Sant Andreu d'Andorra la Vella, Romanesque church in Andorra la Vella, Andorra
Sant Andreu d'Andorra la Vella is a small Romanesque church built between the 11th and 12th centuries and entirely rebuilt in 1958. It has a single rectangular nave with a two-slope roof, a semicircular apse covered by a quarter-sphere vault, and a small bell gable above the presbyteral arch. The original south door has a round arch; the west door, protected by a porch, is now used.
Sant Andreu was built between the 11th and 12th centuries beside the old royal road from Andorra la Vella toward the Valira del Nord valley. Its ruined state led to a complete rebuilding in 1958, and it is registered as a Bé d'Interès Cultural. A 12th-century reliquary in the form of a small casket, originally from the church, is kept at the Museu Episcopal de Vic.
The church is dedicated to Saint Andrew, and the Romanesque goldsmithing it once held is represented by a 12th-century reliquary in the shape of a small chest, now kept at the Museu Episcopal de Vic. The building was rebuilt in 1958, so the present chapel stands as a modern reconstruction of the Romanesque originals.
The chapel stands near the old royal road that linked Andorra la Vella with the Valira del Nord valley, so it is reached on foot from the historic centre. The entrance in use today is the west door under its porch, not the original south doorway. The building is small and its single nave is short, so a visit takes little time.
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