Nájera - Monasterio de Santa María la Real

Legend has it that in the 11th century King García Sánchez, while hunting in this area, discovered a hidden cave containing an altar dedicated to the Virgin and thereupon founded the monastery of Santa María la Real. The church, which dates from the 15th century, has fine choir-stalls. Much more important, however, is the Panteón de los Reyes (Royal Pantheon), the mausoleum of the kings and princes of Navarre and León. The finest of the tombs is the stone sarcophagus of Queen Blanca of Navarre (12th C.); the other sarcophagi mostly date from the 15th and 16th centuries. A small 13th Century figure of the Virgin marks the spot where García Sánchez is supposed to have found the altar of the Virgin. The cloister of 1522 (in which historical plays are performed in June) has flamboyant Gothic tracery.