Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas

In the 7th/8th century, the area was reconquered from the hands of the Moors by the kings of Asturias. A castle was built in 884 on the orders of King Alfonso III. Burgos became the coronation city of the kings of Castile in the 11th century, which underlines its special importance. After the conquest of Toledo by Alfonso VI. (1085). The city became the see of a Diocese and was a major stop for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. Burgos lost its importance a little, but the city remained an important economic, cultural, and political center in northern Spain. The Convento de San Pablo was a Dominican monastery founded in 1224 that existed until 1835. In 1187, Pope Clement III authorized the founding of a monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In June of the same year, Alfonso VIII of Castile, at the behest of his wife, Eleanor of England (daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine) granted the foundational charter stipulating that the monastery was to be governed by the Cistercian Order. Abbot William II of Cîteaux gave his consent to the founding of the nunnery in September of 1187. The first nuns came from the Abbey of Tulebras in the Kingdom of Navarre, which had been founded in 1157. Work on the monastery began in 1187 and was completed in the second half of the 13th century. The exterior of the church features the clean lines of Cistercian architecture.