Monastery of Santa María de Toloño facts for kids
Santa María de Toloño, also called Our Lady of los Ángeles, is an old Spanish monastery that is now mostly in ruins. It sits in the Sierra de Toloño mountains, close to a town called Labastida in Álava. Monks known as the Hieronymites built it. Sadly, a war called the First Carlist War destroyed much of it, and today, only some walls are left standing.
History of the Monastery
This ancient place of worship is found in a peaceful meadow. It is very high up, about 1,201 metres (3,940 ft) (or 3,940 feet) above the sea.
Monks from a group called the Hieronymites built the monastery. They worked on it between the 1300s and 1400s. However, they left it in 1422 because the weather there was too harsh.
Later, a special group called the Hermandad de la Divisa (Brotherhood of the Currency) took care of it. They looked after the monastery until the late 1700s.
In 1835, a war known as the First Carlist War caused a big fire at the monastery. After the fire, only a part of the beautiful Baroque chapel remained standing.
What the Monastery Looked Like
The monastery was built very well and had many important parts. It included a church, a special room called a camarín (often used for a statue of a saint), and a sacristía (where priests prepare for services).
The main altar, called a retablo mayor, was made of white stone. The monastery also had 22 rooms, five kitchens, and separate living areas. There were rooms for a chaplain (a priest), two hermits (people who live alone for religious reasons), and a servant. It even had a meeting room for the Divisa brotherhood.
See also
In Spanish: Monasterio de Santa María de Toloño para niños
