Monastario de Santa Maria - Burgos

A few days ago we visited the Monastery of Saint Mary in Burgos, Spain.  This monastery is still being used today by about thirty nuns of the Cistercian Order, however at one time there were as many as 200 nuns living there.  In 1199, the monastery was given to the nuns by the royal family with the stipulation that the royal family was to be buried there.  Then, throughout the years there were women of the royal family that would join the order and live their lives at the monastery.  This helped keep the ties with the royal family strong.  There is also a museum attached with textiles from medieval times, most were taken from royal tombs.  There is also a tapestry from the tent of Miramamolin, seized after the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.

This monastery was very interesting to walk around.  It is open to the public, but only by guided tour, so Dr. Survilla and Suly had to act as translators for the rest of our group.  I thought that the building and it's interior was beautiful, and had a very rich history.  I was amazed that it was still being used today.  Most of the places we had gone so far were no longer in use by the monks or nuns, so the nuns still being there added an extra level importance for me.  I was only able to get pictures of the outside of the building, because pictures weren't allowed inside on the tour, but everything we saw was incredibly beautiful.

Also, shoutout to the rest of the group for singing me the quietest happy birthday song I have ever heard before our tour started :)