Some of the most beautiful monasteries in Spain

List about some of the most beautiful monasteries in Spain

The monasteries in Spain constitute a rich historical, artistic and cultural heritage of this country. They bear witness to their own religious history and political-military history, both in the Middle Ages and in earlier times, with the arrival and settlement of the Visigoths. The monasteries played an important role in the repopulation carried out by the different Christian kings and counts after the advance of the Reconquest and the consequent setback of the Muslims towards the south of the peninsula. Its presence in the peninsula dates back to the first centuries of Christianity, when the early eremitic life gave rise to the formation of religious communities and the construction of small Spanish monasteries in the 6th and 7th centuries. During the repopulation, many of these buildings evolved, or were even raised from a new plant, towards a style that is traditionally called Mozarabic. The second phase was developed with the arrival of the Benedictines of Cluny, already at the time of the Reconquest and from that moment on they evolved or changed, according to the new orders: cisterns, military orders, Premonstratensians, Carthusians, Hieronymites, Augustinians, Camaldulenses and mendicants. In the seventeenth century there was an explosion of convents located either near or within the city. From present-day Catalonia to Galicia, monastic groups of different dimensions were appearing that would be transformed into more important and consistent buildings and others would be abandoned or destroyed. Most of the monasteries in Spain are distributed in the northern half in line with the historical course of the area in the Middle Ages. They are much less numerous in the south, Andalusia and the Canary Islands. The creation of monasteries during the Middle Ages was paramount from a social and cultural point of view as well as for repopulation. It was a great advance in agriculture and there were settlements around large buildings. They also benefited art and culture. Another important factor to take into account for the construction of monasteries in Spain was the Camino de Santiago, along which these religious institutions were arising whose main objective was the help to the pilgrim.

In this list about some of the most beautiful monasteries in Spain you can find:
50. Monastery of Vallbona de les Monges (Catalonia)
49. Monastery of San Salvador de Cornellana (Asturias)
48. Monastery of Sant Salvador de la Vedella (Catalonia)
47. Sanctuary of Aránzazu (Basque Country)
46. Monastery of Santa María de Valbuena (Castilla y León)
Monastery of Santa María de El Paular (Madrid)
Monastery of Santa María la Real de Nájera (La Rioja)
Monastery of San Antonio el Real (Castilla y León)
Monastery of San Salvador (Castilla y León)
Monastery of Santa María del Parral (Castilla y León)
Monastery of Santa María de Obarra (Aragón)
Convent of Santa María la Real de las Dueñas (Castile and León)
Monastery of San Pedro de las Dueñas (Castilla y León)
Royal Monastery of Santa María de Veruela (Aragón)
Monastery of Santa María and San Andrés (Castilla y León)
Monastery of San Pedro de Roda (Catalonia)
Monastery of San Pedro el Viejo (Aragón)
Monastery of San Pedro de Siresa (Aragón)
Collegiate Church of Santa Cruz de Castañeda (Cantabria)
Monastery of Santes Creus (Catalonia)
Monastery of Santa Clara (Castilla y León)
Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor (Aragón)
Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana (Cantabria)
Convent of Our Lady of the Angels of the Hoz del Río Duratón (Castilla y León)
Monastery of Poblet (Catalonia)
Monastery of San Benito el Real (Castilla y León)
Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes (Castilla-La Mancha)
Monastery of Leyre (Navarra)
Monastery of Santa Maria del Puig (Comunitat Valenciana)
Monastery of San Zoilo (Castilla y León)
Cartuja de Porta Coeli (Comunitat Valenciana)
Santa Maria de la Valldigna
Monastery of Yuste (Extremadura)
Monastery of San Juan de Duero (Castilla y León)
Monastery of San Juan de la Peña (Aragón)
Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe (Extremadura)
Collegiate Church of Santillana del Mar (Cantabria)
Monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña (Castilla y León)
Monastery of El Escorial (Madrid)
Cartuja de Miraflores (Castile and León)
Monastery of Santa Faz (Valencian Community)
Carmelite Convent of the Desert of the Palms (Valencian Community)
Monastery of Santa María de Bujedo (Castilla y León)
Monastery of San Miguel de los Reyes (Valencian Community)
Monastery of San Jerónimo de Cotalba (Valencian Community)
Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos (Castile and León)
Monastery of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas (Castile and León)
Monastery of Santa María de Rioseco (Castilla y León)
Monastery of Santa Clara (Castilla y León)
Monastery of San Salvador de Oña (Castilla y León)



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