fbpx
00:00 / 05:24

Sorejana Hermitage

It is the only architectural construction of the disappeared village of Sorejana, possibly depopulated after a plague. Its construction began in the 12th century.

Located on the left bank of the Tirón river, the hermitage goes approximately 80m from the river. It is the only architectural construction of the disappeared village of Sorejana, possibly depopulated after a plague.

If you have started the walk from the Castle and the Laundry towards the dam and you are currently there, you will only have to go up the path to the top of the dam and cross the vineyards to reach a little further on the place where the Sorejana Hermitage is located.

If, on the other hand, you are in the historic centre, at the foot of the Castle, follow the signs marked Ermita de Sorejana, through the path that also leads to the entrance of the Castle of Cuzcurrita’s Wine Cellar. Continuing on foot or by car, you will have to travel approximately two kilometres.

Its construction began in the 12th century. There are archaeological remains in the surroundings, of an immediately previous era, which according to specialists, indicates that it was a repopulation village. It probably disappeared in the 14th century, time after the completion of this church.

The chancel and the nave are rectangular in plan, covered with a pointed barrel vault, and it is divided into two sections by means of a pointed arch on pillars. The nave is wider than the chancel and in the Gothic style, while the chancel is from the late Romanesque. Without a doubt, the layout of the hermitage marks the end of the Romanesque in the region. The square apse with a simple window belongs to this time, a clear indication of the transition to a new style.

The portal on the south side has seven archivolts pointed on cranked columns, with capitals of Romanesque carving. The capitals on both sides of the portal are all vegetables, such as thistle or vine leaves, except for some with faces or figures of animals, such as a lion. The rain guard is decorated with very elaborate eight flower petals. It is considered that this portal is in the Andalusian repopulation style of the second half of the 13th century, such as those of the Rioja villages of Castilseco and Villaseca.

To the south, on the same wall of the facade corresponding to the extension work, there are two double semicircular windows, divided by a mullion, and an oculus in the section closest to the portal. When the graduate Don Pedro de Ocío visited the hermitage, on 17th September 1666, these windows prompted the following order: “Regarding that the said hermitage is without stained glass windows or net, and the birds and owls drink the oil from the lamp and break the glass and dirty the altars, his mercy orders that a stained-glass window is made with his net as soon as possible.”

This alabaster stained glass window allows you to enjoy a special light inside the hermitage that reminds of the windows of the Cistercian monastery of Ntra. Sra. of San Salvador in Cañas, known as "The abbey of light."

This alabaster stained glass window allows you to enjoy a special light inside the hermitage that reminds of the windows of the Cistercian monastery of Ntra. Sra. of San Salvador in Cañas, known as “The abbey of light.”

Two pilgrimages are held each year to thank the harvests: one in September in order to bring the image of the Virgin from the parish church to the hermitage and another in May to return it to the church. As a parish, it had a Romanesque baptismal font that is currently in use in San Miguel, the village’s parish church.

Navigate through the Sorejana Hermitage ...

Move the mouse over the image and you can move 360º to appreciate different points of view.