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The monastery of Santa Maria de Vallsanta is an ancient Cistercian convent located near the beautiful and medieval town of Guimerà, in the Urgell region.
Building protected as a Cultural Asset, although it lacks some attention, since it is quite abandoned, as can be seen in the Photos of the Readers of La Vanguardia.
The construction of this monastery began in 1235 with the aim of replacing that of Santa Maria de la Bovera, which was in poor condition due to lack of water.
The community, made up of 23 nuns, moved to Vallsanta in 1249. The first abbess was Agnès de Guimerà. The construction of the enclosure finished in 1267.
Due to an epidemic, in 1403 the nuns were forced to temporarily leave the monastery and take refuge in La Bovera.
A time of profound decline followed, with a very small community and debts, but, despite everything, the monastery continued to be active.
In 1589, the abbot of Poblet ruled that the only three remaining nuns leave the place to move to the Pedregal monastery (Urgell) and, later, in 1604, to Sant Hilari de Lleida.
Since then, Vallsanta has been in the care of a monk from Poblet and, later, it passed into the hands of the Viscountess of Évol, Lady of Guimerà. After the abandonment of religious activity, the building was left in ruins. And so it has continued until today, as can be seen in the images.
