The Way of El Cid Cycle Route

The Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas is a monastery of Cistercian nuns located approximately 1.5 km west of the city of Burgos . The word huelgas, which usually refers to "labor strikes" in modern Spanish, refers in this case to land which had been left fallow. Historically, the monastery has been the site of many weddings of royal families, both foreign and Spanish, including that of Edward I of England to Eleanor of Castile in 1254, for example. The defensive tower of the Abbey is also the birthplace of King Peter I of Castile.

The abbey was founded in 1187 by Alfonso VIII of Castile, at the behest of his wife, Eleanor of England, daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Until the 16th century, it enjoyed many royal privileges granted to it by the king, including exemption from taxes, the lordship of many villages and territories (governed by the monastery's abbess), and the possession of many of the royal families' valued personal items, most of them religious. It is even claimed that, until the Council of Trent, the abbess was able to hear confession and give absolution, like a priest.

In 1199 the monastery was incorporated into the Cistercian Order and became the burial place of the royal family. Constance, the youngest daughter of Alfonso, joined the Cistercians there. She was the first known as the Lady of Las Huelgas. This position was held as well by other women from the royal family, including her niece Constance and her grand-niece Berengaria, and maintained the close connection between the community and their royal patrons. Queen Eleanor and Queen Berengaria were both documented as supporting and being involved with the abbey.

Alfonso VIII, who was himself to be buried at Las Huelgas, along with his wife, Eleanor, created the affiliated Royal Hospital, with all its dependencies, subject to the Abbess. The hospital was founded to feed and care for the poor pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago. Donations made to sustain the hospital noted the key role that Eleanor played in its founding and maintenance, and she made many donations in honor of her deceased son Ferdinand.

A community of lay brothers developed to help the nuns in their care of the hospital's patients, who became known as the Brothers Hospitallers of Burgos. There were never more than a dozen of them, but they formed an independent religious Order in 1474. The Brothers survived as an Order until 1587, when their Order was suppressed and they were again placed under the authority of the abbess.

The Abbess of the monastery was, by the favor of the king, invested with almost royal prerogatives, and exercised an unlimited secular authority over more than fifty villages. Like secular lords, she held her own courts, in civil and criminal cases, and, like bishops, she granted Dimissorial Letters for ordination, and issued licenses authorizing priests within the territory of her abbatial jurisdiction to hear confessions, to preach, and to engage in pastoral care. She was privileged also to confirm the Abbesses of other monasteries, to impose censures, and to convoke synods. At a General Chapter of the Cistercians held in 1189, she was made Abbess General of the Order for the Kingdom of León and Castile, with the privilege of convoking annually a general chapter at Burgos.

The Abbess of Las Huelgas retained her ancient prerogatives up to the time of the Council of Trent, in the 16th century.

Currently, the monastic community, which at present numbers 36, is part of the Spanish Congregation of St. Bernard, a reform movement of Cistercian nuns, which arose during the 16th and 17th centuries. Due to this, they are also commonly referred to as "Bernadines". The nuns of this Congregation would follow a more exact observance of the Rule of St. Benedict than other Cistercian houses, with frequent and lengthy fasts, and celebrating the Divine Office about 2:00 A.M. The nuns support themselves through the decoration of porcelain items, making rosaries and providing laundry services for local hotels.

This abbey has founded a daughter house in Peru, the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity, which is located in the agricultural Lurín District, on the outskirts of the Lima Metropolitan Area. The monastery has about ten professed nuns, and several candidates in various stages of formation. They support themselves by making cakes and jams, for which they use the produce of their own gardens.

Tuesday to Saturday: 10:00 to 13: 00h and 16:00 to 17: 30h
Sundays and holidays: 10: 30h to 14: 00h.
Closed: Monday; 1 and 6 January; Good Friday; May 1; Curpillos; 29 June; 6, 24, 25 and 31 December

Burgos ([ˈburɣos]) is a city in northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated on the confluence of the Arlanzón river tributaries, at the edge of the Iberian central plateau. It has about 180,000 inhabitants in the actual city and another 20,000 in the metropolitan area. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The Burgos Laws or Leyes de Burgos which first governed the behaviour of Spaniards towards the natives of the Americas were promulgated here in 1512.

See

It has many historic landmarks, of particular importance; the ⊙Cathedral of Burgos (declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984) and the Cartuja of Miraflores. A large number of churches, palaces and other buildings from themedieval age remain. The city is surrounded by the Fuentes Blancas and the Paseo de la Isla parks.

The city forms the principal crossroad of northern Spain along the Camino de Santiago, which runs parallel to the River Arlanzón.

Religious architecture

Burgos is rich in ancient churches and convents. The three most notable are the cathedral, with its chapel of the Condestables de Castilla, the monastery of Las Huelgas, and the Carthusian monastery of Miraflores (3 km outside). Minor notable churches are San Esteban, San Gil (Sancti Aegidii), San Pedro, San Cosme y San Damián, Santiago (Sancti Jacobi), San Lorenzo and San Lesmes (Adelelmi). The Convento de la Merced, occupied by the Jesuits, and the Hospital del Rey are also of historic and architectural interest.

• ⊙Burgos' Gothic Cathedral

  Construction on Burgos' Gothic Cathedral began in 1221 and spanned mainly from the 13th to 15th centuries. It has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The west front is flanked by towers terminating in octagonal spires covered with open stonework traceries. The middle section, which serves as an entrance, has three alabaster pilasters, the intercolumnar spaces bearing panel-pictures representing the martyrdom of saints. The façade possessed ornate and fantastic surface decoration.

  The octagonal chapel of the Condestable, in florid, thus highly sculpted, Gothic design, has a roof finished with balustraded turrets, needle-pointed pinnacles, and statues. In the lower portion, coats of arms, shields, and crouching lions have been worked into the ensemble. The exterior of the sacristy is decorated with carved traceries, figures of angels and armoured knights. The elaborate tabernacle is composed of two octagonal sections in Corinthian style.
  Open: daily 10:00-18:00.

• ⊙Monasterio de las Huelgas Reales

  The Monastery of the Royal Retreats on the outskirts of the city, was founded in 1180 by king Alfonso VIII, and was begun in a pre-Gothic style, although almost every style has been introduced over many additions. The remarkable cloisters have been described as "unrivalled for beauty both of detail and design, and perhaps unsurpassed by anything in its age and style in any part of Europe" (1911 Encyclopædia Britannica). One cloister has semicircular arches with delicate and varied columns; the other has an ogival style of early Gothic. The interior of the church has enormous columns supporting its magnificent vault; the entrance is modern. This convent historically benefited from extraordinary privileges granted to its abbess by kings and popes.

• ⊙Iglesia de San Gil Abad
  After the cathedral, it is considered the best example of Gothic in the city Gothic in style, it was possibly built over the hermitage of San Bartolomé that existed towards the end of the 13th century. It has a structure in three naves with a transept and side chapels, among which the Good Morning chapel stands out, with a Gothic altarpiece from the end of the 15th century, the work of Gil de Siloé; the Chapel of the Kings, with a Renaissance altarpiece attributed to the latter; and the funerary chapel of the Nativity, added in the 16th century and attributed to Juan de Matienzo. The chapel of the Holy Christ was added in the 16th century by the Burgos architect Juan de Vallejo. Finally, on the sides of the temple, is the Texada arch, which allowed the passage of large merchandise wagons from the Cantabrian ports.
• ⊙Iglesia de San Esteban - Altarpiece Museum
  Gothic in style, the current temple was built on top of an ancient Roman temple at the end of the 13th century and during the first half of the 14th century. For decades this church has not been worshiped (transferred to the nearby church of San Nicolás de Bari) and is the well-known Altarpiece Museum.
• ⊙Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari
  Located in front of the main facade of the cathedral. It was built in 1408 on top of another Romanesque temple. It is presided over by one of the most impressive and monumental altarpieces of Spanish Renaissance Art, made in the 15th century in Simón de Colonia's workshop, designed by him and made by his son Francisco. Also of great interest are its Gothic tombs, the Renaissance arch of María Sáez de Oña and Fernando de Mena and the tables of the Burgos School of the Master of San Nicolás.
• ⊙Iglesia de La Merced
  Jesuit Church in the city, recently restored Late Gothic monument from the 15th and 16th centuries located on Calle de la Merced. Today it continues to have a religious use as a parish for the Jesuit priests, while the old convent premises, inhabited by the Mercedarians for more than three centuries, are today integrated into a hotel business.
• ⊙Iglesia de San Cosme y San Damián
  Building built in the 16th century halfway between Gothic and Renaissance. The cover of Juan de Vallejo stands out, as well as several altarpieces and for being the burial place of prominent Burgos artists of the time.
• ⊙Iglesia de San Lesmes
  It is a Gothic church located on the Camino de Santiago. It was ordered to be built by Alfonso V.

Other Buildings

The city preserves its medievalhistoric centre, corresponding to the city walls. Among the other interesting architectural structures, in the walls of the city are the famous gateway of Santa María, erected for the first entrance of the Emperor Charles V, and the arch of Fernán González.

• ⊙ Arco de Santa María.
  It is one of the old twelve access gates to the city in the Middle Ages, rebuilt as an arch in honor of Carlos I of Spain. It connects the Santa María bridge, over the Arlanzón river, with the San Fernando square, where the cathedral stands.
• ⊙Burgos Castle
  It is located on the hill of its name elevated to 75 m above the level of the city. It was ordered to be erected by Count Diego Porcelos at the time of the Reconquest, in the year 884, and under the mandate of Alfonso III. The defensive building became a great royal fortress and a place of prison, and a place of lodging for nobles. The final construction of the castle took place towards the end of the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th century. In 1813, Napoleon's soldiers blew it up shortly before leaving the city. Frontal view of the Capitanía building, in the historic center of the city.
• ⊙Palacio de Capitanía General
  It served as a military base during the uprising of the civil war. From him, Franco was declared Superior Commander of the Armies of Spain. Although the building is currently in disuse, in the future it will house offices of the Defense sub-delegation in the city. View of the Palace of Castilfalé, currently the seat of the Municipal Archive of the city.
• ⊙Palacio de Castilfalé
  In front of the door of the Coronería of the cathedral, the house of Los Colonia was built in the second half of the 15th century. On the site of the same, Juan Vallejo began the construction of a palace acquired in 1565 by Andrés de Maluenda. Although the building, made of stone and brick, as was customary in Burgos domestic architecture, was transformed by its successive owners; the last, in the 20th century, was the count of Castilfalé. It was the occasional residence of personalities such as King Ferdinand VII and Napoleon Bonaparte. Ceded by its last owners, the counts of Castilfalé, to the Burgos City Council in 1969, it was restored and rehabilitated as the Municipal Archive, in 1985.
• ⊙Palacio de los Condestables de Castilla
  Also known as the Casa del Cordón, it is an old Renaissance palace from the 15th century that stands in the historic center of Burgos. Its promoter was the Constable of Castilla Pedro Fernández de Velasco. The initial design is attributable to Juan de Colonia and his son Simón and it is a civil building in the late Gothic style. As confirmed by an inscription on its façade, the building received Christopher Columbus after his second voyage to the Americas.
• ⊙Palacio de la Isla
  It was built in 1883. It was the residence of the Head of State during the civil war between 1936 and 1939. It has had numerous functions until it became the official headquarters of the |Instituto de la Lengua de Castilla y León. From him the order was given to end the Civil War. It also has the first elevator that was installed in the Community.
• ⊙Casa de Miranda
  In its dependencies is the provincial museum, former Archaeological Museum, which stands in two adjoining palaces from the 16th century. The patio of Casa de Miranda stands out with its supported galleries.
• ⊙Casa de Íñigo Angulo
  Located next to the Burgos Museum, a complex of which it is a part. It is one of the best examples of the Burgos renaissance, built by Juan de Vallejo in 1547. The main doorway is topped by a large shield with the arms of the 18th century owners, from whom it receives its name. Next to it is the Melgosa house, which will also house the extension of the provincial museum in the future.
• ⊙Consulado del Mar
  It is a neoclassical building, designed by Manuel Eraso in 1796 and located on Paseo del Espolón. It was the headquarters of groups of merchants from Burgos during the Modern Age to charter ships from the Cantabrian ports to those of Flanders. Later it housed the Royal Provincial Academy of Drawing, and currently has an exhibition hall.
• ⊙Hospital del Rey
  Located next to the Camino de Santiago as it passes through Burgos, in the west of the city. It was founded by Alfonso VIII in 1195. Dependent on the Monastery of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, it was a great center for receiving pilgrims. In the 15th century it had 87 beds, being one of the most important hospitals on the entire Jacobean route. Currently, it houses the headquarters of the law school and the rectory of the university.
• ⊙Hospital de la Concepción
  Old hospital located in the south of the city. In Renaissance style, its construction began in the 16th century. It housed the city's Medical School for over a hundred years. It currently belongs to the University.

Museums

• The ⊙Museum of Human Evolution was opened in 2010, unique in its kind across the world and projected to become one of the top 10 most-visited museums in Spain. The museum features the first Europeans, which lived in this area 800,000 years ago.
• The ⊙Museum of Burgos summarizes the history of the province of Burgos. It has important objects and documents from all the ages, starting from Atapuerca, passing to the Romans and Iberians, and finishing in the contemporary period. The museum is located in a renascence palace, the House of Íñigo Angulo, which has a main patio that structures the museum.