Iglesia de Santa María de Baldós, Catholic church of the 13th century in Puente de Montañana, Spain.
The Iglesia de Santa María de Baldós stands on the hilltop of Montañana, a few metres from the keep, built of well-laid medium sandstone ashlar. It has a single short nave with a pointed barrel vault, a semicircular apse and a Latin-cross transept whose arms are narrower than the nave. A four-storey Gothic bell tower rises over the south arm, its walls banded with blind lobed arcades.
The church was built in the 12th–13th centuries over the remains of an earlier church of San Martín, in a Romanesque-to-Gothic transition. In the Gothic period a raised choir and two small chapels were added at the foot of the nave. It later held a retable that was stolen and dismantled by Erik el Belga.
The portal's capitals and corbels carry a carved programme read left to right: the weighing of souls by Saint Michael, Adam and Eve with the serpent, then a seated usurer attacked by monsters representing greed, envy, sloth, pride and anger. On the right, badly worn capitals show the sacrifice of Isaac, with Abraham held back by an angel.
The church stands on the hilltop of Montañana, a few metres from the keep, and is reached on foot along the village lanes. The building is in good condition and built of well-laid sandstone ashlar. The bell tower rises over the south arm of the transept, so the facade and portal face south.
The tympanum above the entrance shows a Pantocrator within a mandorla supported by two angels holding a book inscribed with 'LUX MUNDI'. This central image conveys deep theological meaning, representing Christ as the light of the world.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,859 contributors worldwide.