The history of Mas de Colom
Mas de Colom has been a medieval farmyard, a Cistercian abbey and even a military hospital during the Spanish Civil War.
In the middle of the estate there’s a farmhouse that was documented as far back as the 14th century. In 1699 the property was passed on to the renowned Tarragona notary, Francesc Colom, and people started calling the estate Mas d’en Colom (chez Colom).
At the end of the 19th century, specifically in 1896, a group of secularised Cistercian monks came here from the south of France and settled in Fontfreda, founding the order of Our Lady of Suffrage (Notre Dame du Suffrage).
Beginning a new life of seclusion and prayer, this religious community was responsible for building the current neo-Gothic monastery. During their time at Mas de Colom, the monks made a significant contribution to its modernisation and introduced the region to new agricultural techniques, such as the plough. At the same time, Mas de Colom was also converted into a school for novices.
By 1920 the few remaining monks decided to leave Mas de Colom for good, some due to the need to return to France (Sant Miquel de Cuixà) after the end of the First World War and others because of the shortage of new monks. Faced with this situation, the French monks decided to transfer custody of the monastery to the Capuchin friars of Tàrrega.
A few years later, during the Spanish Civil War, Mas de Colom was used as a military hospital for the Republican army, caring for several war wounded and others suffering from malaria and typhoid fever. In 1939 it became a military barracks for the Spanish army. After years of neglect and deterioration, the estate was acquired by the Pont family in 1954, to be used for farming and family gatherings. And now it has been reinvented as an experiential and informative centre for the brand and the region as a whole.
Beginning a new life of seclusion and prayer, this religious community was responsible for building the current neo-Gothic monastery. During their time at Mas de Colom, the monks made a significant contribution to its modernisation and introduced the region to new agricultural techniques, such as the plough. At the same time, Mas de Colom was also converted into a school for novices.
By 1920 the few remaining monks decided to leave Mas de Colom for good, some due to the need to return to France (Sant Miquel de Cuixà) after the end of the First World War and others because of the shortage of new monks. Faced with this situation, the French monks decided to transfer custody of the monastery to the Capuchin friars of Tàrrega.
A few years later, during the Spanish Civil War, Mas de Colom was used as a military hospital for the Republican army, caring for several war wounded and others suffering from malaria and typhoid fever. In 1939 it became a military barracks for the Spanish army. After years of neglect and deterioration, the estate was acquired by the Pont family in 1954, to be used for farming and family gatherings. And now it has been reinvented as an experiential and informative centre for the brand and the region as a whole.
