The Benedictine monastery of Santa Cristina de Ribas de Sil is located in a spectacular setting, in the chestnut grove of Merilán. Declared an Cultural Interest Asset, its temple, one of the best examples of Galician rural Romanesque architecture, was built between the 12th and 13th centuries.
It was founded in the shelter of the steep banks of the final course of the river Sil, and was considered one of the most important in the Ribeira Sacra in the Middle Ages, as can be seen from the remains of the roads that converge in this place. The monks dedicated themselves to the cultivation of chestnuts, vines and the rich river resources. The mention in medieval documentation of the existence of numerous farms and harvesting centres, where all the rents and tithes were received, are evidence of the monastery’s economic prosperity, which began in the 12th century. In the middle of the same century, it passed into the hands of the Benedictine order, with the letters of aphorism ceding land and property to the peasantry in exchange for the payment of rents, while the monastery received the concession of important royal privileges and papal protection.
In 1508, as a priory, it became dependent on the monastery of Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil, following the monastic reform of the 15th century. This circumstance was a determining factor in its decline, although in the 16th century the cloister was rebuilt and paintings were painted in the apse of the church. In 1835, the confiscation of Mendizabal and its transfer to private hands turned it into a working farm.
Today, the Romanesque church, the tower and part of the cloister and convent buildings remain standing, minimally restored and open to the public.
Photo: Antón Gavela – transourensan.blogspot.com
