Santa María de Toloño, also known as Our Lady of los Ángeles, is a ruined Spanish monastery located in the

Sierra de Toloño Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" or " mountain chain" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Niev ...

near

Labastida Labastida in Spanish language, Spanish or Bastida in Basque language, Basque is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of the Rioja Alavesa, in the province of Álava in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, norther ...

Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...

. Constructed by the

Hieronymites The Hieronymites or Jeronimites, also formally known as the Order of Saint Jerome (; abbreviated OSH), is a Catholic enclosed religious orders, cloistered religious order and a common name for several congregations of hermit monks living accordi ...

, the monastery was destroyed in the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...

and only a few walls remain.

History

The sanctuary is located in a meadow at above sea level. It was built by the Hieronymites between the 14th and 15th centuries, and abandoned in 1422 due to harsh weather. Later, it was affiliated with the ''Hermandad de la Divisa'' (Brotherhood of the Currency) until the end of 18th century. In 1835, during the First Carlist war, it suffered a fire that left only a part of the Baroque chapel standing.

Architecture and fittings

The building was well-constructed, with church,

camarín A camarín is a shrine or chapel set above and behind the altar in a church, but still visible from the body of the church. They are especially found in Spain and Portugal and throughout Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of ...

and sacristía. Its

retablo mayor A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

were of white stone. There were 22 rooms, five kitchens, separate rooms for a chaplain, two hermits and a servant, as well as a meeting room for the Divisa.Royal Academy of History (1802). ''Diccionario Geográfico-Histórico de España.''. Tomo I Abadiano-Llodio. Madrid: Printing of the widow of D. Joaquin Ibarra. Pages 376-77. Public domain.

References

Bibliography

* De Sigüenza, José (1544). CAPITVLO XXXII. ''Historia de la Orden de San Jerónimo''. Pages 155–156. (in Spanish) * Hergueta and Martin, Domingo (1906). ''Noticias históricas de la muy noble y muy leal ciudad de Haro'' (1979 edition). Logroño: Publications Service of the Provincial Council of Logroño. . (in Spanish) * Goicolea Julián, Francisco Javier (1999). ''Haro: una villa riojana del linaje Velasco a fines del Medievo'' (1999 edition). Logroño: Ediciones Instituto de Estudios Riojanos. Page 362, . (in Spanish)

External links

* Hieronymite monasteries Christian monasteries in Spain Christian monasteries established in the 14th century Church ruins in Spain Churches in Álava {{Spain-Christian-monastery-stub