Puntos de Interés
Culture
Monastery of Santa María de La Vid
The Monastery of Santa María de La Vid is situated at the entrance to the hamlet of La Vid, in the Burgos municipality of La Vid y Barrios. It is the home of an Augustinian congregation that has been resident there since its foundation. The property has also been designated an Asset of Cultural Interest since 1991, due to its architectural merit, historical significance and the manuscripts held in its library. The monastery was established in the 12th century, around 1140, by two Castilian nobles, Sancho Ansúrez and Domingo Gómez de Candespina. It became one of the most significant centres of the Order of St. Augustine in the country. The site was originally established as an abbey, but 20 years later, King Alfonso VII relocated the place of worship to its current location after discovering an image of the Virgin in the vicinity. In the 16th century, Iñigo López de Mendoza undertook the construction of the monastery, including the church and cloister, which are still preserved today.
The Monastery of Santa María de la Vid is situated in a beautiful natural area, where a couple of centenary holm oaks stand out, on the left bank of the Duero River. The architectural style of this building encompasses various periods and styles, reflecting the numerous remodellings it has undergone over time. Its general outline, however, remains predominantly late Gothic. The church, constructed in 1522, is notable for its elaborate Renaissance ornamentation and houses the Gothic image of Santa María de La Vid, which presides over the main chapel from a magnificent altarpiece. The cloister has two floors, the lower one from the 16th century and the upper one from the 18th century, the former with star-shaped vaults and semicircular arches, while the latter has Ionic capitals.
Augustinian monks have dedicated a significant portion of their professional lives to reading and writing texts, particularly during the Middle Ages when they were responsible for transcribing theological texts of the era. The monastery boasts a comprehensive library of over 150,000 volumes and 3 km of shelving, encompassing a diverse range of manuscripts and incunabula (books written before 1501) from the 12th to the 18th century. The valuable collection has attracted numerous researchers and scholars, although access to the secrets and knowledge of these works is subject to the approval of the father librarian. In 1996, a museum was established to safeguard and promote the historical artefacts that have been part of the Monastery of Santa María de la Vid for centuries. The museum's extensive collection includes a variety of liturgical objects, ornaments, tools for worship, books and manuscripts, such as a 12th-century copy of the Quran, hundreds of oil paintings and a numismatic collection with coins and medals from various historical periods.