page_title: Santes Creus
section_title: Cloister
hierarchical_section_title: Santes Creus / Description / Cloister
caption_attribution_description: Interior del claustro del Monasterio de Santes Creus This is a photo of a monument indexed in the Catalan heritage register of Béns Culturals d'Interès Nacional and the Spanish heritage register of Bienes de Interés Cultural under the reference RI-51-0000196.
context_page_description: The Monastery of Santa Maria de Santes Creus, is a former Cistercian monastery in the municipality of Aiguamúrcia, Catalonia, Spain.
  The abbey was erected in the 12th century, in today's municipality of Aiguamurcia, in the village of Santes Creus, in the province of Tarragona. However, it was in the thirteenth century when Peter III of Aragon expressed his desire to be buried in the monastery and a royal crypt was built for himself and his son, King James II that many of the local nobility established the custom to choose this place for burial. This led to the monastery to increase in splendor and greatness thanks to the numerous donations received.
  Santes Crues along with Vallbona de les Monges and Poblet Monastery are known as the known as the Cistercian triangle, that helped consolidate power in Catalonia in the 12th century.
context_section_description: The original cloister was a Romanesque structure, dating to the late 12th-early 13th century. All that remains of the first cloister is a hexagonal central shrine, containing the laundry
  By request of King James II, the original cloister was largely demolished and replaced by a Gothic cloister designed by Reynard of Fonoll, whose work was continued by his disciple Guillem de Seguer. The style of tracery which fills the upper parts of each ogival opening in the cloister arcade varies from  English Geometric to Catalan in design. The clustered columns have highly ornamented capitals with foliate, animal and human figures, as well as biblical scenes. Recesses in the walls house tombs of several Catalan noblemen, and show remains of paintings, one representing the Annunciation.
  The cloister can be accessed from the monastery's external square through the Porta de l'Assumpta or Porta Reial ("Royal Gate"), a Romanesque portal.
caption: View of the cloister showing tracery in the Spanish style
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