Located in La Vid (Burgos), this work of religious architecture has managed to preserve its beauty and splendour since the first construction work, which dates back to the 12th century. The monastery currently houses a community of Augustinian monks, a library, a guest house and a museum.

Its origins date back to the 12th century, as tradition has it that there was a nearby frugal establishment of Premonstratensian monks, a monastery called “Monte Sacro”, where the Emperor Alfonso VIII used to go hunting. The Virgin would appear in a place called “La Vid”, so the king decided to move the community and erect a temple and monastery for the Marian devotion.

The first building was Romanesque – remains have been found – but was soon replaced by a Gothic structure between 1288 and 1318. Finally, in the 16th century, the building was completely renovated when Don Íñigo López de Mendoza, bishop of Coria and Burgos, with the title of cardinal, belonging to the powerful family of the Zúñiga-Avellaneda, was abbot and commendatory abbot. At his instigation and that of his brother Francisco de Zúñiga y Avellaneda (Count of Miranda) and the legatees, the church and monastery were completely transformed, including the neighbouring bridge over the Duero. Some alterations were carried out in the 17th and 18th centuries, interrupted by the disentailment of the monastery in the 19th century.

As already mentioned, a community of Augustinians joined the monastery and proceeded to restore its monuments and functions.

The monastery building is an exponent of 17th century constructions, with its peculiar sobriety. It contrasts with the great Baroque belfry, completed in 1734, which rises at the foot of the temple.

With regard to its library, the Monastery has a collection of more than 150,000 books (1,090 titles of its own) in its almost three kilometres of shelves, the most important of which are:

• Manuscripts unrelated to the history of the Abbey of La Vid, including a Qur’an.
• Incunabula: 23 copies(the last one discovered in 2020).
• Bestiary of Don Juan de Austria: the only Spanish-language bestiary in the world (1570).
• Medieval manuscript of Nuestra Señora de La Vid ( 14th century), considered an Asset of Cultural Interest as a movable asset in 1997.

A large natural area surrounds this monastery, which watches over the course of the great river Duero on its right bank. Don’t miss the pair of hundred-year-old holm oaks just a few metres from the monastery, in the spot known as “La Isla”.

The Monastery of Santa María de la Vid has been an“Asset of Cultural Interest” since 1991.