Arxiu Bibliogràfic de Santes Creus

The Arxiu Bibliogràfic de Santes Creus (ABSC) is a Catalan cultural association founded in 1947 and based at the former monastery library of the Cistercian abbey of Santes Creus, in the municipality of Aiguamúrcia (Alt Camp, Catalonia, Spain). Its stated purpose is to safeguard the heritage of the monastery of Santes Creus and to foster knowledge and dissemination of the monument's history. Although its name translates as a 'bibliographic archive', the entity functions as a membership-based heritage society, research centre and publisher rather than as a commercial business. The association grew out of a group of local historians and enthusiasts — among them Eufemià Fort i Cogul, Dr. Pere Serramalera i Cosp and Mossèn Abdon Socias i Bové — who from around 1944 recognised the need for a body to care for and encourage research into the historical, artistic and archaeological elements surrounding the Cistercian monastery and their significance for Catalan history. It acquired legal personality in 1945 and was formally entered in the register of associations in 1947 under its definitive name. Over the decades the ABSC has built a specialised library on Santes Creus, including volumes that belonged to the monastic community before the 1835 disentailment, and has assembled an important photographic collection documenting the monastery's restoration, as well as a microfilm documentary collection drawn from the Archivo Histórico Nacional. It publishes a long-running journal — by the 2020s in its thirty-second issue — together with monographs, and it organises conferences, exhibitions and an annual festival. It also awards prizes and grants to encourage historical, artistic and photographic study of Santes Creus. The ABSC is closely linked to the Patronat del Reial Monestir de Santes Creus, re-founded in 1951, on whose board the president of the archive sits and whose official bulletin the archive's journal serves as. Its work, led by successive presidents, has been a key element in the physical and spiritual recovery of the monastery, described as the Cistercian jewel of the Baix Gaià. The association remains active, holding its annual festival each September and continuing to publish and digitise its holdings with support from institutions such as the Diputació de Tarragona.

The Arxiu Bibliogràfic de Santes Creus emerged around 1944, when a group of people led by the historian Eufemià Fort i Cogul and Dr. Pere Serramalera i Cosp, later joined enthusiastically by Mossèn Abdon Socias i Bové, recognised the need to create an entity that would care for and encourage research into the historical, artistic and archaeological elements surrounding the Cistercian monastery of Santes Creus and their impact on the history of Catalonia. In 1945 the archive achieved legal personality when Dr. Serramalera presented the proposal for its creation to the town council, but it was not until 1947 that the administration accepted its inscription in the register of associations, adopting the definitive name Arxiu Bibliogràfic de Santes Creus. Its first president was Dr. Joaquim Guitert i Fontserè, a historian of Poblet and Santes Creus. On his death in 1957 he was succeeded by Dr. Joan Noguera i Salort. Throughout its trajectory the archive has been characterised by its defence of the historical and artistic values of the monastery while, despite the difficulties of its early years, maintaining its rootedness in the country. The association has carried out intense work by creating a library, installed at its headquarters in the monastery's former library, which collects the bibliography published on Santes Creus, some of the volumes that belonged to the old community before the disentailment of 1835, and various local studies resulting from the exchange of publications with other institutions. The archive's journal has become, over the years, a fundamental piece for the historical and artistic study of the monastery, something enhanced by monographic publications issued by the archive or by the Amics de Santes Creus, a subsidiary of the archive created in 1957. In this connection there has been a successive series of prizes and grants to encourage the historical, artistic and photographic study of Santes Creus. The archive's work has not been alien to that of the Patronat del Reial Monestir de Santes Creus, re-founded in 1951, of which the archive's president forms part and whose official organ is the archive's bulletin. Besides monographs, the archive holds a very important collection of photographic material, which makes evident the restoration the monastery has undergone in recent years, and a microfilmed documentary collection from the Archivo Histórico Nacional. The work of the Arxiu Bibliogràfic de Santes Creus, with its presidents at the head, has become a key piece in the physical and spiritual recovery of the monastery of Santes Creus, the Cistercian jewel of the Baix Gaià. In the 2020s the association remains active. Its journal has reached its thirty-second issue (covering 2022–23, published in 2023), and it continues to hold its annual festival each September — the seventy-eighth in 2025 and the seventy-ninth announced for 2026. It co-organises exhibitions, such as the 2025 exhibition on the documentary legacy of the architect Cèsar Martinell i Brunet, and is digitising its holdings with the support of the Diputació de Tarragona.

• 2026

  The 79th annual festival is announced for 8 September 2026.

• 2025

  The ABSC co-organises the exhibition on the documentary legacy of architect Cèsar Martinell i Brunet and holds its 78th annual festival.

• 2023

  Issue XXXII of the journal (covering 2022–23) is published.

• 1957

  First president Joaquim Guitert i Fontserè dies and is succeeded by Joan Noguera i Salort; the Amics de Santes Creus subsidiary is created.

• 1951

  The Patronat del Reial Monestir de Santes Creus is re-founded; the archive's president becomes a member and its bulletin becomes the patronat's official organ.

• 1947

  The administration accepts its inscription in the register of associations under the definitive name Arxiu Bibliogràfic de Santes Creus.

• 1945

  The archive achieves legal personality when Dr. Serramalera presents the proposal for its creation to the town council.

• 1944

  A group led by Eufemià Fort i Cogul and Pere Serramalera i Cosp begins work towards creating an entity to study and protect the heritage of the monastery of Santes Creus.

A non-profit heritage and research association dedicated to the study, preservation and dissemination of the Cistercian monastery of Santes Creus and its place in Catalan history.

• Revista de l'Arxiu Bibliogràfic de Santes Creus

  The association's long-running scholarly journal, a fundamental resource for the historical and artistic study of the monastery; by 2023 it had reached issue XXXII.

• Monographic publications

  Monographs edited by the archive or by the Amics de Santes Creus.

• Specialised library

  Housed in the monastery's former library, collecting bibliography on Santes Creus, volumes from the old community before 1835, and local studies from publication exchanges.

• Photographic archive

  An important collection of photographic material documenting the monastery's restoration in recent years.

• Microfilm documentary collection

  A documentary collection in microfilm from the Archivo Histórico Nacional.

1. 1Inici - Arxiu Bibiliogràfic de Santes Creusarxiubibliograficsantescreus.cat
2. 2Arxiu Bibliogràfic de Santes Creus - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Arxiu bibliogràfic de Santes Creus - Viquipèdiaca.wikipedia.org