Monasterio de Leyre

Just before N 240 reaches Yesa a road branches off on the left and climbs up to the monastery of Leyre, commandingly situated on a hill below the south side of the Sierra de Leyre. Most of the present buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries, but the original abbey was founded in the 11th century and became the burial-place of the kings of Navarre. The apse dates from that period; the nave is Gothic (14th C.). A chapel in the north aisle contains the tombs of the early kings of Navarre. The undecorated crypt, of almost primitive aspect, is the oldest part of the church. The west doorway, the Puerta Speciosa, has a rich assemblage of Romanesque sculpture.