The Convento de San Marcos was a convent in the city of León,

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, that is today an operating luxury

parador A ''parador'' (), in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries was an establishment where travelers could seek lodging, and usually, food and drink, similar to an inn. In Spain since 1928, a Parador is a state-owned luxury hotel, usually loca ...

hotel. It also contains a consecrated church and museum, and is one of the most important monuments of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

in Spain. It is one of the greatest architectural jewels of León, together with the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, the Basilica of San Isidoro and la Casa Botines. It has a highly ornamental

plateresque Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish language, Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially Architecture, architectural, developed in Spanish Empire, Spain and its territories, which appeared ...

facade. The origins of this building lie in the twelfth century, in the days of

Alfonso VII of León Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century ( Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. ...

. His sister, the Infanta Sancha of Castile, made a donation in July 1152 to construct a modest building on the outskirts of the walled city, on the banks of the Bernesga river, where "the poor of Christ" could stay. This would be a hospital-temple of shelter for pilgrims travelling the Camino de Santiago. Also, the building was the main residence for the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; ) is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the patron saint of Spain, ''Santiago'' ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of S ...

in the Kingdom of León. In 1176, Pedro Fernández de Castro, the first maestre of the Order of Santiago was elected as the first prior, and in 1184 he was buried in his church. The darkest period in the monastery of San Marcos's five centuries of history is concentrated in just four years. During the course of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

cells, rooms, stables, cloisters, church, choir, museum and every fast corner of the building were transformed into impromptu dungeons or jailers' offices, in what became officially known as "Campo de concentración de San Marcos" (San Marcos

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

). Between July 1936 and the end of 1940, up to 7,000 men and 300 women were imprisoned at the same time. It is estimated that, over the entire war and the period immediately following, the number of Republican militia members and political prisoners that passed through its cells totaled some 20,000. In the

province of León León (, ; ; ; ) is a province of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the Region of León and in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the c ...

, around 3,000 deaths are recorded due to the repression, and a good number of these came from the dungeons of San Marcos.

History of construction

In the sixteenth century, the medieval building was found to be in poor condition, so it was demolished and a new work was carried out thanks to a grant from Ferdinand the Catholic King in 1514. The architects appointed for this work were: Juan Orozco (church), Martin Villarreal (front facade) and Juan de Badajoz el Mozo (cloister and sacristy). However, the new work was not started until well into the reign of Charles I. It is known that the wall of the main facade of the convent was built from the entrance up to the church in 1537, and this was consecrated in 1541. In the following years, Orozco constructed the sculptures of the facade, the choir area was completed, and in 1549 Juan de Badajoz finished the sacristy. Work was suspended in 1566 due to the move of the religious community to Calera and then to Mérida, but the return of the friars to San Marcos in 1602 gave impetus to continue the work. In 1615, the staircase was built, and in 1679 was completed the still missing part of the cloister. Finally, between 1711 and 1715 there was a large expansion of the building, with another wall being raised that went from the main entrance to the river, and ending at the palace tower. This new wall perfectly mimics the one built in the sixteenth century, with any artistic difference between the two halves of the facade being barely noticeable. Today, it is a hostel belonging to the state-owned

Paradores Paradores de Turismo de España , branded as Paradores, is a Spanish State-owned enterprise, state-owned chain of luxury hotels that are usually located in historic buildings or in nature areas with a special appeal. Its first parador was inau ...

and a church with a museum. It is necessary step in the

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tra ...

Citations

External links

Tourism portal of Castille and León: Convento de San Marcos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Convent Of San Marcos, Leon Paradores Buildings and structures in León, Spain Renaissance architecture in León, Spain Plateresque architecture in Castile and León Tourist attractions in Castile and León Francoist concentration camps Convents in Spain

History of construction

See also

Citations

External links