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Northeast of the city of Vic, on an elongated rock washed by the waters of the river Ter on three sides, proudly rises the ancient Benedictine monastery Monestir de Sant Pere de Casserres, miraculously preserved to this day. Excellent place for a Sunday walk – in addition to the monastery itself, you can enjoy magnificent picturesque views of the river, slowly carrying its waters between the high rocky shores, as well as admire the Panta de Sau reservoir and view the spire of the 11th century church sticking out of the water in a village Sant Romà, flooded during the construction of the reservoir.

According to a beautiful legend, an unusual boy was born into the family of a local viscount. He told his shocked parents that in 30 days he would die; his body will need to be put in a chest, this chest to be loaded on the donkey, which must be released to wander wherever he pleases. In the place where the donkey will stop to rest, it will be necessary to build a monastery and give it the name of St. Peter.

Historical chronicles say that the first church on this site was built in 972, and a little later a Benedictine monastery was founded here, which flourished for the next three centuries. Dark times of decline and destruction followed. For a time, the monastery was used by the Jesuits from Barcelona as an ordinary farm. This continued until 1767, when King Carlos III expelled the Jesuits from Spain. Shortly thereafter, the Royal Treasury sold the monastery buildings and land to private individuals. Despite the fact that the monastery was declared a historical monument in 1931, only in the 90s of the XX century serious work on its restoration began, and since 1998 we have an excellent opportunity to visit the monastery and enjoy magnificent views of the surrounding nature.

If we started talking about the views, let’s go straight to them!

Bird’s eye view of the monastery.
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And this is a view of the monastery from the walking trail passing over the steep bank of the Ter river. The snow-capped peaks of the Pyrenees can be seen far away on the horizon.
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In summer, of course, everything looks much more picturesque.

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The road to the monastery passes through a narrow rocky isthmus.
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The photo clearly lacks several figures of monks in dark robes.
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The entrance to the building of the monastery. The staircase leads to the first floor, to the abbot’s chamber and to the bell tower.
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Bodega, wine storage.
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The abbot’s chamber.
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The cloister is the center of the monastery’s social life, a rectangular courtyard.

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View from the cloister to the monastery bell tower.
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Monastery church.
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The church is impressive for its size and ceiling height. The interior decoration and painting of the ceiling and walls, unfortunately, have not survived to this day.
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Once there was a monastery bakery here, and in the building in the background there was a hospital, an obligatory attribute of any Benedictine monastery.
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A few more bird’s-eye views of the Sant Pere de Casserres monastery.
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And a short video of how birds see the monastery in flight.
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And this is a view of the church that was flooded during the construction of the Panta de Sau reservoir. To see it, you need to stop at the observation deck in front of the Parador de Vic-Sau, a little before reaching the monastery.

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A more detailed story with more photos can be found following the link.