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Monastery of la Santa Espina

Castromonte, Montes Torozos, Valladolid

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Monastery of la Santa Espina

Monument · Castromonte, Montes Torozos, Valladolid

The monastery of La Santa Espina, a large Cistercian complex set in the heart of the Montes Torozos, stands in the valley of the río Bajoz, in the hamlet of the same name in the municipality of Castromonte. It was founded in 1147 by the infanta-queen Sancha Raimúndez, sister of Alfonso VII, to house a thorn from the crown of Christ given to her by Louis VII of France, and was settled by monks who came from Clairvaux. Its structure blends Romanesque and Gothic, to which a Baroque façade by Ventura Rodríguez was added in the 18th century. The monks lived there until Mendizábal's disentailment, and in 1937 its grounds served as a concentration camp for more than 4,300 Republican prisoners. Declared a Conjunto histórico-artístico (a heritage protection category, precursor to today's Bien de Interés Cultural) in 1931, it is now home to an agricultural vocational training centre.

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