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To few meters of the urgelense population of Anserall one rises, of imposing way, a part of which was the important benedictine abbey of Sant Serni or Sant Sadurní de Tavèrnoles. It surprises the monumentalidad of the construction that is still on, recovered between the 1971 and the 1975, still more if we consider that what we see is only the head of the abbatial church. It gives faith us of the importance that had east monastery, at its times of splendor. Its situation, into half of the old dirt road from the Seu to Andorra, it would have to turn into a site of welcome and lodging, of here, probably, the name of Tavèrnoles derived from the Latin word "tasca". On the other hand, it was custom to orient the monasteries so that the head of its churches was aiming at this. The abbey of Sant Serni de Tavèrnoles, surprising, does not fulfill this norm, since the part of the apse is oriented to the west, surely forced by the terrain conditionses. Of the central ship they are not left practically vestiges as well as claustro is no sign of his either, which by the sight, was located in the South wing of the church. The lack of one more a more precious documentation, causes that their origins are not known. What if we know safe it is that it already existed at the beginning of century IX. |
| In spite of it, we think that it is of visigótico origin, and that took part in the adopcionista question of the bishop Felix de Urgell (782-99), according to explains the "Great Catalan Enciclopèdia", that adds "the origins are very confused, due to the document falsifications done by its monks with the purpose of obtaining the episcopal immunity". |
| The abbatial church was consecrated towards the 1040, being constructed great claustro during the following centuries. Where it does not arrive history makes formal appearance the legend. Therefore, a legend comments Perhaps that claustro of the Cathedral of the Seu de Urgell is the one of Sant Serni de Tavèrnoles is only this, but what yes it seems to be certain, it is that both claustros were twin. Everything indicates that of claustro of Sant Serni only they are left some capitals, distributed between Barcelona and North America, a frontal, conserved in the "Museu Nacional d'Art of Catalunya", and other remarkable pieces, expoliadas in the long centuries of abandonment of the house. The splendor of the monastery stayed until century XIII, entering a strong decay throughout the following century later. The number of monks diminished from twelve to six and finished being only four. |  |
| His last abbot was Llorenç Tomàs and Costa, chosen in the 1564. Pope Climent VIII secularizó the abbey in the 1592, after some years abandonment, and united its rents to the seminary of the Seu de Urgell, being in Tavèrnoles a permanent vicar. In the Seu some have been saved of their documents and in special the notary public of the abbey, published the 1964. The restoration of the church, after remaining two centuries in ruinous state, began year 1971 with a certain controversy caused by the used solution to solve the closing of the head, constructing a stone wall with an access door from the theoretical central ship, today disappeared. Possibly nowadays it had been decided on the positioning of a transparent glass, as one gets used to doing in more recent restorations. It also does not stop being peculiar the base round of the bell tower, that the restoration left discovered in the open. In his site, it had until then a totally square bell tower, ignoring the existence of the original one, of circular plant. |
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