[Model of the monastery of Santa María de Huerta]

Located in the Castilian-Leon Community of Soria, not far from the border with Aragon, the Cistercian monastery of Santa María de Huerta is a challenge for lovers of Art in general and Architecture in particular, as well as being a place, which a thousand years after its founding, still continues to host a thriving community of monks.

[Main entrance: modern inn and medieval church]
[The famous Cistercian rose window shaped like a wheel]

Monks, on the other hand, whose history goes back to the legendary leadership of Roberto de Molesme, who in the company of a score of monks split from the powerful order of Cluny, approximately in the year 1098, founding, under the motto of 'ora et labora ', that is,' prays and works' a new order, the Cistercian, in a place called Clairvaux or Clairvaux, where one of the most illustrious minds of the Middle Ages originated: Bernardo de Clairvaux, also known as Saint Bernardo, godfather of the Order of the Temple, whom he endowed with revolutionary statutes by which they could combine two initially antagonistic aspects, such as being monks and warriors at the same time.

[Towards the cloister: light and shadow]

It is not known, exactly, which was the first monastery that the Cistercian Order founded in the Iberian Peninsula, from the year 1140 in which its presence in Hispanic lands began to be guessed, subjected to the vicissitudes of a historical period known with the name of Reconquista, which began in 711 with the Muslim invasion led by the invading armies under the command of Tariq.

But it is known, for example, that the Cistercian was the promoter of numerous and legendary monasteries, whose names –Oseira, Armenteira, Sobrado, Melón, la Espina, Veruela, la Oliva or Santa María de Huerta himself, who are gratefully pleasure I invite you to visit - they are a very important part of the Historical, Artistic and Cultural Heritage of Spain.

[Panoramic view of the cloister and tombs added]

Like all the origins, also those of this monastery are uncertain, although it is supposed that it was around the year 1152, when the monks, having acquired the relevant land, began the construction work of this monastery, whose first abbot was Martín de Finojosa , who died in 1213, approximately a year after the famous battle of Las Navas de Tolosa –also known as the Battle of the Three Kings- which marked the beginning of the end of the Almohad domination of the Peninsula and a push in the advance of the expanding Christian kingdoms.

[Medieval monastery kitchen]

Once these historical-legendary antecedents have been summarized, it is appropriate to start the visit, noting, as you can see in the photographs and the video, that a visit to this place also means the invitation to a metaphorical journey in time, in the that you can enjoy an exciting historical tour, defined by different artistic and architectural styles, which by themselves constitute a separate story.

[The old Convert Room]
Originally, from the old 12th century monastery, the church survives, with its spectacular rose window in the unequivocal shape of a wheel, very characteristic of Cistercian monasteries and a clear reference not only to the concept of perfection, of eternity, but also to that concept of 'fortune or luck', which was given so much importance in medieval symbolism, and which can be summarized in moralizing slogans such as 'the princes of today can be the beggars of tomorrow'.

[The cilla or warehouse]

The church also has a main apse and two small apses, one of which, known as 'the Magdalena chapel' still preserves, albeit partially, some interesting original paintings from the 12th century, among which one stands out. curiosity: a shield that shows a bear and a strawberry tree, which later, once the city was liberated from Muslim influence, would become the shield of Madrid.

[Panoramic of the reflector or dining room of the monks]

Of the Romanesque part of the monastery, very important places are also preserved, such as the kitchen, the cilla or pantry, the so-called conversion room, which served as an old inn for travelers outside the Order, as well as an element that calls always the attention for its extreme beauty: the refectory or dining room of the monks.

[Overview of the refectory: note the steps attached to the wall and the atrium]

Nothing is known of the original Romanesque cloister, which was replaced, in the 15th century, by the current plateresque cloister with two floors, the upper floor being, at present, the place of residence of the community of monks that inhabit the monastery. which is complemented by the buildings attached to the monastery, among which are the modern inn, equipped with sober elements, in keeping with monastic life.

[Overview of the Plateresque cloister from the mid-15th century]

Apart from the symbolic allusions that can attract attention in the cloister, and that in a certain way collide with the austerity of the clearly Cistercian decorations, based on foliaceous elements, such as the characteristic acanthus leaves, it is especially striking, due to the spectacular nature of the

[Panoramic view of the church with the Main Chapel in front]

Its content, the paintings of the Main Chapel of the old church, which are supposed to have been made by a Genoese artist, based in Cuenca, named Bartolomé Matarana and show two aspects of the aforementioned battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, showing as protagonists two of the representatives of this monastery: the aforementioned Abbot Martín de Finojosa and the Archbishop of Toledo, Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada.

[Close-up with the paintings of the Genoese artist Bartolomé Matarana]
At the back of the nave of the church, there is precisely another of the interesting elements of the 12th century that can be seen in this monastery: the tomb of said Archbishop, whose mortal remains were transferred to a small tomb that can be seen in the High Altar.

[The Four Evangelists]

Finally, due to the proportions of the nave, its height, the shape of the vault and the use of the ogival-shaped windows, it is also possible to appreciate the introduction of an artistic style, certainly very enigmatic, that came from to solve the typical obsolescence of Romanesque: the Gothic.

[Detail of the famous battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, which took place in July 1212]

I hope and wish that the visit has been to your liking and interest.

Related Movie:

NOTICE: Both the text and the photographs that accompany it, as well as the video that illustrates it, are my exclusive intellectual property and therefore are subject to my Copyright.

[Modern copy of the image of Santa María de Huerta]