Santa María la Real de Nájera

Nájera is about 18 km from San Millán de la Cogolla, in the Najerilla valley, and in the 11th century it was the capital of the kingdom of Nájera-Pamplona, the forerunner of Navarre. Its monastery of Santa María la Real holds the mausoleums of those kings and princes. What you see today is mostly from the 15th and 16th centuries, built over the cave where it all began.

The legend of the hawk and the cave

According to the legend told by the monastery itself, in 1044 King García Sánchez III went out hunting, released his hawk after a partridge and followed them to a cave. At the back he found an image of the Virgin, with a bell, a lamp and a vase of lilies. There he ordered a church and monastery to be built, which was dedicated in 1052 and became a royal pantheon. In 1079, by then under Castile, Alfonso VI handed it over to the Benedictines of Cluny.

The route, from the Charles I door to the choir

You enter by the Charles I door, with a painted dome dated 1594, into the Cloister of the Knights, Gothic-Plateresque, from 1517 and 1518, with tombs of Riojan, Navarrese and Basque families. It suffered greatly: it was barracks in the War of Independence, in 1809, and after the disentailment it served as a prison, warehouse, bullring, theatre or school, until it was declared a monument in 1889 and the friars returned, this time Franciscans. In one of its wings is the tomb of Diego López de Haro, lord of Vizcaya.

The church is late Gothic, from around 1422. In it is the royal pantheon, Renaissance, from around 1556, with coffins from much later than the kings they hold. Beside it you go down to the cave, flanked by the praying figures of García and Estefanía, its founders, with the Virgen de la Rosa, a 13th-century Gothic carving. In the princes' pantheon, the lid of the tomb of Blanca of Navarre, who died in 1156, stands out, with scenes of her death and a Pantocrator. The choir stalls, of 1493, are flamboyant Gothic with monsters, faces and scenes of everyday life carved in wood. The high altarpiece is Baroque, from around 1690.

Winter and summer hours

In winter, from the October clock change to the March one, it opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 17:30, and on Sunday from 10:00 to 13:30. It closes on Mondays, except 12 October and 7 December. In summer, Tuesday to Saturday, from 10:00 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00; Sundays and public holidays, from 10:00 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 18:00; in July, August and September it also opens on Mondays. The times are last entry: after that you have 30 minutes inside. It is closed all day on 1 and 6 January, 17 September and 24, 25 and 31 December, and on the morning of 13 December.

Entry and audio guide

The self-guided visit, with audio guide and leaflet, costs €5; €4 for over-65s; €3 for ages 10 to 16; free up to 9. The audio guide can be downloaded free from its website. The guided visit is only for groups of more than 20 people with a booking. It is on Plaza de Santa María, in Nájera; telephone 941 361 083.

Nájera lies on the way between Logroño and San Millán. It fits in the afternoon after a tasting at Martínez Alesanco, in Badarán, or alongside the Cañas monastery.