"El Monasterio de Santa María de Carracedo es una antigua abadía, ya exclaustrada, fundada en el siglo X y perteneciente a las órdenes benedictina y, posteriormente, cisterciense. Se ubica en Carracedo del Monasterio, municipio de Carracedelo, en la comarca de El Bierzo, provincia de León, Castilla y León, España, cercano al Camino de Santiago en el tramo Ponferrada-Villafranca del Bierzo. Objeto de diversas reformas arquitectónicas a lo largo de su historia y en tiempos modernos víctima del abandono, el resultado actual es un monumento semiarruinado (aunque rehabilitado para su visita) que aúna diversos estilos, destacando los elementos Románicos, cistercienses y protogóticos, correspondientes a los siglos XII y XIII. El conjunto comprende las dependencias monásticas propiamente dichas y el Palacio Real.Actualmente es sede del Museo Museo del Císter y del Monacato berciano, que depende del Instituto Leonés de Cultura"
"The Monastery of Saint Mary of Carracedo or the Monasterio de Santa María de Carracedo is an inactive abbey and palace complex, now in semi-restored state near the town of Carracedelo, province of León, Castile and León, Spain. Founded in the tenth century by the Benedictine order, it lies near the Way of Santiago in Northern Spain. The first cenobitic community, the Monastery of San Salvador, was founded here around the year 990 by Bermudo II, King of the Kingdom of León and the Kingdom of Galicia, with the principal aim of sheltering monks seeking refuge from the campaigns of the Moorish general Almanzor. This, however, did not spare the monastery from being destroyed by Almanzor in his campaign of 997. In 1138, the Infanta Sancha, sister of Alfonso VII of León and Castile, helped rebuild a monastery on the site, calling on monks from the neighboring Monastery of Santa María de Valverde near Corullón, to help her. The burgeoning monastery gained eminence, and control of lands, and also housed a royal palace. In 1203, the monastic order switched to the Cistercian order, affiliated with the Cîteaux, also calling itself the Monasterio de Santa María de Carracedo. Undergoing further depredations during the Napoleonic wars, the abbey was closed in 1835. The monastery is listed on the Spanish heritage register as a Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC), having been declared a National Historic-Artistic Monument in 1929. The now uninhabited rooms and cloister of the semi-restored ruins exemplify a variety of styles from the centuries between the foundation and abandonment, contain a variety of styles including Romanesque, Gothic, and neoclassical. The sparingly-decorated stony buildings have a haunting emptiness."
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