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La Granja d'Escarp is a municipality in the comarca of the Segrià in Catalonia. The town is located at the confluence of the Segre and Cinca rivers.
The monastery of La Granja d'Escarp was founded by Cistercian monks in 1213.
La Granja d'Escarp has lost some population since year 1920 when it reached a peak of 1,366 inhabitants.
The economy is based on the produce of fruit trees growing in irrigated fields. The area enjoyed some prosperity in the past owing to nearby coal mines.
More information: Ajuntament de La Granja d'Escarp
The Cistercians, officially the Order of Cistercians, in Latin Sacer Ordo Cisterciensis, are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict.
They are also known as Bernardines, after the highly influential Bernard of Clairvaux or as White Monks, in reference to the colour of the cuculla or cowl (choir robe) worn by the Cistercians over their habits, as opposed to the black cowl worn by Benedictines.
The term Cistercian derives from Cistercium, the Latin name for the locale of Cîteaux, near Dijon in eastern France. It was here that a group of Benedictine monks from the monastery of Molesme founded Cîteaux Abbey in 1098, with the goal of following more closely the Rule of Saint Benedict.
The best known of them were Robert of Molesme, Alberic of Cîteaux and the English monk Stephen Harding, who were the first three abbots. Bernard of Clairvaux entered the monastery in the early 1110s with 30 companions and helped the rapid proliferation of the order.
By the end of the 12th century, the order had spread throughout what is today France, Germany, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Catalonia, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.
The keynote of Cistercian life was a return to literal observance of the Benedictine Rule. Rejecting some of the developments, the reform-minded monks tried to live monastic life as they thought it had been in Saint Benedict's time; in various points they went beyond it in austerity. The most striking feature in the reform was the return to manual labour, especially agricultural work in the fields, a special characteristic of Cistercian life.
The Cistercians also made major contributions to culture and technology in medieval Europe: Cistercian architecture is considered one of the most beautiful styles of medieval architecture; and the Cistercians were the main force of technological diffusion in fields such as agriculture and hydraulic engineering.
Many abbeys traditionally supported themselves through agriculture, vineyards, and brewing ales. Over the centuries, however, education and scholarship came to dominate the life of many monasteries. A reform movement seeking a simpler lifestyle began in 17th-century France at La Trappe Abbey, and became known as the Trappists. The Trappists were eventually consolidated in 1892 into a new order called the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance
More information: Council of Europe
and we provide a resting place
in ourselves for those who love us.
Bernard of Clairvaux
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