One of Wales’ most culturally significant sites will soon provide improved access and experiences for visitors, thanks to a new partnership between Strata Florida Trust and Cadw.

From 1 April, iconic Strata Florida, a former abbey for Cistercian monks at Pontrhydfendigaid, will be managed jointly for a pilot period, with the Visitor Centre reopened and interpretation improved.

Visitors will be able to experience for themselves the peace and inspiration for which the site is renowned and see how foundations are being laid for its future as a place of learning and cultural engagement in tune with its rich history.

Strata Florida Trust is restoring Mynachlog Fawr farmhouse and farm buildings, bringing new economic, social and cultural life to the area, whilst also celebrating Strata Florida’s unique landscape and history as a place of pilgrimage.

The partnership will ensure that visitors can have seamless access to both the Abbey ruins currently run by Cadw and the facilities currently run by the trust.

The site will be staffed from 10am until 4pm daily from April 1 until 31 October.

There will be no fee to enter the whole of the site, to make the history and heritage of this highly significant site accessible to all, with visitors encouraged to donate to support running costs.

Gwilym Hughes, head of Cadw, said: “Strata Florida is undoubtedly one of Wales’ most iconic historic sites. The first monastic community dates from the 1160s and it quickly became one of the most important religious establishments in Wales, a place of pilgrimage and a centre of Welsh culture.

“This new agreement with the Strata Florida Trust demonstrates how Cadw is developing innovative ways to work in partnership to maximise public access to our outstanding historic sites.”

Mick Taylor, of the Strata Florida Trust, said: “I am delighted that it has been possible for the trust to enter into this partnership with Cadw, for the benefit of the people of Wales and beyond.

“Strata Florida sits at the very heart of Welsh cultural identity, cherished nationally and internationally, as well as by those who live on its doorstep.

“Building on the legacy of its past as a spiritual, political and literary centre with significant environmental and sustainability lessons to teach, Strata Florida Trust is working to transform the site for future generations and make it a focus for those who want to understand Welsh culture and benefit from its rich variety.

“The site will be reunited, with the monastic ruins beautifully conserved and interpreted, and the historic farm-buildings repurposed to provide opportunities for learning, employment and enjoyment.”

The Cistercians who built the abbey first came to Strata Florida in 1164.

Rhys ap Gruffudd, prince of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales, re-founded the Abbey in 1184 on its present site, and it then became an important cultural centre for the independent Welsh kingdoms.

Some of the earliest and most important texts in Welsh, including the Hendregadredd and White Book of Rhydderch, were almost certainly written in the Abbey.