Sangüesa - Santa María la Real

"Santa María la Real" is one of the highlights for all people following the "Camino Aragonés" - since about 800 years. The facade is impressing it may take hours, to find out the many details. I stayed an extra day, when I had reached the town, just to see the shadows movig over the carvings.

A church did exist here already in 1131 next to the bridge crossing the river Aragon. It was transferred by Alfonso I to the "Knights Hospitaller" (aka "Order of Saint John", later "Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta"). The apse is the oldest part of the structure and probably dates back to that time.

The nave and the breathtaking Southern Portal of Santa María la Real were created late 12th/13th century. I have uploaded a "total overview" earlier and will now focus on some details.

Two registers stretch over the complete facade. There is Christ, flanked by the symbols of the evangelists, accompanied by 14 large statues, probably apostles and angels. Here is one of them, holding a scroll. The sculpture may seem a little "stiff" compared to the scenes, that can be found in the cloister of San Juan de la Peña (about 70kms east), but it is obviously created by the same master or workshop. The cloister is dated ca. 1190, the sculptures here may be a little older.