Natural environmet

Natural resources surrounding Casa Roxica

San Paio de Narla

The San Paio de Narla Fortress was acquired by the Lugo Provincial Council in 1939 and in 1983 it was converted into a historical and ethnographic museum, transferring a good part of the Lugo Museum's ethnographic collections to it.

The fortress was demolished in the Irmandiños revolts of the 15th century and rebuilt in the following century, so the current building is basically the work of the 16th and 17th centuries. It has a central body flanked by the Keep and a large tower.

The ground floor, formed by the patio, the courts and the cellar, houses a collection of agricultural work tools, various riding objects and tools for weaving wool and linen. The first floor consists of a kitchen, a living room and other rooms where we can see artistic objects, furniture and household items. From the top floor, where a Renaissance fireplace stands out, you can access the crenellation and contemplate the surroundings of the fortress.

The chapel, from the 18th century, separate from the main building, has a square plan with a hipped roof. An altarpiece from the 19th century stands out inside.

Sobrado dos Monxes lagoon

Protected by the Red Natura 2000, it turns the Sobrado dos Monxes Lagoon into one of the most important and interesting wetlands in the geography of Galicia, both for its rich flora and birdlife. The almost circular shape of the lagoon covers an area of ​​10 hectares. with an average depth of 1.5 to 4.5 meters.

We must thank the monks of the 16th century for the existence of this lagoon, since they were the ones who created it during the years 1500 -1530.

The reasons that led to the construction of this Sobrado dos Monxes lagoon were several: Use it to irrigate crops near the lagoon through canals that also supplied the mills that worked for the abbots.

Among the vegetation, species such as birch, ash, carballo, willow, ameneiro or elder stand out. Water lilies, water clovers, water spikes, reeds, are part of the aquifer vegetation. In the depths of the lake live some algae that can only be found in this place, such as Nitella flexilis and Myriophyllum alterniflorum.

Monastery of Sobrado dos Monxes

The Monastery of Santa María de Sobrado is already mentioned in documents from the end of the 10th century, with the name “San Salvador”. The history of the first 150 years of life of the Monastery is not sufficiently studied; We know that at the beginning of the 12th century the Monastery was abandoned. In 1142 Bernardo de Fontaines, whom we know today as San Bernardo, sent a community of monks from Clairvaux (France), where he was abbot. Thus, on February 14, 1142, Cistercian monastic life began in Santa María de Sobrado.

During the rest of the 12th century and the 13th century the Monastery developed great spiritual and economic activity. Later, like most Monasteries in Spain and Europe, it experienced a period of decline that stopped in 1498, when the Monastery joined the Congregation of Castilla. The Monastery recovers much of its greatness; Most of the buildings that are currently preserved began to be built from this new era. The monumental church was completed at the end of the 17th century and in 1708 it was solemnly consecrated.

Santa María de Sobrado suffers a new stage of decline, which culminates in 1834: on September 21, 1834, the Monastery was suppressed by royal order. The following year, 1835, most of the Monasteries in Spain were also suppressed, by a general and definitive order of confiscation. The Monastery of Santa María de Sobrado, its buildings and possessions are sold to people not related to the religious or ecclesiastical institution. A progressive deterioration of the buildings begins and they end up becoming a huge pile of ruins and stones.

In 1954, by order of Cardinal Quiroga, Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, the Cistercian Monastery of Viaceli, located in the town of Cóbreces (Cantabria), began the enormous task of rebuilding the Monastery; and in the month of July 1966 he sent a community of monks. On July 25, 1966, the solemnity of the Apostle Saint James, Cistercian monastic life began again in the Monastery of Santa María de Sobrado.

UNESCO has declared the Monastery of Sobrado dos Monxes a World Heritage Site.