Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa

Saint-Michel de Cuxa is a Benedictine abbey at the foot of the Canigou massif, in the commune of Codalet in the Pyrénées-Orientales department of southern France. It ranks among the most significant pre-Romanesque and Romanesque monuments of northern Catalonia, and a monastic community still lives within its walls today.

How did the abbey come to be built here?

The monastery's story begins in 840, when it was first established as Sant Andreu d'Eixalada, further up the Têt valley. In 878 a sudden flood swept away the original buildings, forcing the monks to resettle downstream on the site that is now Codalet. What began as a disaster became the foundation for centuries of growth.

What did Abbot Oliba contribute?

The abbey reached its greatest influence under Abbot Oliba, a member of the counts of Besalú who chose monastic life over a secular career. He became abbot of Cuxa in 1008 while also heading the monastery of Ripoll, and in 1017 was named bishop of Vic. Under his leadership Cuxa grew into a major religious and cultural centre of the region. Oliba oversaw an ambitious building campaign: he added three apses to the sanctuary, vaulted the side aisles, and raised twin bell towers in the Lombard style above the transept arms. He died at Cuxa in 1046 and was buried there.

What happened to the twin bell towers?

Of Oliba's two Lombard-style towers, only one survives: a square tower roughly 33 metres tall, its four storeys marked by the characteristic Lombard bands and paired window openings. The second tower, which once held the bells and clock, collapsed during a violent storm in the winter of 1838-1839, bringing down part of the transept with it.

Why is part of the cloister in New York?

After the French Revolution the monks left and the abbey's stonework began to be sold off and dispersed. In the early twentieth century the American sculptor and collector George Grey Barnard acquired numerous elements of the twelfth-century cloister and shipped them to the United States. The pink-marble capitals and columns from Cuxa eventually found a home at The Cloisters, the medieval-art branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where they remain one of the museum's centerpieces. Roughly half of the original cloister has since been recovered and reassembled at the abbey in Codalet.

Why is the abbey linked to classical music?

Every summer since 1950, Saint-Michel de Cuxa has hosted the Pablo Casals Festival of Prades, one of the oldest and most respected chamber music festivals in the world. It was founded by the cellist Pablo Casals, who had taken refuge in nearby Prades. Over two weeks the abbey stages dozens of concerts with musicians from around the globe, and the church interior is prized for its exceptional acoustics.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the Abbey of Saint-Michel de Cuxa? In the commune of Codalet, Pyrénées-Orientales department, at the foot of Mount Canigou in the Occitanie region of southern France.

When was the abbey founded? It was first founded in 840 under a different name and refounded on its present site in Codalet in 878, after a flood.

Who was Abbot Oliba? The key figure in Cuxa's history — an abbot and later bishop active around the turn of the eleventh century, responsible for expanding the church and building its bell towers.

Why is part of the cloister in New York? Elements of the twelfth-century cloister were sold and shipped abroad in the early 1900s; they are now displayed at The Cloisters museum in New York.

Are there cultural events held at the abbey? Yes — every summer it hosts the Pablo Casals Festival, a renowned chamber music festival running since 1950.