MONASTERY OF SANT JOAN DE LES ABADESSES
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The monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses allows to discover a very beautiful Romanesque polychrome sculpture
As was the case with the monastery of Ripoll, it was Guifred the Hairy who founded the monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses in 887 and placed his daughter Emma there as its first abbess. It was the first women's monastery in Catalonia and remained so until 1017, when a scandal broke out, fuelled by the Counts of Besalú and Ripoll, over the immorality of the abbess in office, Ingilberga. At the behest of Pope Benedict VIII, this scandal led to the replacement of the sisters by monks. From an architectural point of view, one will appreciate the large dimensions of the building, but especially its geometry on the ground, presenting a Latin cross shape as well as its unique Romanesque nave framed by five apses. On the altar is a beautiful Romanesque polychrome sculpture, known as the Descent from the Cross or the Holy Mystery, dating from the year 1251. Finally, directly adjoining the monastery is a cloister with its arcades with varied and very well preserved Gothic ornaments, in the middle of which is a square of grass bearing an ancient well. Legend has it that Count Arnau was the instigator of this well, allowing him, via a maze of subterranean passages, to reach the monastery populated by women from his castle. If the story is completely anachronistic, it had for a long time credit with the population of the region. A visit to this monastery is highly recommended.
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