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Collegiate church of Santa María a Real do Sar

Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, A Coruña

1 Villages · 12 Monuments · 6 Nature · 3 Activities · 7 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones

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Collegiate church of Santa María a Real do Sar

Monument · Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, A Coruña

A Romanesque church on the banks of the río Sar, in Santiago de Compostela, conceived as a retreat house for Augustinian regular canons, Galicia's first Augustinian community. It was founded by Bishop Munio Alfonso, a former collaborator of Diego Gelmírez, after he resigned the see of Mondoñedo in 1134; on his death, before the work was finished, Gelmírez himself took charge of completing it, and the founding charter survives, dated 1 September 1136, confirmed by Alfonso VII in 1137. It is famous for the pronounced lean of its walls and pillars, shored up with Baroque buttresses added centuries later. It was declared a Monumento Nacional, today a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection), in 1895, and has featured since 2015 in the Unesco-recognised inventory of the Camino de Santiago.

Photo: Javier Pais (CC BY 2.0)

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