed. The church was built towards the end of the 12th century and was used by the community in the 13th. It has a wonderful Romanesque rose window, and a royal pantheon with the tombs of Pere the Great and Jaume II, in a marble urn in the shape of a bath, resting on two lions carved in white stone.