Monastery of Santes Creus

The site of Valldaura was not suitable for a Cistercian monastic establishment, so in 1155 the Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV intervened and gave a property of his own in Ancosa (la Llacuna, Anoia) with better geographical conditions for the monastery. It is believed that the monks never settled there, as it was not entirely suitable. In 1160 a new donation was made with the land of Santes Creus, near the Gaià, with a pre-existing church considered to be of eremitic origin, where the monastery was finally erected. The foundation was not fully completed until 1168, when a papal bull by Alexander III declared the new residence to be directly dependent on Rome, free from episcopal intervention. After the first few abbots of Occitan origin, Pere de Valldaura (1158-1184), the first abbot born in the country, was appointed to this post.

The sacristy, chapter house and the parlour (which connects the cloister with the rear part of the complex) belong to this early period. The monks' dormitory, begun in 1191 and completed in the 13th century, was built on top of this complex shortly afterwards. Under the abbotship of Saint Bernat Calbó (1226-1233) and after a period of economic problems, construction activity was resumed, thanks to the collaboration of the sovereigns.

Peter III of Aragon (1240-1285) was the first monarch to be buried in the monastery. Later, the transept of the church housed the tomb of his son James II the Just (1267-1327) and his wife Blanche of Anjou (1283-1310). It was at this time that the Royal Palace was built. Abbot Bonanat of Vila-seca founded the branch monasteries of Valldigna in La Safor (1298) and Altofonte, near Palermo, Sicily (1308). Santes Creus was also involved in the foundation of the military order of Montesa in 1319.

A long period of decadence followed, which did not prevent further minor works from being carried out, such as alterations to the Royal Palace and the adaptation of the armarium as the Chapel of the Assumption in the cloister. Between 1376-77, defensive structures were added, with the battlements crowning the church and the cloister. In 1452 the assets of Santa Maria de Bonrepòs passed to Escaladei and Santes Creus, the former keeping the nearby properties and the latter the liturgical objects and the more distant properties. It has been said that the rear cloister of Santes Creus comes from Bonrepòs.

In the 19th century, the monastery experienced the misfortunes of the period. As for the War of Independence, although the troops entered and the community fled temporarily, it seems that neither the buildings nor the furnishings were particularly damaged. In 1820 it was suppressed, and its assets were put up for auction, the whole being divided into different lots, although the losses of the furnishings were limited. The community was reintegrated in 1823 but the monastery was definitively abandoned in 1835, as a consequence of the events of July in Reus and Barcelona, at which time and despite the situation, the community still had thirty-five members.