Convento de San Norberto facts for kids
The Convent of San Norberto was an important religious building in Madrid, Spain. It was also called the Convent of Mostenses. This convent was named after Norbert of Xanten, who started the Premonstratensian Order. Sadly, this building no longer exists.
The convent was built in 1611. It was located where the Plaza de Los Mostenses is today, right next to the famous Gran Vía street. The Premonstratensian Fathers Canons founded it. They got permission from Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas, who was the Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo. A kind supporter, Juan de Zúñiga, the Count of Miranda, helped pay for it. He was also the president of the Council of Castile at that time. Today, a market called Mercado de Los Mostenses stands where the old convent used to be. This market was built in the 1800s.
History of the Convent
The church part of the convent was rebuilt in 1754 by a famous architect named Ventura Rodríguez. Before this, the church had been damaged. It had a curved front (called a façade) with two towers on each side.
However, the convent became a victim of a plan by King Joseph Bonaparte. He wanted to open up more public spaces (called plazas) in the city. In April 1810, the convent building was torn down. The next month, an order came to demolish the church too.
Two architects, Silvestre Pérez and Juan Antonio Cuervo, were asked to lead this demolition. They refused because the church was very beautiful and important. Also, both of them had been students of Ventura Rodríguez. But their protests did not help. In 1811, a new royal order made sure that what was left of the building was completely torn down.
In 1875, a new building was opened on the same spot. This was the Former Mercado de Los Mostenses, a market designed by Mariano Calvo Pereira. It was special because it used a lot of iron in its structure. It looked like another market, the Former Mercado de la Cebada, but it was a bit smaller. This market building was also torn down in 1925. This happened to make way for the Gran Vía street, which was being realigned. The current market was then built a bit further north. Offices and homes now stand on the original site of the convent.
What the Convent Looked Like
The convent was first built on a street then called Calle de la Inquisición. It took over another convent-church. Because of this, the nuns of St. Catherine of Siena had to move to a different building.
Besides the work by Ventura Rodríguez, some older parts of the church remained. The main front of the church had a semicircular entrance area. This area was surrounded by two towers. These towers were decorated with Corinthian columns. The entrance area had three doors with four Ionic columns. Above this, there was a second section topped with a statue of St. Norbert. This statue was made from granite from Colmenar Viejo by the sculptor Manuel Álvarez.
The book Historia de la Villa y Corte de Madrid, written by José Amador de Los Ríos and Juan de Dios de la Rada, includes an old picture that shows what the convent looked like.
See also
In Spanish: Convento de San Norberto (Madrid) para niños
