Assumpció de Coll

The Church of L’Assumpció de Cóll has its own characteristics that distinguish it from the other churches in the valley: the construction materials, the size of the ashlars and the decorative elements on the façade, the most interesting part of the church. To highlight the Chrismon and the sculpted capitals with depictions of fights between men and animals. As in the other churches in the valley, guarding the entrance to the temple you’ll find a Romanesque wrought iron-bolt with the pin finished with an animal head. The three Romanesque fonts are still preserved inside the church: the baptismal font, the holy water font and the oil font.

Chronology

s.XI First constructive moment Side chapel opened in the north wall. Gothic modifications on the tower. 70s Reconstruction of the roof. 2013 Restauration on the entrance gate and the tower.

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History

The town of Cóll is the only one of all those that make up the Vall de Boí that didn’t belong to the domains of the Lords of Erill in the Middle Ages. In 1054, during the reign of Ramiro I (King of Aragon), the town of Cóll (Colle) appears documented as part of the municipality of Castelló de Tor. Some time later, his son Sancho Ramírez handed it over to seat of Roda d’Isàvena.

This is why Church of L’Assumpció de Cóll was the only one in the Vall de Boí that was dependent on Roda Barbastre in the concord of 1140, signed by the bishoprics of Urgell and Roda.

During renovation work on the building in the late nineteen seventies, a slate slab with an inscription from 1110 was found on the altar of the church, possibly related to the consecration of the church.

Architecture

L’Assumpció de Cóll is a church with a single nave covered by a barrel vault and topped by a semi-circular apse. The square bell tower, three floors high, is located on the south wall, next to the apse.

Two side chapels were added to the initial construction, the one on the north wall covered with a barrel vault and the one on the south wall, in the Gothic style, occupying the base of the bell tower.

The addition of these two chapels ultimately gave the church the Latin cross layout that you can see today.

The sculptural wealth of the temple is centred on its west façade, especially the entrance door.

A frieze of blind arches follows the entire perimeter of the church in the upper part of the façades and the apse.

The ashlar stones used in the construction are much larger than those in the other churches in the valley. They’re cut in a regular and profiled way.

In the bell tower you can see the architectural evolution of the church: the lower part is Romanesque, while the two upper floors are Gothic in style.

Let’s take a look at the outside

The entrance door to the church, as in many other churches in the valley, is guarded by a mediaeval wrought-iron bolt.

The main façade of L’Assumpció displays a great wealth of architectural and decorative elements: the entrance door to the church, a sculptural relief with the anagram of Christ, an oculus and a frieze of blind arches that outline the highest part of the façade.

At the entrance we should highlight the sculpted capitals of the pillars. The exterior capitals are decorated with plant motifs and the interiors, figurative in nature, combine human and zoomorphic depictions (probably lions), staging the fight between man and beast as a representation of the fight between good and evil.

The Chrismon: The interpretation of the reliefs of the Chrismon of L’Assumpció de Cóll could suit a funerary context in which the central anagram is the symbol of redemption, the birds, above, a symbol of eternal life, and men, down on Earth, sounding the trumpets as a sign announcing the Final Judgement.

On the door you can also see the mediaeval wrought-iron bolt, one of the best decorated ones in the valley, together with that of Santa Maria de Cardet.

Let’s take a look at the inside

A chapel was later added to the original structure of a nave on the north wall, covered with a barrel vault, and one on the south wall with an ogival vault, which occupies the base of the bell tower.

The transverse arches are the elements that reinforce the barrel vault that covers the nave of the temple.

The choir is located on the west side of the nave. Access is via a built-in spiral staircase in the south-west corner and the railings of the choir are Gothic in style.

The skylights illuminate the interior of the church by allowing sunlight to penetrate. There is one on the west wall and the other (with a quadrifoliate opening) on the east wall.

Three Romanesque fonts are still preserved inside the church: the baptismal font, the holy water font and the oil font.

Image gallery

Other churches

Sant Climent de Taüll

Santa Maria de Taüll

Santa Eulàlia d’Erill la Vall

Sant Joan de Boí

Sant Feliu de Barruera

Nativitat de Durro

Santa Maria de Cardet

Sant Quirc de Durro