Logbook · 6 places

What to see and do in Collado Hermoso

What to see and do in Collado Hermoso (Comunidad de Villa y Tierra de Pedraza, Segovia): 6 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Collado Hermoso

Monastery of Santa María de la Sierra 2 km

Towns near Collado Hermoso

Spain › Castile and León › Segovia › Comunidad de Villa y Tierra de Pedraza › Collado Hermoso

What to see and do in Collado Hermoso

Collado Hermoso
Village
Collado Hermoso is a village of about 116 inhabitants in the Community of Town and Land of Pedraza, Segovia, 18 kilometres from the capital, on the western slope of the Montes Carpetanos, within the Sierra de Guadarrama national park, with the village itself at 1,222 metres. It was settled in 1116 by the bishop of Segovia Pedro de Agén, who in 1133 also authorised the founding of the monastery of Santa María de la Sierra, whose ruins have been a Monumento Histórico Artístico (a former Spanish heritage protection category, precursor to today's BIC) since 1931; in 1123 it is mentioned for the first time as Collad Formoso, in a bull of Pope Calixtus II. Its economy rests on extensive livestock farming, with some three hundred head of beef cattle. Local residents make a pilgrimage up to the Malangosto pass, in the Guadarrama.
Monastery of Santa María de la Sierra
Monument
The monastery of Santa María de la Sierra, now in ruins, stands in Collado Hermoso (Segovia), at the foot of the Montes Carpetanos. Its earliest records date from 1127, when Alfonso VII donated property to the monks of the Abbey of Sotos Albos; in 1133 the bishop of Segovia, Pedro de Agén, endowed the monastery's church with estates, and by around 1219 the community already belonged to the Cistercian Order, the style to which the surviving remains, from the early 13th century, correspond. Declared a historic-artistic monument in 1931, the ruins of the church are preserved, with three naves without a transept, and a west portal with pointed archivolts and a rose window. After appearing on the red list of endangered heritage, the complex has been restored and is today the municipality's main attraction.
Collad Formoso in the bull of Calixto II
Historical milestone
Bishop Pedro de Agén founded the place in 1116 and the locality appears cited as Collad Formoso in pontifical documentation of Calixtus II dated 1123, one of the earliest written mentions of the Segovian piedmont.
The Pirón and Fraile woodlands
Nature
Two oak woods, the Mata del Pirón and the Mata del Fraile, occupy the slopes of the municipality, situated at 1,222 metres on the western side of the Montes Carpetanos; part of the municipal district lies within the national park.
Pilgrimage to the Malangosto Pass
Activity
The locals go up in pilgrimage to the Puerto de Malangosto, the mountain pass cited by the Archpriest of Hita in his Libro de buen amor; the festive calendar is completed by San Isidro, San Juan and the Virgen de la Salud.
Roasts in a clay oven
Food and drink
The cooking of the municipality revolves around suckling lamb and suckling pig roasted in a clay oven, the traditional formula of the Segovian piedmont, where sheep raising has been the main activity for centuries.