The former Benedictine abbey of Sant Benet de Bages was founded in the mid-10th century on the initiative of the Sal-la (?-c. 969) and Ricarda spouses, who endowed it financially. The founder, a personage related to the Viscount House of Osona, had participated in the repopulation of the territory after its recovery. In 950, he acquired by exchange the land on which the monastery would later be built.
The founder himself obtained papal guardianship on a trip to Rome, and at the same time brought back the relics of Saint Valentine. The first abbot of the house was Abbó, known since 967. The church was consecrated in 972 in the presence of the bishops of Vic, Urgell and Barcelona, as well as members of the family of the founders, who were by then deceased. On this occasion, its dependence on Rome is again mentioned. In 999 the establishment was attacked by Almanzor's troops. After a few years without an abbot, in 1002 a new one was chosen (Ramió 1002-1032), elected by the monks and without the intervention, effective until then, of the founders' family, who had determined that the leaders of the community should be their relatives. In 1016 a bull of Pope Benedict VIII placed the monastery under his direct jurisdiction.
In 1075, on the death of Abbot Miró, brother of Ramon Berenguer I, the situation changed and Sant Benet was joined to the monastery of Saint-Pons-de-Thomières (Hérault, Languedoc-Roussillon). At the end of the 12th century, independence was regained and Abbot Benet (1108-1152) was elected from among the members of the community. In 1114, the establishment suffered a new Islamic incursion, the effects of which were very serious, and the present church, completed around 1212, had to be rebuilt. The construction of the cloister then began, using elements from the previous one
The church
Church Gate
In 1348, during the Black Death, the community almost completely disappeared. By the mid-16th century, the monastic buildings were in a state of great disrepair. In 1593 it lost its independence and was united to Santa Maria de Montserrat, according to a papal bull of Clement VIII. According to this, Montserrat left Sant Pau del Camp and obtained the more profitable direction of Sant Benet. This union meant that, like Montserrat, it became part of the Congregation of Valladolid. Sant Benet became a school of the Arts and a center for elderly monks.
The monastery remained active until 1835, when it ceased to have a community following the confiscation of ecclesiastical buildings, the properties were auctioned off and the buildings were used as dwellings by the workers of a textile industry. In 1909, the site was acquired by the family of the painter Ramon Casas and Josep Puig i Cadafalch oversaw its restoration. In 1931 it was declared a national monument. In 2000 it was acquired by the Caixa de Manresa, which took charge of restoring the complex and in 2007 inaugurated a complex known as Món Sant Benet dedicated to disseminating the history of the monastery, of the period when it was the residence of the Casas family and of gastronomy. It now belongs to the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation.
Remains of the founders' tomb
Inside the church
The original church and cloister had to be rebuilt following the Saracen attack in 1114. These are the oldest parts. To the east of the cloister should have been the chapterhouse, which has now practically disappeared. Later, a first floor was added to the cloister. In the 14th century, a new Gothic structure was built and used as a cellar. To the west is the abbey palace, dating from the 17th century. The church has a single nave with a transept and three apses. The crypt has been preserved. The western doorway is semicircular, with undecorated archivolts and three capitals on each side. It has a second, simpler doorway that leads to the cloister. The remains of what would have been the pantheon of the founders are preserved in front of the church.
The cloister has four galleries with double columns, a total of sixty-four, with their decorated capitals. It would have been built between the 12th and 13th centuries and contains some reused pieces, such as a capital in the east gallery, with bas-reliefs, perhaps dating from the 10th century. Another of the capitals mentions the name of one of the architects of the work: a certain Bernat. A window from the old chapterhouse has been preserved. In the cloister itself there are several tombs from the Gothic period.
Church Gate
Scheme of the church plan and cloister
Romanesque Virgin Mary
The cloister
The cloister
Palace of the Abbot
Cellar
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To get to the monastery from Sant Fruitós, take the road to Navarcles. Before crossing the Llobregat river, take a turn to the right (signposted), which takes in two Km