Convento de San Norberto facts for kids
The Convento de San Norberto, also known as the Mostenses Convent, was a beautiful church and monastery in Madrid, the capital of Spain. It was named after Saint Norbert, who started a religious group called the Premonstratensian Order. Sadly, this building no longer exists. It used to be on the land where you can now find the Plaza de Los Mostenses, a square near the famous Gran Vía street.
The convent was founded, or started, in the year 1611. A group of monks from the Premonstratensian Order got permission to build it from a powerful church leader named Cardinal Bernardo de Rojas. The money to build it was given by a wealthy supporter, Juan of Zúñiga, who was an important government official at the time. Today, a market called the Mercado de Los Mostenses stands where the convent once was.
Contents
The Convent's Story
A New Look and a Sad End
Over time, the original church fell into ruin. In 1754, a famous architect named Ventura Rodríguez was hired to rebuild it. He gave the church a new, curved front wall, called a façade, with a tower on each side.
However, the church's new life didn't last long. In the early 1800s, the king of Spain was Joseph Bonaparte, the brother of the famous French leader Napoleon. The king had a plan to create more open squares in Madrid. In April 1810, the main convent building was torn down. A month later, an order was given to demolish the church as well.
The architects chosen for the job, Silvestre Pérez and Juan Antonio Cuervo, refused. They had both been students of Ventura Rodríguez, the man who rebuilt the church. They argued that the church was too beautiful and artistically important to be destroyed. But their efforts failed. In 1811, a new order from the king forced the complete demolition of the beautiful church.
From Convent to Market
For many years, the land was empty. Then, in 1875, a market was built on the site. It was called the Mercado de Los Mostenses and was known for its modern iron structure.
This market also disappeared. In 1925, it was torn down to make way for the new Gran Vía, a major road that was being built through the city. The market was moved to a new spot a little further north, where it still is today. On the original site of the convent, office buildings and apartments were built.
What Did the Convent Look Like?
The convent was a very impressive building. The main entrance had a half-circle porch with two tall towers on either side. The towers were decorated with a fancy style of columns called the Corinthian style.
The porch itself had three doorways and four columns in a different style, known as the Ionic style. Above the porch was a large statue of Saint Norbert. The statue was carved from granite stone by a sculptor named Manuel Álvarez.
An old book about the history of Madrid includes an engraving, which is a type of printed picture, that shows what the convent looked like.
See also
In Spanish: Convento de San Norberto (Madrid) para niños
