Abbaye Saint-Michel de Cuxa

Codalet

In 878 a flood of the Têt carried off the monastery of Eixalada, higher up the valley; the surviving monks fell back on Cuxa, under the lead of their abbot Protasius, and built there. A century later, on 28 September 974, Abbot Garin consecrated to Saint Michael the great church that is still standing: a pre-Romanesque nave with horseshoe arches, of Visigothic tradition, one of the largest preserved from that period. The doge of Venice Pietro Orseolo, who had left his office in secret, came there to end his days as a monk. In the 11th century Abbot Oliba, a count turned monk, bishop of Vic and abbot of Ripoll, had the crypt of the Crèche dug beneath the entrance, a rotunda carried on a single pillar, and raised two bell towers, of which only one survives. In the 12th century came the cloister of pink marble of the Conflent, its capitals peopled with lions and monsters. Abandoned in 1791, the abbey was dismembered: its marbles went to private hands, then, at the beginning of the 20th century, to America, where they form the heart of the Cloisters in New York. Cistercians from Fontfroide returned in 1919, Benedictines from Montserrat in 1965; the remaining half of the cloister has been re-erected on the spot. Cuxa is the great sanctuary of the archangel in the Pyrenees, at the foot of the sacred mountain of the Catalans.

Wikipédia — Abbaye Saint-Michel de Cuxa ↗

Getting there : From Prades (N 116), follow Codalet then "Abbaye de Cuxa", 5 minutes; car park in front of the entrance. Open all year (admission charge, closed on Sunday morning for the service). The Benedictine monks celebrate the offices, which are open to the public. The Pablo Casals festival gives concerts there in summer.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound