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What I thought a monastery would look like!
As I returned from our trip to Montserrat a little disappointed by the atmosphere I was a tad sceptical what to expect from our visit to the Reial Monestir De Santa Maria De Pedralbes. But I was not disappointed!
The monastery was founded in 1326 and handed to the Second Order of St. Francis, Order of the Clarists. The monastery and its church were built in the Aragonian-Catalan Gothic style. We were not allowed to enter the church when we visited. Firstly, a service was in progess and secondly, my outfit wasn’t really appropriate for the church. There were no problems whatsoever to visit the courtyard and the neighbouring buildings, though.
Here I found what makes a monastery a monastery. A marvellous and quiet yard, framed by a two-storey cloister. A pleasant atmosphere where one can sit on a bench in the shade and enjoy the silence. In the garden different medicinal herbs were grown, that people like to use again today.
Some of the rooms around the cloister can be visited. In the St. Michael’s Chapel, for example, beautiful mural paintings can be seen and paintings by famous artists were hung in the dormitory. There is also a little exhibition about life in the monastery in the 14th century that I liked a lot. Especially the display cases with detailed reconstructions of scenes from the lives of the people were very well done and I particularly enjoyed those.
The Reial Monestir monastery is small and a visit doesn’t take up much time. But maybe this is also the reason why it is so quiet here. No masses of visitors squeeze through the gates to the courtyard. Guided tours are offered as needed and sometimes someone with an audio guide walks past. This was a wonderful visit that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Address:
Reial Monestir
Baixada des Monestir, 9
08034 Barcelona
Spain
Opening Hours:
April to September:
Tuesday to Friday: 10.00 – 17.00
Saturday: 10.00 – 19.00
Sunday: 10.00 – 20.00
Monday: closed
October to March:
Tuesday to Friday: 10.00 – 14.00
Saturday, Sunday: 10.00 – 17.00
Monday: closed
Admission:
Adults: 5€
Discounts are available
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