Monastery of Las Huelgas

The history of the Monastery begins in 1187, when King Alfonso VIII and his wife Leonor, eager to turn this place into a royal pantheon and a worthy retreat for a large number of women belonging to the highest aristocracy and royalty, succeeded, thanks to the support of Pope Clement III and the Abbot of Citeaux, Guido, in carrying out a new foundation in Burgos, giving rise to the birth of the Monastery of Santa María la Real de las Huelgas. The initiative was very well received, soon becoming a reality.
However, Alfonso VIII's idea of making this Monastery the Head and Matrix of all the Cistercian female convents in Castile and León was to bring him serious problems and great opposition from the monasteries that Huelgas now intended to place under his control, given that they had been founded previously. Perales, Gradefes, and Cañas were the most reticent about this new foundation, as well as accepting this newly founded monastery as their governing head, taking into account that all of them, as subsidiaries, had to pay obedience to the Monastery of Tulebras in Navarre, the first monastery of Spanish Cistercian nuns founded in 1157.
The conflict was long and complicated, but in the end the king achieved his goal and in 1199, in addition to solving the problem, this Monastery was incorporated into the Cistercian Order, placing itself under the jurisdiction of the Abbey of Cîteaux. From that moment on, Las Huelgas formed a Congregation composed of the monasteries of Torquemada, Gradefes, Carrizo, Perales, San Andrés de Arroyo, Cañas and Fuencaliente, which were later joined by those of Vileña, Villamayor de los Montes, Renuncio, Barría and Avia, making a total of twelve abbeys affiliated to this monastery. From its beginnings, it enjoyed the protection of Popes and Kings, and in addition to Alfonso XI and his son Henry of Trastámara being crowned there, Ferdinand III, Alfonso XI, Peter I and John II were knighted there.
The desire to become a true funerary pantheon, not only for kings but also for nobles, would soon be realized. Among the most notable tombs, we must highlight those of the founder himself, accompanied by his queens and royal daughters. Special mention should be made of the tombs of Don Sancho, son of Ferdinand III the Saint and Archbishop of Toledo; the tomb of Doña Blanca of Portugal and Doña Berenguela (daughter of the founders); as well as the tomb of Don Fernando de la Cerda and Infanta Leonor.