Santa Cristina de Lena, pre-Romanesque on the way to the Pajares pass

In the Vega'l Rei, in the council of Lena, a small stone church looks out from a hill over the valley of the River Lena: it is Santa Cristina, Asturian pre-Romanesque of the 9th century, a World Heritage Site. It is about 31 minutes from Oviedo and a little over half an hour from the Pajares pass, so it is the natural stop on a ski or snow day at Valgrande or Fuentes de Invierno, or on the way back from the mountain.

What is distinctive about it

It is unlike the other churches of the Asturian monarchy. It has a single rectangular nave, with four small projecting parts, one in the middle of each wall: the porch, the chancel and two side rooms. Everything is barrel-vaulted on arches, reinforced on the outside with many buttresses. What most strikes you inside is the iconostasis: three arches on columns separating the nave from the raised chancel with stairs on either side, decorated with lattices and a Visigothic screen. It is related to the Naranco works, although its decoration is rougher, and it was built in the time of Ramiro I or Ordoño I; the date given is 852.

Hours and price

From December to March it opens Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 13:00; from April to October, Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 13:00 and from 16:30 to 18:30. Closed Mondays and all of November. You can enter until half an hour before closing; outside those hours you must call first on 609 942 153, and the Principality advises always calling. Admission costs €2 for adults, €1 for ages 12 to 17 and €1.50 in groups of more than 20. On Tuesdays it is free, and also for under-12s with an adult.

Getting there

By car from Oviedo or from the pass, along the Lena valley; the address is La Vega'l Rei, 33630 Lena. If you already know Santa María del Naranco, here you will see the same style in miniature and in the landscape it was made for.