Cistercian monasteries: Poblet and Santa Cruz.
n
TheRoyal Monastery of Santa María de Poblet (Monastery of Santa María de Poblet ) or simply Poblet Monastery is one of the wonders of Cistercian architecture in Spain, the most famous and greatest monastery of the Cistercian Triangle. It was a royal monastery and the richest of the monasteries, which was practically an independent principality. In the 19th century, the monastery was destroyed, looted and remained in ruins for a long time. The abandoned Poblet inspired the young Antony Gaudí and his two companions and taught them a lot. The boys dreamed of restoring this symbol of Catalan spirituality and devised a huge project to restore the monastery. Of course, the friends had neither the energy nor the money to make it happen. But for Gaudí it was his first architectural laboratory, and it is believed that it was the Poblet stones that were the basis for the Catalan genius’s outstanding creations.
n
The Monastery ofSanta Cruz (Holy Cross), founded in the 12th century, does not serve its intended purpose today (it was closed in the mid-19th century). Famous Catalan personalities are buried in Santa Cru: Queen Margarita de Prades, King Jaume II, and King Pedro II.
n
