Santa Cristina de Lena, Pre-Romanesque church in La Pola, Lena municipality, Spain
Santa Cristina de Lena is a stone church with a rectangular layout, roughly 16 meters long and 12 meters wide, with buttresses supporting its barrel-vaulted structure. The building displays various architectural elements and contains interior details that reveal its crafted origins.
The church was built in 852 during the Kingdom of Asturias and preserves building elements from the earlier Visigothic period, including marble columns and decorative latticework. This blend of styles marks an important transition in the region's architectural heritage.
The interior shows a raised choir area separated from the nave by three marble-columned arches, reflecting how worshippers once gathered and moved through this space. This arrangement shaped the rhythm of religious services for centuries.
The church sits about 25 kilometers south of Oviedo and is somewhat remote, so it helps to plan ahead for access. A nearby museum in a former railway station provides context about the area's past.
Unlike typical pre-Romanesque churches in Asturias, this chapel has a single apse instead of the usual three-apse arrangement, making it architecturally distinct. This choice makes it valuable for understanding variations in this building style.
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