The monastery built over a male sanctuary

A nobleman named García Fernández purchased a site in Villamayor de los Montes in 1223. Since the mid-11th century, the location had hosted a monastery for men dedicated to San Vicente. García Fernández decided to expand the space to house a community of Cistercian nuns. He placed the new foundation under the oversight of the powerful Las Huelgas monastery in Burgos, though the site kept its own legal and financial independence.

The monastery officially opened in 1228. Its first abbess was García's daughter, Mencía, while his other daughter, Mayor García, served as prior. The architecture reflects the Cistercian shift away from late Romanesque decoration toward austere forms. Today, the most significant remaining structures are the church and the cloister.

The cloister features a rectangular layout with 18 by 20 arches supported by double columns. While most capitals are simply carved with vegetable motifs, some retain original designs. The floor was realized in the 16th century with white, black, and reddish pebbles. These stones form geometric patterns and scenes of hunting and animal life.

Visitors can explore the church, which shares a visual language with Las Huelgas but on a much smaller scale. It features a triple sanctuary with rib vaulting and a large polygonal central apse. The nave has a late Romanesque carving. The parish church of the village is attached directly to the north facade.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons