Hospitaller Commandery of Portomarín
Encomenda de Portomarín / Santa Mariña / San Nicolao / San Xoán / Portu Marino / Pontem Minei
(Portomarín, Lugo)
Church of San Xoán
Thanks to its strategic location, Portomarín was, during the Middle Ages, a key point on the Way of Saint James. It was situated next to a bridge over the Miño River, a structure of Roman origin rebuilt in the 12th century. In this area, two female monasteries were established: San Salvador and Santa Mariña. The latter, documented since the year 922, was a royal property in the 12th century. By 1102, it already belonged to Infanta Urraca of León (1081–1126).
In 1158, her grandson, Ferdinand II (1137–1188), gave Santa Mariña to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, along with other assets that were added to properties the Hospitallers already owned in the area, thanks to an earlier donation by Alfonso VII, Ferdinand II’s father. The Hospitallers maintained a pilgrim hospital at this key point on the Way and also built the Church of San Nicolao, also known as San Xoán. They likewise managed other hospitals in various locations.
The Hospitaller commandery of Portomarín became a center of great importance thanks to the donations of lands, churches, and other goods it received over time. Among the benefactors were powerful figures such as King Ferdinand III, who in 1232 contributed to expanding the commandery's wealth. In front of the Church of San Nicolao stood the commandery house, built around 1475 by Commander Juan Piñeiro, according to an inscription from the facade, which was preserved on-site until the village was submerged under the waters of the Belesar Reservoir from 1955 onwards.
Western portal
Western portal
At the back of the church was the pilgrim hospital, a building constructed in the early 16th century by another commander, also named Juan Piñeiro. This structure was demolished in 1944. When the old village of Portomarín disappeared under the water, the Church of San Nicolao was relocated and restored at the new site of the town. It is a single-nave building with a semicircular apse. Its fortress-like appearance, due to the battlements crowning the structure and its considerable height, is striking. The church features three decorated portals and two rose windows: one on the western facade and another above the apse. The building can be dated to between the 12th and 13th centuries.
Western portal
South portal
South portal
South portal
South portal
North portal
North portal
North portal
North portal
North facade
The town before the move
Image from Wikimedia (n.d.)
Photo from Catálogo de la provincia de Lugo (c. 1912)
Hospital, now demolished
Image published at El Hospital de San Juan de Puertomarín (1945)
Inscription of the Hospital
Museo Provincial de Lugo
Image by Froaringus, on Wikimedia
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- FREIRE CAMANIEL, José (1998). El monacato gallego en la alta edad media, vol. II. La Corunya: Fund. Pedro Barrié de la Maza
- MOURE DOMÍNGUEZ, Ana Belén (2009). Traslado y reconstrucción de Portomarín. Universidade da Coruña
- OCAÑA EIROA, Francisco Javier (2007). Traslado y restauración de la iglesia románica de San Juan de Portomarín. Abrente, núm. 38-39
- PÉREZ GONZÁLEZ, José María; dir. (2018). Enciclopedia del Románico en Galicia. Lugo. Aguilar de Campoo: Fundación Santa María la Real
- PÉREZ RODRÍGUEZ, Francisco Javier (2008). Mosteiros de Galicia na Idade Media. Ourense: Deputación Provincial de Ourense
- VÁZQUEZ SACO, Francisco (1945). Iglesias románicas de la provincia de Lugo. Boletín de la Comisión Provincial de Monumentos Históricos y Artísticos de Lugo, núm. 16
- VÁZQUEZ SEIJAS, Manuel (1945). El Hospital de San Juan de Puertomarín. Boletín de la Comisión Provincial de Monumentos Históricos y Artísticos de Lugo, núm. 13
- VILLASEÑOR, Fernando (2012). Patrimonio románico de la orden de San Juan de Jerusalén en el Camino de Santiago. Arte y Órdenes Militares. Patrimonio artístico de la orden de San Juan de Jerusalén en España. Zaragoza: Aneto
Today, the Church of San Xoán (San Nicolao), part of the former Hospitaller commandery, is located in the new town of Portomarín, on the banks of the Miño, where it intersects with the Way of Saint James