INTRODUCTION
The Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos is located in the east of the tale of Tabladillo on the top of the famous Castillian plateau of province Burgos. It is still a place where monks live their religious life like in the old times.
The monastery also gained international fame through its cultivation of the Gregorian chant. Several recordings had been produced and released since the 1960s. The CD Chant stood for 53 weeks in the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1994 – much to the astonishment of music experts and the monks themselves, especially since there was a re-release of older recordings from 1973. The album had been awarded platinum three times, which means a circulation of at least three million copies, and is considered the best-selling Gregorian album in history.
HISTORY
Life in the Monastery enveloped at the beginning of the 7th century and developed further at the beginning of the 10th century again, with passion and full of vitality
After a half century full of decadence at the end of the 10th century and in the first decades of the 11th century the holy Domingo came to Silos and conducted the Monastery as abbot until 1073. He started building up the cloister with it´s east- and north galleries. The following abbots finished the upper and lower cloister and finished the remaining buildings of this romanesque Monastery.
In Silos this time is called the Golden Age. Monastic life has been preserved over a millennium up to this day. Monks had to leave the monastery as expropriation laws issued by the liberal government of Medizabel were introduced.
The religious community, founded in 954 according to the rules of Saint Benito with its liturgical celebrations, its asceticism, its culture, its art, its social commitment and the warm welcome of pilgrims and visitors, has always been the soul of the artistic and spiritual site that the Monastery of Santo Domingo represents now and then.
ARCHITECTURE AND FURNITURE
The two-storey cloister of the monastery, which has large capitals with carved scenes, and also relief panels, is considered a masterpiece of Romanesque art.
cloister is an angled rectangular shape with 16 semi-circular arches on the north and south sides and 14 semi-circular arches on the west and east sides. The work on the lower storey begun during the last quarter of the 11th century and concluded in the second half of the 12th century. The cloister is the only surviving part of the monastery that hasn’t changed since its inception. The The cloister was dedicated on September 29, 1088. Additionally, the upper storey of the cloister, which was placed upon the wooden vaulting of the first storey, was completed during the 12th century. The organization of the cloister consists of four squared-off piers at each corner and paired columns running along each of the arcades. The arcades are mounted atop a podium that extends along each side of the cloister. Each side of the cloister has a grouping of four columns located at the center of the arcade. The six-foot-tall piers have medium-relief sculptural biblical scenes of the Post-Passion.
OPENING HOURS
Tuesday to Saturday
10:00 – 13:00
4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
Public holidays
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Closing days: Monday
CONTACT
Benedictine Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos
C / Santo Domingo, 2
E-09610 Santo Domingo de Silos – Burgos, Spain
Phone: 947 39 00 49 – 947 39 00 68
E-Mail: abadia@abadiadesilos.es
ENTRANCE FEES & GUIDED TOURS
General: € 3.50
Unemployed: free
Organized groups of more than 20 people and students: € 2.00
Monday – Saturday: 11am – 1pm and 4pm – 6pm
Sunday/religious holiday: 12am – 1pm and 4pm – 6pm
It is preferable that the groups – considered from 20 people – notify in advance of the visit, but this communication is not mandatory nor does it imply prior reservation of time. Sometimes, the presence of other visitors may momentarily delay their entrance to the cloister.
ROUTE SUGGESTIONS
TOURIST INFORMATION OFFICE
Plaza Mayor 1
09610 Santo Domingo de Silos, Spain
Telephone: +34 947 390 070