Sta. María de Vizbayo Church
General Data
Style: Romanesque
Address:
24415 Otero
Telephone: +34 987 424 236
(Tourism Office)
Tours: ask in advance
Address:
24415 Otero
Telephone: +34 987 424 236
(Tourism Office)
Tours: ask in advance
Cultural Monument since 1982
- Location at the city map -
Otero is a small village placed on the side of the Monte Pajariel, nearly the town of Ponferrada. To get here leave Ponferrada across Puente Boeza (a medieval bridge that was rebuilt from the 16th to the 18th centuries) and take the turn on the right that goes up along a steep slope and will take you to this Romanesque jewel.
The church with an only nave and a semicircular head is a simple masonry and irregular building stone construction. A triumph arch supported by pilasters separates the barrel vault above the nave from the head. The cut horseshoe arches is one of its most interesting characteristics together with the remarkable window of the head.
It may be the most ancient Romanesque church in El Bierzo from the end of the 11th century. The mixture of a clear Romanesque style and some references to the Mozarabic art can be seen in this construction. Some images inside the building are the following: A Christ from the 16th century and Saint Cosme and Saint Damián with their creased clothes from the 17th century Castilian school.
The church with an only nave and a semicircular head is a simple masonry and irregular building stone construction. A triumph arch supported by pilasters separates the barrel vault above the nave from the head. The cut horseshoe arches is one of its most interesting characteristics together with the remarkable window of the head.
It may be the most ancient Romanesque church in El Bierzo from the end of the 11th century. The mixture of a clear Romanesque style and some references to the Mozarabic art can be seen in this construction. Some images inside the building are the following: A Christ from the 16th century and Saint Cosme and Saint Damián with their creased clothes from the 17th century Castilian school.
