Abbey of San Pedro el Viejo

The Abbey of San Pedro el Viejo (Spanish: Monasterio de San Pedro el Viejo) is a former Benedictine monastery in the old town of Huesca, Aragon, Spain.

Abbey of San Pedro el Viejo
Monasterio de San Pedro el Viejo
Religion
AffiliationCatholic Church
RegionAragon
Location
LocationHuesca
CountrySpain
Architecture
TypeRomanesque
FounderOrder of Saint Benedict
Date established12th century

History

The present Romanesque structure was built by the Benedictines in the 12th century. The name "San Pedro el Viejo", or "Saint Peter the Old", refers to the fact that the Visigothic monastery building that was given to them predated the Moorish occupation.

The site now consists mostly of the cloisters and the church. It has been a national monument since 1886, and is one of the most important buildings for the Romanesque architecture of Aragon.[1]

The abbey celebrated the 900th anniversary of its construction in 2017.[2]

The former chapter room has been since the 13th century the Chapel of San Benito or Royal Pantheon (Panteón Real) and contains the tombs of two kings of Aragon: Alfonso I, the Battler, and his brother and successor Ramiro II, the Monk.[2]

Architecture
San Pedro el Viejo. Claustro (s. XII)

The building has two main parts: the church and the cloister.

The church consists of three ships and their apses. The altarpiece is polychrome wood by Juan de Ali (artist Navarre) in the early 17th century. The church chapels surrounding the show interesting artwork from different periods:

  • Altarpiece of the Virgin of Hope (16th century). Renaissance.
  • Altarpiece of Saints Just and Pastor (17th century). Baroque.
  • Altarpiece of the Annunciation (15th-16th century). Gothic.
  • 13th century murals.
  • Wooden choir stalls (17th century)

In culture

Javier Sierra's novel The Invisible Fire ("El fuego invisible"), which won the Premio Planeta de Novela, featured San Pedro el Viejo prominently.[3]

See also

References
  1. "San Pedro el Viejo Church". Spain.info. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  2. "El monasterio de San Pedro el Viejo de Huesca viaja por el túnel del tiempo". Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 8 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  3. "«Es casi una obligación contar leyendas de San Pedro El Viejo»". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 23 January 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.


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