Hermitage of Santa María de Lara facts for kids
The church of Santa María de Lara, also known as the Ermita (which means hermitage or a quiet place for religious people) de Santa María, is a very old church in Spain. It's thought to be one of the few churches built by the Visigoths, an ancient group of people who lived in Spain a long time ago. You can find it near a village called Quintanilla de las Viñas, close to the city of Burgos, in the Castile and León region.
Experts are still trying to figure out exactly when it was built. Most think it was around the 7th century, but some believe it could be as late as the 10th century. This church is special because it's very old and has a unique style of building. It's also believed to have the oldest picture of Christ in Spanish religious art. Because of its importance, it was named a national monument on November 25, 1929.
Contents
History of Santa María de Lara
Early Beginnings of the Church
Before the church was built, the area around Santa María de Lara was home to many Roman villas. After the Visigoths came to the Iberian Peninsula (what we now call Spain) and the Romans left, the Visigoths settled in Quintanilla de las Viñas. They built the church of Santa María de Lara around the early 8th century.
However, in 711 AD, the Moors invaded Spain. Many people left Lara and fled north to the Picos de Europa mountains. Because of this, the church was left empty for a while.
Rebuilding and New Life
In the 9th century, during a time called the Reconquista (when Christians took back land from the Moors), areas like Lara were settled again. Many buildings were in ruins, including Santa María de Lara. The church had been neglected during the Moorish rule, so it needed to be rebuilt.
Archaeologists found a special stone, called a funerary stela, which is now in the Museum of Burgos. This stone is believed to show the date of the church's rebuilding. It has the letters DCCCC carved on it. Experts think this means the year 902. This is based on an old Spanish way of dating things, where you subtract 38 years to get the modern calendar year.
A document from the year 967 AD (or 929 in the old Spanish dating system) mentions a gift of money to the church. This gift was from a woman named Muniadona, who was the mother of Fernán González of Castile. At that time, a monastery was also connected to Santa María de Lara. However, historians don't know exactly where this monastery was because there aren't many old documents.
In 1038, the church was given to a nearby monastery called San Pedro de Arlanza. After this, the church slowly became less important and its structure started to weaken. Later documents from the Archbishopric of Burgos simply called it a 'hermitage'. Eventually, the church was abandoned. Parts of the building collapsed, and many of its old carvings and decorations were lost.
Rediscovery and Modern Times
In 1921, a local parish priest named Don Bonifacio Zamora was walking near Quintanilla de las Viñas. He found the forgotten remains of Santa María de Lara, which had been hidden by thick bushes since the early Middle Ages. Don Bonifacio worked hard to get historians and experts interested in his discovery.
For a few years, he wasn't successful, and the site was even used as a place for farm animals. But in 1927, experts finally noticed the church. Helmut Schlunk, a famous German scholar, was one of many who visited this "newly found" Visigoth church to study it.
After two years of study, the church was officially named a 'National Monument' on November 25, 1929. In the 1930s, large digs were done at the site. These digs showed that people had lived in the area for a very long time. Most of what we know about the church today comes from the research done in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of the artifacts found, like old stones and objects from Roman villas, are now in the 'Museo Provincial de Burgos'.
Until the 1970s, you could only reach the church by a small local road. Then, Jesus Vicario Moreno, who looked after Santa María de Lara and showed it to visitors, helped build an asphalt road. This new road connected the church to Quintanilla de las Viñas, where he lived. Visitors and tourism have helped bring money to keep the church stable and protect it, for example, by building the modern wooden roof. The number of visitors has grown a lot; in 1992, 8,000 tourists visited the site.
Stolen Art and Its Return
In 2004, two stone carvings of evangelists were stolen from the church. Evangelists are the writers of the Gospels in the Bible. In 2010, a tip was received that these stones were being sold as garden decorations in Great Britain. A Dutch art detective named Arthur Brand found them in a British garden. In January 2019, they were returned to the Spanish embassy.
People Connected to Santa María de Lara
Lady Flammola's Contribution
An inscription carved on the right side of the main arch inside the church mentions a Lady Flammola. The Latin words say + OC EXIGUUM EXIGUA OFF(ERO) D(E)O FLAMMOLA VOTUM. This is believed to mean, "Flammola, the least of the least, makes this promised offering to God." Another way to translate it is, "This small gift the Lady Flammola offers to God."
Historians sometimes call this Lady Flammola "Dona Lambra." She might have paid for the restoration of the church in the 10th century and supported it with her money. However, many women from that time had the same name. Without a more exact date for the carving, experts can't be sure which specific Flammola ordered the restoration.
The Fernán González Family
Muniadona is mentioned in an old document from 967 AD. This document records her giving a donation to the church. Muniadona was the mother of Count Fernán González of Castile, who was a powerful ruler of Castile at that time.
Fernán González of Castile, who was the first independent count of Castile, had strong ties to the church. This is clear for three reasons. First, he was part of the important Lara family, and the church shares its name with his family. He grew up in and later commanded the castle of Lara, which you can see from Santa María de Lara on a clear day. Finally, he was buried in the monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza, which owned Santa María de Lara at that time.
See also
In Spanish: Ermita de Santa María (Quintanilla de las Viñas) para niños
