Chapel of São Frutuoso (Braga)

The Chapel of São Frutuoso, also known as the Chapel of São Frutuoso of Montélios or the Chapel of São Salvador of Montélios, is a pre-Romanesque chapel in the civil parish of Real, municipality of Braga. It is part of group of religious buildings that include the Royal Church, and originally built by the Visigoths in the 7th century, in the form of a Greek cross. Since 1944, it has been classified as a National Monument .HistoryBased on historical accounts, and oral tradition, the site of the chapel was the location of a small Roman villa and, likely, a temple dedicated to the god Asclepius.In 656, Fructuosus of Braga, then Bishop of Bracara, founded on this site the Monastery of São Salvador, ordering the construction of the chapel, as his tomb. In the biography of his life, São Valerius confirms as much, mentioning that the saint who founded the convent was buried there .In the 9th-10th century, the chapel was reconstructed and redecorated. From a document dated in 883, the chapel was reconsecrated to São Salvador, also affirming the original construction to between 656 and 665.Around the 12th century, following the Reconquista from the Arabs, with the revival of the Christian community and affinity for Saint Frutuoso of Braga, a cult to the saint was begun. In 1102, the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, D. Diogo Gelmires, transferred the mortal remains of Frutuoso to Compostela.

Tags : #CatholicChurch, #LandmarkHistoricalPlace, #Landmark&HistoricalPlace