This beautiful historic town, halfway between Madrid and Barcelona, hides the most special monastery in Spain
We continue touring Spain, which is full of beautiful towns to get lost in, and our next stop takes us to the province of Soria, an area halfway between Madrid and Barcelona.
Soria has a lot to offer and not only its capital in which we have plans even if it rains, but in any of the towns of his province. Today we talk about Santa María de la Huerta, almost on the border between Soria and Zaragoza.
Santa María de la Huerta and its medieval monastery
85 kilometers from the capital of Soria, following the Jalón, a tributary of the Ebro, and leaving the town of Arcos de Jalón to the right, we come across an arid area in the province of Soria. If we continue, it takes us to the small town of Santa María de Huerta and in it, to the jewel in the crown of Soria, the circus monastery of Santa María de Huerta.
The current town of Huerta arose around the monastery as a group of tenants of the monks. Now, years later, circus monks continuebecause the monastery of Santa María de Huerta has always belonged to that Order, except for the time of the exclaustration of 1835 to the restoration of 1930.
One of the greatest curiosities of this monastery is that it offers a one week monastic experience, living like them in silence and experiencing that spirituality for seven days. And if a week is too long, you can always sleep in the Hospedería del Monasterio de Santa María de Huerta, which has a price from 42 euros.
The monastery can be visited, being able to see the sotocoro with Baroque altarpieces and a wrought iron gate from the 18th century, the Gothic cloister from which you can access the Church that began to be built in the s. XII, the Sala de Profundis, the Royal Staircase which is the old heating and gives access to the Renaissance upper part, and the most important dependency: the Gothic Refectory of the s. XIII, which is unique in the world within Cistercian art.
An obligatory stop, whether we are religious or not, because this small town is living history. In fact, the Cistercian Monastery of Santa María de Huerta is one of the most visited places in the province of Soria. A unique heritage jewel.
Photos | iStock (Juan Carlos photography and bsancheznephew)
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