Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí

Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí

The narrow Vall de Boí is situated in the high Pyrénées, in the Alta Ribagorça region and is surrounded by steep mountains. Each village in the valley contains a Romanesque church, and is surrounded by a pattern of enclosed fields. There are extensive seasonally-used grazing lands on the higher slopes.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Églises romanes catalanes de la Vall de Boí

L'étroite Vall de Boí, située dans les hautes Pyrénées, dans la région d'Alta Ribagorça, est entourée de montagnes abruptes. Chacun des villages de la vallée, environné de champs clôturés, abrite une église romane. Il y a également de vastes pâturages saisonniers en altitude.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

كنائس رومانيّة كاتالونيّة في فال دي بوي

يقع وادي فال دي بوي في أعالي جبال البيرينيه في منطقة ألتا ريباغورسا التي تحيطها جبال شاهقة. وفي كلّ قرية من قرى الوادي الذي تحيطه وديان مغلقة كنيسة رومانيّة ناهيك عن مراعٍ موسميّة شاسعة قائمة في الأعالي.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

博伊谷地的罗马式教堂建筑

博伊谷地位于西班牙东北部加泰罗尼亚自治区的比利牛斯山区,周围被陡峭的群山环抱。山谷中的每一个乡村都有一个罗马式教堂,在乡村周围则是按照一定形式构成的封闭区域。在谷底的山坡上有着许多具有悠久历史的放牧场。

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Романские церкви в Валь-де-Бой, Каталония

Узкая, в окружении крутых гор, долина Валь-де-Бой находится в высокогорье Пиренеев, в районе Альта-Рибагорса. Каждая деревня в этой долине имеет романскую церковь и окружена сетью огороженных полей. На более высоких склонах находятся обширные, используемые сезонно, пастбища.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Iglesias románicas catalanas de Vall del Boí

Flanqueado por abruptas montañas, el angosto valle del Boí está situado en la región altopirenaica de la Alta Ribagorza. Todas las aldeas de este valle, rodeadas de campos cercados, poseen una iglesia románica. En las zonas más altas hay vastas praderas para el pasto estival del ganado.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

ボイ渓谷のカタルーニャ風ロマネスク様式教会群
スペイン北東部、カタールニャ地方、ピレネー高地に位置する。山々に囲まれた急勾配の峻険な地に流れるボイ渓谷には、村ごとに11~12世紀建立のロマネスク様式の教会が数多く残されており、建築的にも高度な技術を誇る。こればボイ渓谷の教区管轄権を裏付けるもので、当地の司祭が教会建設を推進したためとされる。タフル村にはこの地域で最も重要なサンタ・マリア教会やサント・クリメント教会が1123年いに相次いで建設されている。

source: NFUAJ

Catalaans-Romaanse kerken van Vall de Boí

De smalle Vall de Boí vallei ligt in de hoge Pyreneeën – in de Alta Ribagorca regio – en wordt omringd door steile bergen. Elk dorp in de vallei heeft een Romaanse kerk en is omgeven door een patroon van omheinde velden. Op de hogere hellingen liggen omvangrijke seizoensgebonden graslanden. De kerken van Vall de Boí weerspiegelen belangrijke ontwikkelingen in de Romaanse kunst en architectuur en getuigen van een diepgaande culturele uitwisseling in heel middeleeuws Europa, en in het bijzonder in het gebied van de Pyreneeën. De kerken gelden als bijzonder zuivere en consistente voorbeeld van Romaanse kunst in een vrijwel ongerepte landelijke omgeving.

Source: unesco.nl

Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

The Vall de Boí is located in the Catalan Pyrenees, in the district of Alta Ribagorça, 120 km north of Lleida, in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula. The narrow valley is surrounded by steep mountains and each of the villages in it contains a Romanesque church.

As a group, these churches represent an especially pure and consistent example of pictorial art and architecture in the Lombard Romanesque style. They were built between the 11th and 12th centuries under the patronage of the Lords of Erill, and were unusual for their placement on the fringe of their respective ancient villages and also for the richness of the interior pictorial decoration.

The components of this serial heritage property are the churches of Sant Feliu de Barruera, Sant Joan de Boí, Santa Maria de Taüll, Sant Climent de Taüll, Nativitat de Durro, Santa Eulàlia d’Erill-la-Vall, l’Assumpció de Santa Maria de Coll, Santa Maria de Cardet and the hermitage of Sant Quirc de Durro. The two churches in Taüll were declared national monuments in 1931, Sant Joan de Boí and Santa Eulàlia d’Erill-la-Vall in 1962, and the rest of the churches in 1993.

It is in this group of exceptionally well preserved rural churches that the largest concentration in Europe of Romanesque art is to be found. This group is a unique example of the cultural tradition that flourished in Catalonia in the 12th century. The Romanesque churches and the villages where they stand form an excellent example of a cultural landscape that has flourished in harmony with a natural environment that has remained intact to this day. The Lombard Romanesque style took a turn in the Pyrenean churches in which the indigenous rural spirit manifests itself in a remarkable way such as the line of the elegant bell-towers of Sant Climent de Taüll, Sant Joan de Boí and Santa Eulàlia d’Erill-la-Vall.

The way of life in mediaeval Catalonia as expressed by this group of churches and villages can be said to have been of great importance in the recognition of Catalan cultural identity. The Romanesque art of these Pyrenean villages played a vital role in the movement for the restoration of Catalan nationality and identity in the early 20th century.

The importance of the churches of the Vall de Boí, however, lies in their group value: there is nowhere else in Europe with an ensemble of such notable churches built during the same, relatively short, period of time. Neither is there any other group that so vividly illustrates the transmission of a cultural movement able to pass over a high mountain barrier and become established, with high technical and artistic standards, in another territory. The group can therefore be considered a masterpiece of the period and an example of great human creativity.

Criterion (ii): The significant developments in Romanesque art and architecture in the churches of the Vall de Boí testify to profound cultural interchange across medieval Europe and in particular across the mountain barrier of the Pyrenees.

Criterion (iv): The Churches of the Vall de Boí are an especially pure and consistent example of Romanesque art in a virtually untouched rural setting.

Integrity

The individual churches are all components of this serial property and the whole property is contained within one buffer zone. All the attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value, such as the Lombard influences on the architecture and the sculptural decor, the floor plan, the accurate stone work on the wall surface, the square floor plan of the bell towers or the sculptural decor with blind arches, as well as the continued use of the churches by the community, are included within the boundaries of the property.

Some conservation work has been carried out on all the churches, but on some more than others. Many were the object of extensive programmes of restoration and conservation in the second half of the 20th century, and recent restoration has been, and will continue to be, carried out through what is, in fact, a continuous programme of maintenance, which does not affect the integrity of the property. The main wall paintings, and most of the ancient artefacts were transferred in the early 20th century to the MNAC (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya) in Barcelona for safety reasons, to avoid their being removed, plundered and subsequently exported to America, as had occurred with paintings in other churches in Catalonia.

The churches of Santa Maria de Taüll, Sant Joan de Boí, Santa Eulàlia d’Erill-la-Vall, la Nativitat de Durro, Sant Feliu de Barruera, l’Assumpció de Coll, Santa Maria de Cardet and the hermitage of Quirc de Durro retain their architectural form, structure and materials, as well as their religious use, while the church of Sant Climent de Taüll preserves intact all the original features and is used for tourist/cultural purposes. No adverse factors appear to exist at present, though excessive tourism would be problematic if it were allowed to develop.

Authenticity

There can be no question about the basic authenticity of the churches, the villages or the surrounding landscape. All have, however, experienced recent changes which might, to a greater or lesser extent, be seen as modifying that basic authenticity. However, this is a phenomenon to be observed in all cult buildings that have been in continuous use for spiritual purposes since their construction. None of the interventions, with the exception of the regrettable, but entirely justifiable, removal of much of the art treasures to Barcelona, has been such as to reduce the authenticity of any of the churches to an unacceptable extent. Conservation of the churches’ fabric has extended to removal, renovation, replacement, and new construction. Now, only Santa Maria at Durro to some extent, and otherwise only Santa Maria, Cardet, which are distinctive in several other respects also, provide in their unconserved state a good idea of church development and an interior in late- and post-medieval times.

The rescue of the mural art in the 1920s was a remarkable achievement and it has produced remarkable results, which can be seen at the MNAC, Barcelona. However, that achievement cannot alter the stark facts that the paintings are now out of the context in which they were meant to be seen, and that that context now lacks its crowning glory. While this does not undermine the churches’ claim on the world’s attention, it could be argued to diminish their authenticity to some extent. In their present location the paintings cannot, of course, be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List.

The churches of Santa Maria de Taüll, Sant Climent de Taüll, Sant Joan de Boí, Santa Eulàlia d’Erill-la-Vall, Nativitat de Durro, Sant Feliu de Barruera and Santa Maria de Cardet as well as the hermitage of Quirc de Durro have recently undergone general restoration to consolidate the roofs, structure, bell-towers and interiors in such a way as to highlight the authenticity of their architectural and decorative features, as well as to enhance their use for religious and cultural purposes.

Protection and management requirements

The churches are protected by the Law 16/1985 of 25 July, concerning Spanish Historical Heritage, Law 9 / 1993 of 30 September, concerning Catalan Cultural heritage, Decree 276/2005, concerning Territorial Commissions for the Cultural Heritage, and other legislation such as Law 13/2002, concerning Tourism in Catalonia.

All churches enjoy full protection under the Catalan and local planning law, as well as other provisions. The churches, villages and individual buildings are covered by the very strict provisions of urban and rural planning laws, which regulate issues such as the location, height, roof line and building materials for new buildings and renovations, which guarantees the preservation of the environment of the churches. The applicable legislation is the Law of the Catalan Cultural Heritage which protects both the churches as ancient monuments and the six villages in the valley as historic areas. Furthermore, part of the valley is protected as a Historic Site. The churches are all used for religious purposes and public visits.

The Consortium of the Vall de Boí is responsible for the management of the site. It's made up by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government), the Diputació de Lleida (provincial authority), the Consell Comarcal de l'Alta Ribagorça (the Catalan administrative division), the municipality of Vall de Boí and the bishoprics of Urgell and Lleida.

The interventions on the site must be authorized by the Ministry of Culture of the Catalan Government, who also implements funding and planning policies.

All the churches are the property of the Bishopric of Urgell except the church of l’Assumpció de Coll, which pertains to the Bishopric of Lleida.

In addition to continuing programmes of restoration and maintenance of churches and urban projects in the villages of the valley, there is the 1998 Programme of Excellence in Tourism in the Vall de Boí promoted jointly by the State, Autonomous Community and local authorities as well as tourism companies, currently under way. The most serious threat to the integrity of the valley would be mass tourism and the programme proposes tourism development strategies that are consistent with the objectives of protection and conservation of natural and cultural resources.