The Monastery of Santa Maria de Poblet, Catalonia

The monastery was founded in 1151 by Cistercian monks from France.

This Cistercian abbey in Catalonia is one of the largest in Spain. At its centre is a 12th-century church. The austere, majestic monastery, which has a fortified royal residence and contains the pantheon of the kings of Catalonia and Aragon, is an impressive sight.

It was dissolved and left deserted in the Civil War of 1835. With the monks’ re-establishment in Poblet in 1930, an ambitious restoration and conservation process began in 1940 which has returned to the monastery the majesty it deserves

The monastery of Poblet is the biggest inhabited Cistercian "colony" in Europe.

Official website of the monastery
http://www.abadia-poblet.org/

Paradox place: REIAL MONASTIR DE SANTA MARIA DE POBLET
http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/Spain/Navarre_Aragon_Catalonia/Catalonia/Poblet/Poblet.htm

Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet
http://www.monestirs.cat/monst/conca/co22pobl.htm

UNESCO World Heritage Listing
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/518

The royal monastery of Santa Maria de Poblet
http://www.conca.altanet.org/consells/conca/uk/uk_1/fra_uk_132.html

OTROS RECINTOS DEL MONASTERIO DE POBLET
http://www.tinet.org/~ablasco/Poblet/poblet2c.html