The Convento de Premonstratenses de San Norberto, also known as Convento de Mostenses or Convento de San Norberto, named after the

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

of the

Premonstratensian Order The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

, is a religious building that disappeared. It was located on the ground of the current Plaza de Los Mostenses, next to the Gran Vía of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

(

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

). It was founded in 1611 by the community of the Fathers Canons Premonstratensians with the permission of Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo Bernardo de Rojas and financed by a benefactor, the Count of Miranda, Juan of Zúñiga, the then president of the

Council of Castile The Council of Castile ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de Castilla), known earlier as the Royal Council ( es, Consejo Real), was a ruling body and key part of the domestic government of the Crown of Castile, second only to the monarch himself. It ...

. Today the site of the convent is occupied by a market built in the 19th century, known as Mercado de Los Mostenses.

History

The church had been rebuilt in 1754 by architect

Ventura Rodríguez Ventura Rodríguez Tizón (July 14, 1717 – September 26, 1785) was a Spanish architect and artist. Born at Ciempozuelos, Rodríguez was the son of a bricklayer. In 1727, he collaborated with his father in the work at the Royal Palace of Aranj ...

, having been previously ruined. It had a convex

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

flanked by two towers but was a victim of the plan of the then king,

Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic of ...

to open up the plazas of the city. First, the convent was demolished in April 1810, in the next month, an order was issued to demolish the church. However, the architects who were commissioned to direct this operation, Silvestre Pérez (royal architect) and Juan Antonio Cuervo refused, because of its artistic value and in addition having both been disciples of Ventura Rodríguez. However, their negative reports were of no avail and in 1811 a new royal order finished by tearing down what that left of the building. In 1875, the

Former Mercado de Los Mostenses A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature. A former may become an integral part of the f ...

, designed by Mariano Calvo Pereira, and notable for its use of iron, was inaugurated on its site and twin to the Former Mercado de la Cebada, although somewhat smaller. In turn, this new building was demolished in 1925 to make way for the Gran Vía after a realignment of the route, placing the current market further north, and locating offices and housing buildings on the original site.

Description

The convent was originally built in the then Calle de la Inquisición, occupying another convent-church which led the nuns of St. Catherine of Siena to move to another building on the Plaza de las Cortes de Madrid. Besides the work of Ventura Rodríguez, there were architectural features left from the earlier church, with the main façade composed of a semicircular portico flanked by two towers decorated with

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

columns. The portico had three entrances with four Ionic columns and on this, rose a second crowned body with a statue of St. Norbert, made of granite from

Colmenar Viejo Colmenar Viejo is a town and municipality of about 48,614 inhabitants, located in the Community of Madrid, Spain, 30 kilometers north of Madrid on the M-607 motorway. It belongs to the comarca of Cuenca Alta del Manzanares. Main sights In the ...

by sculptor Manuel Álvarez.Historias de Madrid, 1952, Manuel Iglesias, Editorial I. G., Madrid. In the book ''Historia de la Villa y Corte de Madrid'', by

José Amador de Los Ríos José Amador de los Ríos y Serrano (30 April 1818 – 17 February 1878) was a Spanish intellectual, primarily a historian and archaeologist of art and literature. He was a graduate in history of the Complutense University of Madrid. In 1844 h ...

and Juan de Dios de la Rada, has an engraving that depicts the convent.

References

{{coord, 40.4231, N, 3.7089, W, source:wikidata, display=title Demolished buildings and structures in Madrid Buildings and structures completed in 1611 Religious buildings and structures completed in 1754 Premonstratensian monasteries in Spain Baroque architecture in Spain Buildings and structures in Spain demolished during the Peninsular War Former churches in Spain 1611 establishments in Spain Buildings and structures demolished in 1811