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Monastery of Santa María la Real de Gradefes

Gradefes, Tierras de León, León

1 Villages · 5 Monuments · 1 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 2 Historical milestones

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Monastery of Santa María la Real de Gradefes

Monument · Gradefes, Tierras de León, León

A women's Cistercian monastery founded in 1168 by Teresa Petri, with a Romanesque-style church, chapter house, round-arched cloister and orchard. Its church is the first nuns' monastery in the world with an ambulatory and, despite the Cistercian order's explicit ban, displays capitals carved with animal and fantastical figures. It was declared a Monumento Histórico-Artístico (the former Spanish heritage designation, precursor to today's Bien de Interés Cultural) by royal decree of 2 September 1924, and a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) in 1985, rated as one of the Spanish buildings where the order and essential character of Cistercian architecture are best appreciated.

Photo: Simon Burchell (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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