Monestir de Sant Feliu de Guíxols is a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

Sant Feliu de Guíxols Sant Feliu de Guíxols () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Baix Empordà in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the Costa Brava and is an important port and tourist centre. The district ...

, in the ''comarca'' of the

Baix Empordà Baix Empordà (; ; "Lower Empordà") is a comarca (county) in the Girona region, Catalonia, in Spain. It is one of the two comarques into which Empordà was divided in the comarcal division of 1936, the other one being Alt Empordà. It is popula ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

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 ...

. It was first referenced around the year 961, and was declared a

Bien de Interés Cultural (, , , ) is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Colombia and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" ("goods" in the economic sense). It includes not only mater ...

(''Bé d'Interès Cultural'' in Catalan) landmark in 1931. The Romanesque building is an excellent example of the town's

medieval architecture Medieval architecture was the architecture, art and science of designing and constructing buildings in the Middle Ages. The major styles of the period included pre-Romanesque, Romanesque architecture, Romanesque, and Gothic architecture, Gothic. In ...

and has been remodeled several times. It includes the Porta Ferrada, the symbol of the town, as well as two towers. It houses a history museum. On the basis of available records, the foundation of the Benedictine monastery can be traced back to the first half of the 10th century. The bay of Guixols was chosen due to its good natural harbour and the proximity to the coast of the nearby range of hills, which would make it easier to flee and would give a certain degree of protection in cases of attack from the sea. The decision was no doubt also influenced by the martyrdom of Saint Felix of Africa and the opportunity to take advantage of existing buildings dating from the Roman period. The monastery's role was to control the agricultural exploitation and production of the surrounding region, and also to provide protection to its inhabitants in return. It was thus a fortified coastal monastery exercising its feudal dominion over the territory. At its foundation, the monastery was dedicated to Saint Felix and the name of Sant Feliu (in its Catalan form) was thereafter forever associated with that of Guíxols, thus giving the present-day name of the town (used from the 10th century onwards).

Gallery

File:Torre de Fum - 001.jpg, Torre de Fum File:Arc de Sant Benet - 001.jpg, Arc de Sant Benet File:Monasterio de Sant Feliu de Guíxols (plano).svg, Plan File:Monestir de Sant Feliu de Guíxols de nit.JPG, Monestir at night.

References

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External links

Description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monestir de Sant Feliu de Guixols Benedictine monasteries in Catalonia Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Girona Christian monasteries established in the 10th century Romanesque architecture in Catalonia