Poblet

The Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet was founded in 1151.

Monks from France founded the monastery in southern Catalonia.

In 1137 the marriage of Ramon Berenguer IV and Petronilla of Aragon unified the County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Aragon to form the Crown of Aragon.

Numerous kings and queens are buried at Poblet Monastery.

The first buried there was King Alfonso II in 1196, who conquered Provence for Crown of Aragon until its loss due to the Battle of Muret during the Albigensian Crusade.

The next was King James I in 1276, who expanded the the Crown of Aragon to the Balearic Islands and Valencia.

Peter IV was buried there in 1387. Not only did he rule Aragon, Sardinia, Corsica, Barcelona, and Valencia, but later Athens and Neopatria.

King Alfonso V was buried in Poblet in 1458. He acquired the crown of Naples for the House of Transtamara and funded Skanderbeg's war against the Ottomans in Albania.

John II was the last king of independent Aragon, the father of Ferdinand II, and the last King of Aragon to be buried at Poblet Monastery.

The monastery was closed in 1835 when Isabella II confiscated numerous properties from the Catholic Church during the Carlist Wars.

The monastery was not repaired until the 1940s.

A little more than 30 monks from the Cistercian Congregation now live at the monastery. 

The monastery became a UNESCO site in 1991.

Poblet Monastery, despite its beauty and historical significance, doesn't seem to get too many visitors.

Grave stone from the 13th and 14th centuries

Use the handrail at your own risk.