Monestir de Santa Maria de Valldonzella, Cistercian monastery in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, Spain.
The monastery church has a Latin-cross plan with a single nave 45 m long and 10 m wide, covered by quadripartite ribbed vaults over five bays. Its heptagonal presbytery is surrounded by an ambulatory, and the interior combines Gothic forms with early-20th-century brick and artificial stone. The cloister measures over 30 m square, with brick columns and capitals, some reused from the earlier monastery.
The community was founded in 1237 when Berenguera de Cervera established the monastery with eleven nuns near Barcelona. In 1410, King Martin I of Aragon died within these walls, linking the religious site to medieval power.
The name Valldonzella comes from the valley of the original hermitage of Santa Margarida on Collserola. Today nine nuns follow the ora et labora rule, running a guesthouse and doing bookbinding work. In 1911 the community bought a 15th-century choir stall from the monastery of Sant Cugat, still kept in good condition.
The building on Carrer del Císter was constructed in 1913 and consecrated in 1922, making the current structure over 100 years old. Visitors should note that the architecture displays both traditional and modern elements from this period.
In October 1911 the nuns bought a 15th-century choir stall from the monastery of Sant Cugat, and it is still kept in good condition. The community today numbers nine nuns, who follow the ora et labora rule, run a guesthouse and do bookbinding work.
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