Santa Maria de Ovila Monastery / New Clairvaux - Vina CA
Posted by: 
sbcamper
N 39° 56.237 W 122° 03.163
10S E 580934 N 4421225
This Gothic church was moved from Spain in 1931. It was not reconstructed until after 1955. It belongs to the New Clairvaux Abbey of Cisterian, Trappist monks.
Waymark Code: WMHFMJ
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 07/05/2013
Views: 14
In 1835. the Spanish government ordered religious buildings closed. It came from western Spain - possibly near N 42 2. W 8 38.
Publisher Randolph Hearst purchased the building's large limestone bricks (cinderblock size) in 1931. It required eleven ships to transport over 8,460 stones. In 1941, he gifted the collection to the city of San Francisco in hope that they would become part of Golden Gate park, perhaps as a museum.
Father Thomas X Davis arranged to receive them and a Hearst Foundation grant to be rebuilt at Vina, an historic vineyard in northern Calif. The requirement was that the public be allowed to see it. (This actually benefits the group as they maintain a tasting room in what was once Leland Stanford's original winery. )
There are no images, in keeping with the Cisterian beliefs. Emphasis is upon proportion, space, light, and form. There are no pews or other adornments. It is a remarkable building, reassembled after the original plans were destroyed by fire, and supplemented with additional Texas blocks of limestone to match and replace damaged pieces. It looks brand new. Pieces have been carefull dressed to form the delicate arches of more than a century ago. The foundation is 24 inches thick. It is one of the oldest buildings on the west coast of North America. zip 96092
Building Materials: Stone
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Visit Instructions:
Logs for Medieval churches waymark must contain a date found and any details about the visit there. Also photos and other experiences related to the building are welcome.