An atmosphere of awe descends before entering the monastery, in broad Plaça de Sant Bernat Calbó: its mix of architectural styles spans six centuries, including retired monks' quarters and an ornamental 18th-century fountain. Behind the monastery's Romanesque and Gothic facade lies a 14th-century sandstone cloister, a 12th-century chapter house whose ceiling ripples with rib-shaped vaults, a cavernous dormitory, and royal apartments where the comtes-reis (count-kings; rulers of the joint state of Catalonia and Aragón) often stayed. There's also a church, whose construction began in the 12th century.
The church is a lofty Gothic structure in the French tradition, with a couple of royal tombs; the north side of the transept has rare examples of Cistercian stained glass dating to the 13th century. Cistercian monks moved in here in 1168, and from then on the monastery developed as a major centre of learning and a launch pad for the repopulation of the surrounding territory. An audiovisual presentation gives background info.
