Download the BOE declaration of Tuesday, February 14, 1984
Monastery of Santa María la Real de Valdeiglesias
The Monastery of Santa María la Real de Valdeiglesias in Pelayos de la Presa is the most important monastic foundation of the Cistercian Order preserved in the Community of Madrid.
The current monastic complex is the result of numerous works and transformations that have taken place over time, from its foundation in the 12th century until the 18th century.
The origins The history of the monastery, located in Pelayos de la Presa, seems to date back to the Mozarabic period, when there were various hermitages scattered throughout the valley, among which one dedicated to the Holy Cross stood out.
the cconstruction Construction of the temple must have begun around 1180. In its current appearance, up to five different stages can be seen over time.
El decline of the monastery It began in the last century due to various causes, such as the reduction of the community of monks and the major fire in 1743 that affected numerous buildings.
Already in the XIX century, It suffered looting by Napoleonic troops and later, from 1836 onwards, the consequences of the disentailment policies, with the resulting loss of property and the deterioration of the building. In 1884 it was auctioned off by the State, and from then on, it passed through several owners until its acquisition in 1974 by the architect Mariano García Benito, who began the work of recovery and restoration.
In 2004, it was donated by its owner to the municipality of Pelayos de la Presa, managed by the Santa María la Real de Valdeiglesias Monastery Foundation. From that moment on, the Community of Madrid, aware of the historical and artistic value of this monument, declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1967 and later ratified by Royal Decree of November 23, 1983, as a National Historic-Artistic Monument, began the process of restoring the monastery.
The monastery church has a floor plan with three apses, a transept, and a single nave. Its three apses are clearly original, dating from around 1200. It is a typical Cistercian headboard model, in which the central apse has a semicircular floor plan, while the sides end externally in a flat end wall.
Sobriety is a fundamental characteristic of the entire building, with complete austerity in its decoration. This is all typical of Cistercian architecture from the late 12th and early 13th centuries, still strongly linked to the Romanesque style, but also including elements of the proto-Gothic.
On the straight section of the central apse, the remains of a small structure still exist. bell tower, apparently belonging to this same original construction or something later.
The temple has a cruise encompassing the width of the three apses and a single nave. Originally, they must have had wooden roofs that disappeared, possibly in a fire in 1258 that destroyed part of the church, which was later rebuilt. Only the semicircular windows of the nave, built of ashlar masonry, appear to correspond to the original structure.
The later work shows Mudejar architectural characteristics, as shown by the north walls of the transept and the nave built of masonry banded with brick courses, a material characteristic of the Mudejar style in this area.
Further transformations took place at the end of the Gothic period, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs. The nave and transept were raised, covered with ribbed vaults with tiercerons, and the exterior walls were reinforced with buttresses. A new refectory was built, and the entire area, whose surface had been altered by previous partial interventions, was regularized.
On the south side of the church there is an irregularity in the layout of the complex, as the church wall does not run parallel to that side of the cloister, but rather both open at an angle from the crossing, leaving an open space with a trapezoidal floor plan where the so-called “Mozarabic chapelIt has been assumed to predate the construction of the temple and to be linked to the origins of the monastery, and its classification has been justified by the apparent use of the Mozarabic foot as a metric standard.
El cloisterLocated south of the temple, it was surrounded by the corresponding monastic buildings. The sacristy and chapter house were in its eastern cloister, as well as the wardrobe and the anteroom to the sacristy. On this same side is access to a spring located underground via a stone staircase. The kitchen and refectory were located on the south side.
On the west side of the cloister would have been the cellar and the area for lay brothers. What remains today corresponds in part to the renovation of the complex in the Late Gothic period; the pointed arches of the lower gallery, as well as the ribbed vaults of the ante-sacristy, date from this period. wardrobe and the northeast corner of the cloister.
Already in the second half of the 17th century, a new western facade of the church was built, whose appearance corresponds to that of the Baroque art of the time, and which preserves the coats of arms of Valdeiglesias, the monarchy and the Observance of Castile, to which the monastery was incorporated at the end of the 15th century.
Some of the sculptures that were in the niches of that facade have been recovered and are currently kept in the same monastery.
The origins The history of the monastery, located in Pelayos de la Presa, seems to date back to the Mozarabic period, when there were various hermitages scattered throughout the valley, among which one dedicated to the Holy Cross stood out.
the cconstruction Construction of the temple must have begun around 1180. In its current appearance, up to five different stages can be seen over time.
El decline of the monastery It began in the last century due to various causes, such as the reduction of the community of monks and the major fire in 1743 that affected numerous buildings.
Already in the XIX century, It suffered looting by Napoleonic troops and later, from 1836 onwards, the consequences of the disentailment policies, with the resulting loss of property and the deterioration of the building. In 1884 it was auctioned off by the State, and from then on, it passed through several owners until its acquisition in 1974 by the architect Mariano García Benito, who began the work of recovery and restoration.
In 2004, it was donated by its owner to the municipality of Pelayos de la Presa, managed by the Santa María la Real de Valdeiglesias Monastery Foundation. From that moment on, the Community of Madrid, aware of the historical and artistic value of this monument, declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1967 and later ratified by Royal Decree of November 23, 1983, as a National Historic-Artistic Monument, began the process of restoring the monastery.
The monastery church has a floor plan with three apses, a transept, and a single nave. Its three apses are clearly original, dating from around 1200. It is a typical Cistercian headboard model, in which the central apse has a semicircular floor plan, while the sides end externally in a flat end wall.
Sobriety is a fundamental characteristic of the entire building, with complete austerity in its decoration. This is all typical of Cistercian architecture from the late 12th and early 13th centuries, still strongly linked to the Romanesque style, but also including elements of the proto-Gothic.
On the straight section of the central apse, the remains of a small structure still exist. bell tower, apparently belonging to this same original construction or something later.
The temple has a cruise encompassing the width of the three apses and a single nave. Originally, they must have had wooden roofs that disappeared, possibly in a fire in 1258 that destroyed part of the church, which was later rebuilt. Only the semicircular windows of the nave, built of ashlar masonry, appear to correspond to the original structure.
The later work shows Mudejar architectural characteristics, as shown by the north walls of the transept and the nave built of masonry banded with brick courses, a material characteristic of the Mudejar style in this area.
Further transformations took place at the end of the Gothic period, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs. The nave and transept were raised, covered with ribbed vaults with tiercerons, and the exterior walls were reinforced with buttresses. A new refectory was built, and the entire area, whose surface had been altered by previous partial interventions, was regularized.
On the south side of the church there is an irregularity in the layout of the complex, as the church wall does not run parallel to that side of the cloister, but rather both open at an angle from the crossing, leaving an open space with a trapezoidal floor plan where the so-called “Mozarabic chapelIt has been assumed to predate the construction of the temple and to be linked to the origins of the monastery, and its classification has been justified by the apparent use of the Mozarabic foot as a metric standard.
El cloisterLocated south of the temple, it was surrounded by the corresponding monastic buildings. The sacristy and chapter house were in its eastern cloister, as well as the wardrobe and the anteroom to the sacristy. On this same side is access to a spring located underground via a stone staircase. The kitchen and refectory were located on the south side.
On the west side of the cloister would have been the cellar and the area for lay brothers. What remains today corresponds in part to the renovation of the complex in the Late Gothic period; the pointed arches of the lower gallery, as well as the ribbed vaults of the ante-sacristy, date from this period. wardrobe and the northeast corner of the cloister.
Already in the second half of the 17th century, a new western facade of the church was built, whose appearance corresponds to that of the Baroque art of the time, and which preserves the coats of arms of Valdeiglesias, the monarchy and the Observance of Castile, to which the monastery was incorporated at the end of the 15th century.
Some of the sculptures that were in the niches of that facade have been recovered and are currently kept in the same monastery.
Plan of the Santa María la Real de Valdeiglesias Monastery
Restoration
Image gallery
Photographs: Miguel Ángel Camón Cisneros, General Directorate of Cultural Heritage
BIC statement
